Genetically Modified Food Crops in India: Bt Brinjal, HT Mustard and the Dynamics of Science–Society Interrelations Through a Co-evolutionary Contingency Perspective

This article examines the dynamic interrelations among the genetic engineering of food crops and social institutions, culture, economy, ecology and policy in the Indian context. The study focuses on genetically modified (GM) brinjal (Bt brinjal) and herbicide-tolerant mustard (HT mustard). Situated within Science and Technology Studies (STS), the article proposes a ‘co-evolutionary contingency perspective’ to understand these interactions. This perspective integrates social, cultural, economic, policy, technological and ecological factors within a nonlinear evolutionary framework. The findings suggest that stabilisation or closure of interpretations of technology is temporary and subject to revision. Technology governance forms part of the evolutionary contingency pathway rather than functioning as an external factor. Ecological developments, such as pest resistance to toxic transgenes, generate changes in agrarian relations. The article concludes that the relationship between society and technology is neither purely deterministic nor purely constructionist, but rather a nonlinear co-evolutionary contingent phenomenon.