File photo: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi
NEW DELHI: Over 200 academicians have written an open letter objecting to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s ‘gaumutra’ expert jibe at IIT Madras director V Kamakoti and said dismissing a scholar through a label risks undermining the scientific temper promoted by the Constitution.The first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, is credited with popularising the term ‘scientific temper’, and the 215 academicians have invoked it to criticise Priyanka, saying scientists, scholars and educators deserve to know that they can participate in public debate without fear of being reduced to dismissive labels.They defended Kamakoti’s advocacy of cow urine, which is traditionally associated with some therapeutic benefits, and said scientific temper is not merely scepticism towards unconventional ideas but also the willingness to examine claims objectively before accepting or rejecting them. “History reminds us that many ideas once considered implausible eventually found scientific validation, while many widely accepted beliefs were later discarded,” they said.”When complex scientific questions become objects of political ridicule, society loses an opportunity for informed debate. In a democracy, disagreement is essential. Mockery is not a substitute for reasoned engagement,” they added.
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Kamakoti, they noted, has been a guiding force behind India’s first industry-grade microprocessor, and he is one of the top tech brains in the country.Addressing the Congress MP, the academicians said, “Whether intended as sarcasm or political rhetoric, such a characterisation raises concerns that go far beyond one individual.”Kamakoti is a member of the six-member task force on exam reforms constituted by the Centre after the NEET paper leak row and was at the receiving end of Priyanka’s dig during a debate in Lok Sabha over a bill making punishment in paper leak cases more stringent.
