Women and Physical Sciences in India: Bimla Buti and efforts to flourish a physical plasma community in her home country

Bimla Buti is the first Indian woman Physicist Fellow of Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and The Academy of Sciences of the Developing World (TWAS). Her contributions to physical sciences have been celebrated with awards, such as INSA-Vainu Bappu Award, Vikram Sarabhai Award, and Jawarharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Lectureship Award. Buti received her scientific recognitions with surprise as, using her own words, “it was almost impossible for me, a woman scientist in a man-dominated field, to get nominated for prestigious awards like the Bhatnagar award” (Buti, 2008, p. 38). The man-dominated field was plasma physics. To Indian physical sciences, besides writing papers and books, she contributed to developing a research program on plasma physics at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) and founded The Plasma Science Society in India. “We managed to establish a very strong group in plasma physics, both theoretical and experimental, at PRL” (Buti, 2008, p. 39). This talk will trace her contributions to physical sciences, struggles to become a female physicist, and efforts to build a career and community in plasma physics, contributing, thus, to the History of Science in India.