Dr. Narlikar democratised science: Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar
Pune, 31st May 2025: The Pune International Centre (PIC) organised a memorial lecture titled ‘Exploring the Legacy of Dr. Jayant Narlikar’ on Saturday to honour the life and contributions of one of India’s most eminent astrophysicists and the founding director of IUCAA, the late Dr. Jayant Narlikar.
Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, President of PIC, opened the event by noting that the occasion was not one of mourning but of celebration of Dr. Narlikar’s great legacy.
He shared his memories of working closely with Dr. Narlikar, highlighting his integrity, humility, and commitment to making science accessible, inclusive, and available in Indian languages. Dr. Narlikar believed science should not just empower minds but also uplift society. Dr. Mashelkar said IUCAA under Dr. Narlikar’s leadership democratised science and urged the government to include Dr. Narlikar’s legacy in educational curricula.
Terming astronomy is an “expensive science”, Prof. R Srianand, Director of IUCAA, said Dr. Narlikar’s vision behind establishing IUCAA was to provide opportunities for aspiring researchers who may have missed out on premier science institutes. He noted that while Dr. Narlikar himself worked on cosmological models to present alternative models to the big bang theory, he was also open to colleagues and students exploring and pursuing research on the standard big bang theory.
He described Dr. Narlikar as a tolerant administrator and a patient teacher, who never showed hurry in the classroom yet covered immense amount of topics in the stipulated time. Prof. Ajit Kembhavi, Professor Emeritus at IUCAA, said the occasion was the celebration of the life of a great man. He emphasised that Dr. Narlikar’s true legacy lies in his scientific contributions.
From a young age until his final days, Dr. Narlikar remained deeply engaged in scientific research. Among his major contributions is the Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity, developed with Fred Hoyle, which offered a dynamic alternative to general relativity by suggesting that the gravitational properties of matter evolve with the universe.
Welcoming the gathering, Maj Gen Nitin Gadkari, Director of PIC, described Dr. Narlikar as a towering figure in Indian science whose passing is a profound loss to the nation.
