press release

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Statement on High-Level Committee on Air India 171 Crash

Click here to get the pdf of the statement

16 June 2025

AIPSN Statement on High-Level Committee on Air India 171 Crash

AIPSN is deeply saddened by the horrendous crash on 12 June 2025 of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 “Dreamliner” flight AI-171 almost immediately after take-off at Ahmedabad heading for Gatwick, London.  All but one of the 242 crew and passengers perished, tragically along with (so far) an additional 30 persons where the plane crashed into a medical college student’s mess and hostel.

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started its independent inquiry into the causes and circumstances surrounding the crash as called for by protocols of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).  AAIB has started the important step of decoding the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Digital Flight Data Recorder (FDR) recovered from the crash site. It is understood that teams from the US and UK are also arriving in India to assist. The AAIB should also issue a public notice inviting suggestions from experts and interested persons.

However, for unexplained reasons, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has constituted a High Level Committee (HLC) to also inquire into the crash! Although the Order constituting the HLC states that it “will not be a substitute for other inquiries,” this is directly contradicted by its Objective to “ascertain the root cause of the crash,” assess factors such as mechanical failure, human error, weather conditions etc and examine the black boxes and aircraft maintenance records, interview Air Traffic Controllers, and collaborate with international agencies. All of these fall squarely under the ambit of the AAIB investigation as mandated by ICAO Article 13.

Clearly, the HLC is an undesirable parallel investigation which will, by virtue of its backing by highest levels of government, undermine the AAIB investigation. AIPSN calls upon the Ministry of Civil Aviation to immediately revise Terms of Reference of the HLC, and remove all objectives, scope of work and mandates which overlap those of the AAIB investigation.

It is to be noted that India constituted the AAIB precisely to address the prolonged dispute with ICAO regarding perceived government interference and conflict of interest in DGCA being the regulator, certifying authority and safety inspector also conducting accident inquiries over decades. The formation of HLC reignites this controversy by interfering with the AAIB inquiry. Air accident investigations are best left to professionals and experts.

At the same time, AIPSN welcomes the broader scope of the HLC inquiry for promotion of aviation safety, excluding investigation into the crash. In Ahmedabad, the aircraft crashed into a 5-storey medical college building just 1.5km from the airport, but there were larger hospitals and establishments in crowded areas nearby, missed only by chance. Recommendations of earlier crash inquiries regarding norms for operations at “table-top” airports, distance of settlements from airports, maintenance of airports, specifications for runway end safety areas (RESA) etc, are crying out for standards, implementation, monitoring, and enforcement in the interests of public, passengers, crew, and aircraft safety. The HLC would indeed perform a valuable service if it addressed these aspects holistically.

Many questions are being raised in the US and elsewhere about the safety record of Boeing, in the context of widely publicized whistleblower accounts of manufacturing malpractices affecting safety of Boeing aircraft. Any Government intervention at this stage will raise unnecessary suspicions around the world.

 

Asha Mishra                                        Satyajit Rath

General Secretary, AIPSN                    President, AIPSN

 

 

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Statement of solidarity with Dr. Ali Khan Mahmudabad of Ashoka University, against state led harassment! Uphold the Right to Freedom of Expression!

Click here for the pdf of the statement

27 May 2025

Statement of solidarity with Dr. Ali Khan Mahmudabad of Ashoka University, against state led harassment! Uphold the Right to Freedom of Expression!

The All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN) strongly condemns the action of the Haryana police lodging FIRs at the direction of the chair of the Haryana State Women’s Commission and others against Dr. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Associate Professor at Ashoka University, and his subsequent arrest for his social media posts which were in the public domain. AIPSN also views with concern the subsequent pronouncements of the Honourable Supreme Court two judge bench while giving interim bail. Stringent restrictions of freedom have been imposed and formation of SIT has been ordered even while no criminal intent was found.

The whole process is not just an attack on Dr. Mahmudabad’s right to freedom of speech and expression but an unlawful denial of his right to personal liberty. The lodging of the FIRs by itself required no custodial interrogation, given that his movements and place of residence and work were known.

