Scientists question removal of eminent researchers from shortlisted Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar
Leading scientists, including some from the jury, have questioned the "integrity" of the process in light of the purported removal of three eminent scientists from the pool of candidates for the newly established Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP). The scientists are Suvrat Raju, a physicist at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; Prateek Sharma, a physicist at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru; and Suman Chakraborty of IIT Kharagpur, who received the Infosys Prize for Engineering and Computer Science in 2022.
This is RVP's first year, and 33 winners were named in four categories: Vigyan Shri for scientists of all ages, Vigyan Yuva for scientists under 45, and Vigyan Ratna for lifetime achievement. The awards are given out in collaboration with Vigyan Teams.
Following the dissolution of previous science awards, including as the highly sought-after Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for scientists under 45, the RVP was established last year; Vigyan Yuva is the prize's replacement.
The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar Committee (RVPC), which is led by the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Prime Minister, receives shortlists from subject experts as part of the selection process. The RVPC then forwards its final list to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The government made the announcement of the awards on August 7. After this announcement The Indian Express disclosed that several members of the subject expert committees and the apex committee requested clarification from the government regarding the factors that might have affected the final list of recipients this year and led to the removal of certain names.
Thirty-six scientists, who were all Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award recipients, wrote to PSA Ajay Sood three weeks later on August 30 to express their concerns with the selection procedure.
The fact that two of the three scientists, Raju and Sharma, criticized IISc for abruptly calling off a discussion on UAPA last year that was supposed to be led by student activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, has added another twist to this dispute. Additionally, the two scientists had signed open letters regarding the Bhima Koregaon case, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and the NIA.Upon being reached, Sharma informed The Indian Express that he was unaware of the RVPC's recommendation of his name and declined to comment.
Suvrat said he noticed his name was recommended by the apex committee when he received “a congratulatory message from a senior scientist involved in the selection process who assumed, in good faith, that the decisions of the scientific committee would be honoured by the government.”
"This scientist later told me that my name had been removed," Suvrat remarked. "I don't think it matters too much who the exact people who were removed were. The government's actions, which indicate intolerance for dissent, are what matter. The ramifications of such manipulations for academic freedom and democratic rights in scientific areas should worry all academics in the nation.
IIT Kharagpur student Chakraborty responded, "I don't know if my name was in the final list," when approached. All awards, meanwhile, contain a subjective aspect. I accept the ultimate judgment, and I think all the winners are worthy of recognition.
PSA Sood was not accessible for comment even after The Indian Express called and messaged him multiple times.
The government's website underlines that the Honourable Minister of Science & Technology, Government of India, would receive recommendations from the RVPC. It's interesting to note that this phrase was added just this past weekend. The website had previously simply mentioned that the RVPC will review all nominations for the award under the selection process.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award winners have, however, questioned the PSA in their protest letter whether the recommendations of the supreme committee were adopted in their totality or changed by other bodies or authorities.
“In the latter case we request that details of the nature of these committees and the criteria employed in arriving at their decisions be made public. We request confirmation that the processes and standards used to determine Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards are completely impartial, open, and devoid of any unnecessary factors in order to preserve the integrity of the Bhatnagar award, according to the letter.
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Stalin claims DMK secured 1.54 crore votes
Chennai (PTI): DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to the TVK, claimed that the party that won additional constituencies has gained only 17.43 lakh more votes than the DMK.
He was referring to the April 23 Assembly polls where the DMK and its allies secured 74 seats, with the Dravidian party netting 59 constituencies.
In a statement, Stalin said, "the percentage difference in votes between us and them is just 3.52 per cent," in an apparent reference to the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kahzagam emerged victorious in the polls, the results of which were announced on Monday.
Claiming that the DMK alliance has secured 1.54 crore votes, Stalin said, "I consider each and every one of your votes as an invaluable token of trust".
Stating that DMK has been in power several times, he said "there is no victory we have not seen and there is no defeat we have not faced".
"Whether in victory or defeat, those who regard them equally and continue their journey toward their ideals are the comrades of the party", he said adding "you are the lifeblood and roots of the movement".
"The harvest of 1.54 crore votes is the fruit of your commitment", he said.
"What return can I offer for your hard work? With the feeling of being the chief worker, we will continue our journey," the DMK chief added.
Stalin said "if we are the ruling party, we will formulate schemes for the people. If we are the opposition party, we will fight for the people's demands. In that regard, now as a strong opposition party, we will continue to work for the people".
Asserting that the DMK will continue the journey of taking forward the policies of the century-old great Dravidian movement, protecting race, language, and nation, the DMK leader said "in our journey, I will not leave anyone behind. We will win again".
