I am happy that an Indian, specifically a Tamilian (Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan), received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year. However, the way both the media and the government suddenly began to claim and own such a person as one of Indian or Tamil origin appears hypocritical and artificial. According to Ravikumar, M.L.A., who wrote in Junior Vikatan (‘He is a Tamilian,’ October 14, 2009, p. 13), Dr. Ramakrishnan left his birthplace, Chidambaram, at the age of three due to his father’s work. If I am correct, on the day the Nobel Prize was announced for Dr. Ramakrishnan, one Tamil TV channel even interviewed an elementary school teacher from Chidambaram, where Venkatraman supposedly studied?!? How could a three-year-old child have studied in a school back in the early 1950s, when there were no pre-K.G. or L.K.G. schools? I am unsure whether the TV report was wrong or Ravikumar’s information. Since television channels do all kinds of things for TRP (target rating point), we cannot trust them much.
Now, regarding the claim of Venkatraman being a Tamilian or Indian, there were genuine reasons for many such intellectuals to leave India and demonstrate their abilities where they were given the opportunity to work as scientists first and then as human beings—least concerned about their ethnicity and nationality (or caste, in our case). But such intellectual drainage should bring more shame to us, yet instead, we suddenly begin to claim them as our own.
In fact, Dr. Ramakrishnan is an American. Similarly, when Kalpana Chawla tragically died in the NASA space shuttle accident, she was glorified as a pioneering Indian woman space scientist, even though she was an American citizen. Interestingly, the Tamil Nadu government even constituted a Bravery Award for women in Kalpana Chawla’s name. While I do not belittle her tragic death, I still cannot understand what kind of bravery there was in it. It was a tragic accident, and according to some reports, she died before she could even comprehend what happened. Yet, in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, a ‘Bravery Award’ was instituted in her name to encourage women who demonstrate real bravery in real life. Politicians will use anything to gain popularity.
Here’s the revised version of your section:
When Rishi Sunak became the Prime Minister of England, many Indians were excited and even posted messages claiming that an Indian had now become the “Head of State” of our former colonial rulers. This is utter nonsense. Sunak is British in both letter and spirit, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it was as a British citizen that he was elected to lead the country, not as someone selected from India to take charge because our former colonizers failed to rule properly.
Now, I would be happy if Kamala Harris becomes the President of the United States—not because of her Indian, particularly Tamil, origins, but because I want to see a woman become President of America. I am fully aware that Trump might be more favorable to India than Kamala, yet I still believe in the significance of her potential presidency.
Recently, Mr. Mylswamy Annadurai of ISRO was similarly recognized and glorified as a Tamil scientist when ISRO successfully launched the Chandrayaan satellite. It is true that such individuals deserve recognition in their birthplace, as it can inspire and challenge many youngsters to pursue similar research.
At the same time, it should remind our government to seriously address the issue of intellectual drainage from our land and to support the scientists who are sincerely working in India itself. It is true that the herb in our own garden never gets its value. In the same way, when we appreciate individuals for their success as pioneers, the spirit of regionalism or nationalism should not be overemphasized at the expense of certain facts that could backfire on us.
I am not blaming or questioning those who left India, but let us learn to encourage, appreciate, and even claim as our own those who stay here and toil as Indians first and then as scientists, rather than narrowing them down with regionalism.
Dayanand Bharati, Gurukulam, [October 8, 2009], Revised 31-8-2024
I am happy that an Indian, specifically a Tamilian (Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan), received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year. However, the way both the media and the government suddenly began to claim and own such a person as one of Indian or Tamil origin appears hypocritical and artificial. According to Ravikumar, M.L.A., who wrote in Junior Vikatan (‘He is a Tamilian,’ October 14, 2009, p. 13), Dr. Ramakrishnan left his birthplace, Chidambaram, at the age of three due to his father’s work. If I am correct, on the day the Nobel Prize was announced for Dr. Ramakrishnan, one Tamil TV channel even interviewed an elementary school teacher from Chidambaram, where Venkatraman supposedly studied?!? How could a three-year-old child have studied in a school back in the early 1950s, when there were no pre-K.G. or L.K.G. schools? I am unsure whether the TV report was wrong or Ravikumar’s information. Since television channels do all kinds of things for TRP (target rating point), we cannot trust them much.
Now, regarding the claim of Venkatraman being a Tamilian or Indian, there were genuine reasons for many such intellectuals to leave India and demonstrate their abilities where they were given the opportunity to work as scientists first and then as human beings—least concerned about their ethnicity and nationality (or caste, in our case). But such intellectual drainage should bring more shame to us, yet instead, we suddenly begin to claim them as our own.
In fact, Dr. Ramakrishnan is an American. Similarly, when Kalpana Chawla tragically died in the NASA space shuttle accident, she was glorified as a pioneering Indian woman space scientist, even though she was an American citizen. Interestingly, the Tamil Nadu government even constituted a Bravery Award for women in Kalpana Chawla’s name. While I do not belittle her tragic death, I still cannot understand what kind of bravery there was in it. It was a tragic accident, and according to some reports, she died before she could even comprehend what happened. Yet, in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, a ‘Bravery Award’ was instituted in her name to encourage women who demonstrate real bravery in real life. Politicians will use anything to gain popularity.
Here’s the revised version of your section:
When Rishi Sunak became the Prime Minister of England, many Indians were excited and even posted messages claiming that an Indian had now become the “Head of State” of our former colonial rulers. This is utter nonsense. Sunak is British in both letter and spirit, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it was as a British citizen that he was elected to lead the country, not as someone selected from India to take charge because our former colonizers failed to rule properly.
Now, I would be happy if Kamala Harris becomes the President of the United States—not because of her Indian, particularly Tamil, origins, but because I want to see a woman become President of America. I am fully aware that Trump might be more favorable to India than Kamala, yet I still believe in the significance of her potential presidency.
Recently, Mr. Mylswamy Annadurai of ISRO was similarly recognized and glorified as a Tamil scientist when ISRO successfully launched the Chandrayaan satellite. It is true that such individuals deserve recognition in their birthplace, as it can inspire and challenge many youngsters to pursue similar research.
At the same time, it should remind our government to seriously address the issue of intellectual drainage from our land and to support the scientists who are sincerely working in India itself. It is true that the herb in our own garden never gets its value. In the same way, when we appreciate individuals for their success as pioneers, the spirit of regionalism or nationalism should not be overemphasized at the expense of certain facts that could backfire on us.
I am not blaming or questioning those who left India, but let us learn to encourage, appreciate, and even claim as our own those who stay here and toil as Indians first and then as scientists, rather than narrowing them down with regionalism.
Dayanand Bharati, Gurukulam, [October 8, 2009], Revised 31-8-2024
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