We condemn the action of the state police which chose to go ahead with two FIRs, arrested him and sought extension of his police custody to more than a week to harass him. It is apparent that in an effort to drum up so called public opinion and influence judicial decision making, several vice chancellors were mobilized to send a message to academics to remain quiet. It is apparent that legitimate opinions on the developments in the country which differ from the official government narrative are not being tolerated but being treated as a crime.

Clearly, the social media posts neither contained any divisive overtone nor a threat to the sovereignty and integrity of India, as alleged. Dr. Mahmudabad spoke on a matter of public interest and expressed a view that many people may share. The AIPSN believes that we cannot remain silent because the arrest of Dr. Ali Khan Mahmudabad is an issue of wider concern for the scientific community and for society. As the citizens of a constitutional democracy, we are concerned that the freedom of people to express themselves and to be informed by scholars is under threat now. The attack on him is not just an attack on academic freedom but it is an attack on the democratic rights of the people.

With due respect for the Honourable Court, we believe that the court went beyond the call of duty in commenting on the case in a manner that led to the impression that any departure from the official narrative of the state would lead to an arrest. We are disturbed that an academic who should enjoy academic freedom is facing an SIT for merely expressing his opinion.

The court order issued is seemingly a gag order, restraining him from expressing his opinion and depriving his students of the benefit of his views on matters of public interest.

Although Dr Mahmudabad has been released on interim bail, we are deeply concerned about the entire premise of the complaints filed against him.

The legal system is operating in a selective form against a chosen few who are perceived to be political and ideological opponents of the regime. Persecution is replacing prosecution and the process itself is becoming a punishment. And it is not the rule of law but the rule of the police that is in operation.

The proceedings on this matter do not augur well for a constitutional democracy founded in the wake of a glorious struggle of the Indian people against the British rulers who often used the provision of sedition to put the freedom fighters behind bars for expressing themselves in public. The complaints filed against him under several sections including Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita for alleged “acts endangering India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity” make a mockery of the right to freedom of expression.

Since the official motive behind the arrest is unsupportable, the severity in approach towards Dr. Mahmudabad gives reason to believe that a Muslim is being targeted for his identity.

Dr. Mahmudabad’s social media posts, which critique jingoism and underscore the human cost of war, fall squarely within the realm of legally protected right to speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. His remarks, including concerns about communal polarisation and the imperative to safeguard marginalised communities, reflect a commitment to constitutional values. To equate such critiques with “sedition” or threats to sovereignty is morally and legally untenable. It is an attempt to undermine the very foundations and ethos of constitutional democracy.

We disagree that Dr. Mahmudabad’s nuanced commentary, which seeks to locate the role of women officers within the larger context of the current political scenario, is any form of “disparagement” of women or an “attempt to create disunity”. His posts explicitly lauded the armed forces’ professionalism while urging vigilance in protecting the socially oppressed from state-sanctioned, communally motivated persecution.

While appreciating the fact that Dr. Mahmudabad has been provided interim bail, we wonder why the SIT has been constituted, even though the court noted that it has found nothing incriminating in the posts. The restrictions imposed on him deprive him of his constitutional rights and the order signals that any form of reasoned disagreement with government policies—no matter how well-founded – may be met with criminal proceedings and loss of liberty.

AIPSN notes that critical pedagogy and dissent are essential pillars of democracy and the rule of law. The AIPSN stands in solidarity with Dr Mahmudabad and calls for immediate withdrawal of all charges against him which are legally baseless in their entirety. We hail the solidarity shown by Ashoka University students and faculty and salute the larger academic community that has come out to stand in solidarity with Dr. Mahmudabad.

The AIPSN calls upon the Honourable Court to recall the order and recognise the action of the state as a misuse of law and take remedial action to protect his right to free speech and liberty. AIPSN resolves to continue the struggle to protect and uphold the Constitutional Right to Freedom of Expression.

