Charaiveti: An academic's journey-15

'I was attracted by what is now known as the 'Needham Question': why has the West overtaken China (and also India) in science and technology?'

My Presidency College friend Premen was always a voracious reader, particularly of political, social and military history. He often told me of new books in those areas and sometimes persuaded me to read them. But by the time I saw him again in Cambridge, I could see his slow turn from his fascination with Trotsky to Mao. This was in line with a general movement among the young in the European left around that time. Jean-Luc Godard’s 1967 film La Chinoise captured the restless energy of politically activist students in contemporary France, foreshadowing the student rebellions in a year or