Since coming to power in 2014 the BJP with the ideological backing of RSS has continuously attacked scientific institutions and scientific temperament and is trying to use science and scientists to serve their ideology. After the continuous reduction in research funds, closing the Vigyan Prasar*, promoting Astrology and other pseudosciences, the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP) is their new effort in this direction. In 2023, the Central government dissolved all existing science awards and integrated them into the RVP framework. The RVP is an award for outstanding contributions to science and technology. The RVP awards generated controversy after the random omission of three scientists from the final list of awardees. The names removed from the final list were Suvrat Raju (International Centre for Theoretical Sciences- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru), Prateek Sharma (Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru), and Suman Chakraborty (Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur).
This exclusion of distinguished scientists from the list of potential awardees in the final stage of selection raised concerns among scientists, even including some from the jury, about the “integrity” of the process. They sought clarity from the government on the considerations that may have influenced the final list of this year’s awardees, and behind the deletion of some names. On August 30, a group of scientists, including former Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) award recipients, wrote to the Prime Minister’s Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) Ajay Sood expressing their concerns about the selection process. In the letter, they asked the PSA if the apex committee’s recommendations were accepted in entirety or revised by further committees or authorities. They asked if the selection was “fully fair”, “transparent” and “free of extraneous considerations”. The PSA responded to the letter, saying that the names recommended by the awards committee were forwarded to the Minister of Science and Technology. Scientists wrote a second letter to the government, saying, “Shocking, Ministers can’t veto experts’ picks”. They warned that giving the Science and Technology Minister the final say undermines the core principles of scientific practice and could hinder the country’s research development.
Earlier, the RVP website stated that all nominations for the award will be placed before the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar Committee (RVPC). RVPC, headed by the Principal Scientific Advisor, would identify the awardees. After the controversy, a new sentence was added that states: “The RVPC will recommend the names to the Honourable Minister of Science & Technology, Govt. of India.” An interesting point about these exclusions is that two of the three scientists, Suvrat Raju and Prateek Sharma, had signed petitions critical of the BJP Government. They were critical of IISc for its last-minute cancellation of a discussion on UAPA last year. Both physicists had signed open letters on the CAA-NRC and NIA action in the Bhima-Koregaon case. Also, these exclusions become more interesting when we see that the director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics Annapurni Subramaniam is awarded just after the involvement of IIA in the Surya-Tilak project of Ayodhya Ram Temple. Despite her achievements in the field of Astrophysics, the award given to her just after this project is too much of a coincidence.
These exclusions and inclusions show that the intolerance of the government to any form of dissent goes to the extent of undermining the contributions of scientists in enriching science and technology who work in Indian institutes.
Since the days of pioneers like Bruno, Galileo, Darwin etc., the ruling classes have punished natural philosophers who went against the norms set by them. Ultimately, scientific truth always won the day. Even today, academics disliked by the government may thus continue to be sidelined from awards, scientific grants, recruitment, and promotions. Such bureaucratic interventions should significantly concern the Indian scientific community. The implications of such manipulations for academic freedom and democratic rights in scientific spaces will be dire.
*An autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology that was dedicated to promotion of scientific knowledge and fostering a rational outlook.
