India’s main opposition Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has run into trouble for indirectly calling IIT Madras director Professor V Kamakoti a “cow-urine expert,” drawing sharp criticism from vice-chancellors, former vice-chancellors and academics, NDTV reported. In an open letter, 215 academics condemned her remark.
“We express deep disappointment at your reported comment describing Professor V Kamakoti as a ‘cow-urine expert.’ Whether satirical or political, such a comment goes beyond an individual and raises a broader concern,” the letter said. Labelling an academic’s view with a derogatory tag, instead of refuting it with evidence, weakened the scientific temper enshrined in the constitution, it added.
The academics said scientists, researchers and teachers needed an environment in which they could express views publicly without being subjected to contemptuous labels.
The letter also cited Kamakoti’s record: director of IIT Madras, one of India’s top science and technology institutes, with an MS and a PhD in computer science and engineering from IIT Madras, more than 150 published research papers and involvement in over 50 research and development projects. It said he had received honours including the DRDO Academic Excellence Award and the Indian Electronics and Semiconductor Association’s Techno Visionary Award, and had led work on India’s first industrial-grade microprocessor. Calling him undoubtedly one of the country’s best technologists, the letter noted that many ideas once thought unreal had later been scientifically proven true, while some widely accepted beliefs had later been proven wrong.
“Criticize a researcher’s statement, challenge the evidence presented, demand stronger proof — but do not diminish the dignity of research and academia,” they wrote.
Priyanka Gandhi made the remark last Tuesday while speaking in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026. Although she named no one, her comment was widely believed to be aimed at Kamakoti, who was recently appointed to a new task force on examination reform.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report