Over 215 Vice-Chancellors, Academics Write To Priyanka Gandhi Over Reported Remark On IIT Madras Director

More than 215 vice-chancellors, former vice-chancellors and academics have written an open letter to Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressing support for IIT Madras Director Prof. V. Kamakoti and objecting to her reported description of him as a "gaumutra expert".

The letter follows an exchange in the Lok Sabha between Priyanka Gandhi and BJP MP Anurag Thakur during a discussion on the Centre's proposed task force on examination reforms. According to the signatories, the Congress leader's reported remark was inappropriate and diminished the dignity of academic discourse.

Expressing "deep disappointment", the signatories said Parliament should remain "a forum where ideas are debated with rigour, disagreements are expressed with dignity, and individuals are judged by the strength of their arguments rather than by caricatures.

Defending Scholarship

Prof. V. Kamakoti was described as one of India's leading technology researchers by the signatories. They highlighted that he holds master's and doctoral degrees from IIT Madras, has authored over 150 research papers, and contributed to more than 50 research and development projects. The letter also noted his awards, including the DRDO Academic Excellence Award, and his role in developing India's first industry-grade microprocessor.

The letter argues that an academic should be assessed on the basis of evidence and scholarship rather than labels. It states that Prof. Kamakoti, "like every academic", is entitled to discuss hypotheses and traditional knowledge and to participate in scientific debates.

Warning against politicising scientific discussions, the signatories wrote that dismissing a scholar through labels rather than engaging with the substance of his views risks weakening the constitutional ideal of scientific temper. They argued that scientific temper requires objective examination of claims rather than their outright acceptance or rejection based on political opinion.

Public Discourse

The academics further said history had shown that ideas once dismissed had later gained scientific acceptance, while some widely accepted beliefs had subsequently been disproved.

The letter also expressed concern over the message such remarks send to the academic community. It said scientists and researchers should be free to participate in public debate without fear of being reduced to dismissive labels, adding that their arguments and evidence should be challenged where necessary, but "do not diminish scholarship itself."

The controversy follows earlier comments by IIT Hyderabad, which described the debate surrounding Prof. Kamakoti as a "case study" that should be examined in an academic context rather than through political rhetoric.