Chennai, July 30
A group of eminent academics and education leaders has issued an open letter to Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, expressing concern over her reported remark referring to IIT Madras Director Prof. V. Kamakoti as a “gaumutra expert” and urging greater civility and evidence-based discussion in public life.
The letter, dated July 30, states that Parliament should remain a forum where ideas are debated through reason, evidence and informed argument rather than personal attacks or dismissive labels. The signatories contend that reducing a scholar to a caricature instead of engaging with the substance of his views undermines scientific temper and weakens the quality of democratic discourse.
Referring to Prof. Kamakoti’s academic accomplishments, the letter notes that he heads one of India’s premier technological institutions and holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Madras. It says he has authored more than 150 research papers, participated in over 50 research and development projects, received several honours, including the DRDO Academic Excellence Award and the Indian Electronics and Semiconductor Association’s Techno Visionary Award, and played a key role in developing India’s first industry-grade microprocessor.
The signatories said that, like any academic, Prof. Kamakoti has the freedom to present hypotheses, discuss traditional knowledge systems and participate in scientific inquiry. They argued that scientific temper, as envisaged in the Constitution, requires claims to be examined objectively on the basis of evidence rather than accepted or rejected through ridicule.
The letter further notes that scientific progress has often depended on challenging conventional thinking, with many ideas once dismissed later gaining acceptance while established theories have been revised or discarded. It warns that personal attacks on scholars could discourage researchers and educators from participating in public discussions and urges elected representatives to uphold dignity, mutual respect and evidence-based engagement in debates. The initiative was coordinated by former ICT Mumbai Vice-Chancellor Prof. G.D. Yadav and Association of Indian Universities Secretary General Prof. Pankaj Mittal.
