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By:

Kiran D. Tare

21 August 2024 at 11:23:13 am

A Scientist beyond Mockery

While Indian politics has never been particularly gentle towards intellectuals, it was unusual even by Parliament’s standards for the Director of one of India’s foremost technological institutions to be dismissed with a sneer. Opposition leader and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shameful reference to Professor Veezhinathan Kamakoti, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, as a “gaumutra expert,” reduced a lifetime of scien tific accomplishment to a sarcastic political...

A Scientist beyond Mockery

While Indian politics has never been particularly gentle towards intellectuals, it was unusual even by Parliament’s standards for the Director of one of India’s foremost technological institutions to be dismissed with a sneer. Opposition leader and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shameful reference to Professor Veezhinathan Kamakoti, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, as a “gaumutra expert,” reduced a lifetime of scien tific accomplishment to a sarcastic political label besides exposing dynastic arrogance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and charged with recommending robust, transparent, and leakproof measures to overhaul India’s public examination systems following widespread paper leak controversies. But rather than engage with solutions to problems that have resulted in the controversies, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra chose the path of cheap theatricality. Snickering from her parliamentary perch, she dismissed Prof. Kamakoti as a “gaumutra expert”. The remark immediately drew a scathing open letter from over 200 university vice-chancellors and eminent academics, who rallied to Kamakoti’s support and condemned her for diminishing scholarship itself. More fundamentally, Vadra’s sneer exposed the deep-seated pathology of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty: a reflex of aristocratic condescension toward self-made intellect, combined with an ingrained disdain for India’s indigenous traditions. Unlike Priyanka Gandhi, Professor Kamakoti is not a beneficiary of ancestral political inheritance but an intellectual titan forged entirely by merit. Holding an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Madras, Kamakoti has spent decades on the front lines of information security and VLSI design. His crowning achievement was in leading the team that engineered Shakti, India’s first industry-grade, open-source RISC-V microprocessor that fundamentally reshaped the nation’s technological trajectory. Shakti provided India with a blueprint for true silicon sovereignty. Kamakoti’s work extends to aerospace-grade chips designed alongside ISRO, over 150 peer-reviewed international papers, and pivotal roles on the National Security Advisory Board. Under his directorship since 2022, IIT Madras has consistently held the No. 1 position in engineering in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Yet Kamakoti’s genius also lies in tangible wealth creation. The IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC), nurtured under his leadership, has spawned a portfolio of over 540 startups valued at approximately Rs. 74,000 crore ($8 billion), generating more than 11,000 direct high-tech jobs. Kamakoti’s record speaks of a scholar who stayed in India to forge its critical infrastructure and empower a generation of young innovators. The point is why Priyanka Gandhi Vadra felt entitled to mock him? The controversy stems from remarks Kamakoti made regarding ethnoveterinary traditions, where he cited scientific literature discussing the antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties of bovine bio-fluids - a field actively published in peer-reviewed global journals, including Nature. It seems that for the Gandhi family, any intellectual inquiry that touches upon ancient Indian heritage or traditional knowledge systems is an immediate target for ridicule. For decades, the Congress hierarchy has operated under an unearned superiority complex that views Hindu traditions as some backward superstition to be mocked from the high towers of westernized privilege. The contrast between the scholar and the dynast could not be starker. Professor Kamakoti is a world-class computer scientist who earned his platform through decades of gruelling research, building microprocessors and billion-dollar startup ecosystems. Priyanka Gandhi is a political heir whose primary qualification for public office remains her surname, possessing a portfolio of inherited political capital and a distant diploma in Buddhist Studies. When the academics signed an open letter in support of Kamakoti, while warning that such dismissive labelling risks undermining the constitutional duty to develop a scientific temper, they pinpointed the heart of the issue. True scientific temper means testing hypotheses with rigor, regardless of their cultural origins. True ignorance is mocking what one lacks the intellect to understand. The sharp public backlash against Vadra’s comments also reflects a profound shift in the Indian electorate. The era in which hereditary elites could belittle self-made scholars without accountability has come to a close. In a modern India driven by chip designers, space missions, and digital enterprise, the nation’s true heroes are men like Kamakoti, builders who create value through pure intellect, and not platinum-spooned dynasts whose sole claim to power is ancestral pedigree. In attempting to humiliate an eminent scientist, Priyanka Gandhi did not diminish Professor Kamakoti; she merely laid bare the intellectual vacuum of her own political lineage. When forced to choose between a self-made technocrat advancing national sovereignty and a political heir armed only with arrogance, a rising India has already made its choice.

BJP Boost

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

As the dust settles over the recent Assembly elections, the BJP, defying anti-incumbency prediction of political Cassandras and exit polls, is set for a historic third term in Haryana. This will buoy the party after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The Haryana outcome not only reinforces the BJP’s foothold in national politics but also presents a counter-narrative to the INDIA bloc’s post-election fervour.

Despite the bogey stoked by lingering farmer protests and discontent surrounding the controversial Agniveer scheme, the BJP strategically diversified its approach, relying not solely on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s star power—evidenced by his reduced number of rallies—but also on a ground-level consolidation of anti-Jat votes. The Congress’s over-reliance on the Jat community backfired, rallying other groups against it. Interestingly, the Dalit vote, which the Congress anticipated would tilt in its favour, has not completely abandoned the BJP.


At the forefront of the BJP's campaign was Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, whose relatively short tenure allowed him to distance himself from the decade-long rule of the previous administration. By introducing measures to benefit the backward classes, including a significant income limit increase for OBC employment from Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 8 lakh, the BJP effectively shifted the narrative in its favour. Their mantra of ‘bina parchi, bina kharchi Naukri (promising jobs without bribes) resonated with voters.


The BJP’s rejuvenated team, led by key figures such as Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state leaders, has seemingly addressed concerns that arose following its poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections. The incorporation of new candidates in place of established leaders provided a fresh face that contrasted sharply with the Congress’s decision to recycle incumbents.


In contrast, in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference, in alliance with the Congress, having crossed the majority threshold, reclaimed its historic dominance and is set to form the government. Here, the BJP’s performance in the first Assembly election held after the abrogation of Article 370, fell short despite its strenuous attempt to position itself as a proponent of development.


The electorate’s apparent rejection of hardline factions like the PDP reflects a nuanced response and win for democracy. Notably, the results have shown a significant rejection of separatist candidates, including those from Engineer Rashid-led Awami Ittehad Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, who failed to make a meaningful impact in the polls.


The BJP’s emphatic victory in Haryana redeems its Lok Sabha misstep but also signals a broader political resurgence, giving the party renewed vigour to march into future contests like the crucial Maharashtra Assembly election.

 
 
 

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