 

Asha Mishra Satyajit Rath

General Secretary, AIPSN President, AIPSN

 

 

 

National Campaign on Scientific Temper 7Nov2023-28Feb2024
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National Campaign on Scientific Temper 7Nov2023-28Feb2024

Click here to get Press Release pdf English

Press Release

National Campaign on Scientific Temper

7 Nov2023 to 28 Feb2024

 All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN) and Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) are starting a national campaign on Scientific Temper on 7th Nov2023. This day marks the birth anniversary of both, Sir CV Raman,and Marie Curie, Raman the only Indian who throughout his life worked in India and won the Nobel Prize. Curie,the woman scientist who first won the Nobel prize.Both the scientists were critical thinkers who valuedthe importance of basic scientific research and the role science plays in transforming society.Both questioned false prevailing beliefs and made significant contributions to science.

AIPSN-BGVS will carry on the National Campaign on Scientific Temper from 7 Nov 2023 till 28 Feb 2024 with the slogans “Science for Secularism” and “Science for Democracy”. We firmly believe that rationality, secularism and scientific temper are a great democratizing forces and are determined to make knowledge available to all including those who were systematically prevented from accessing it. As Ambedkar and Nehru have pointed out rationality is crucial to democracy and bedrock of our Constitution. They viewed the future India not just as a political but also a social democracy. Their dream was to build the country based on ideals of liberty, equality, justice and fraternity. They wanted to end centuries of oppression and ill-treatment meted out to the marginalized and excluded classes. A dream shared by millions of Indians who participated in the freedom struggle. This could happen only in a secular state where all citizens, irrespective of religions, caste, gender and region are treated equally.

We are now witnessing an ever-increasing clash of ideas, on the one hand there are those who want to keep the society under the yoke irrational, anti-science, myths and superstitions and on the other side are those who want to build a future based on rationality and scientific temper. In the recent past we had never experienced anti-science and irrational ideasbeing propagated with impunity by the people placed at higher administrative position of the country. We have witnessed with concern that:

  • Method of science and evidence-based reasoning are no longer going to be considered as the way to finding truth,
  • Pre-conceived believes and reliance on scriptures are getting more importance in decision making,
  • People in power are expressing mythology as history and theology as science or philosophy,
  • School books are rewritten with distorted and pseudoscientific facts,
  • Scientific theories like Darwinian evolution contrary to religious beliefs are deliberately expunged from syllabus,
  • Spreading of communal hatred and lodging atrocious attacks on Dalits, minorities and weaker section of the community are becoming a regular feature,
  • Rationality and reason are gradually getting dumped, encouraging cultivation of irrationality and unreason,
  • Democratic rights of dialogue, debate and dissent are viewed as antinationalist acts,
  • Constitutional binding of developing scientific temper, spirit of enquiry and reform according to article 51 A(h) are trampled upon by the current ruling regime on regular basis.

An atmosphere of irrationality and anti-science feeling was created in the country with the result that science popularizes and propagators of scientific temper – like Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M MKalburgi and GauriLankesh – were murdered by forces which are against scientific temper and rationality. We strongly believe that at this point in the history of independent India, our Constitution and democracy is threatened by these forces. We feel that, today a National Campaign on Scientific Temper is necessary to protect the constitutional democracy of India that is needed if we are to remain a secular and pluralistic country which was envisaged by the makers of the Constitution.

The National Campaign on Scientific Temper (NCST),is not just a struggle against superstition. It is a systemic battle against a wholesale assault on scientific temper, critical thinking, evidence-based reasoning and, indeed, on science itself. Superstition exists primarily due to the persistent backwardness of our society, and the conspiracy of vested interests to exploit it. In order to subvert the rational thinking the present ruling class, which is the prime moverof current political regime have repeatedly invokedreligious, traditional, cultural and nationalistic sentiments of wide sections of the people. The defense and promotion of scientific temper at the current juncture is a battle that requires to be fought on many fronts against a systemic assault on evidence-based reasoning, pluralism, freedom of thought and reduced role for S&T as a key driver of inclusive self-reliant development.

Ambedkar said “The sovereignty of scriptures of all religions must come to an end if we want to have a united, integrated modern India”. The Statement of Scientific Temper published in 1981 states that “Scientific temper is incompatible with all types of dogmas / traditions whether religious or social”. For the past nine years,numerous efforts by top government ministers,officials and by even some judges have been made to pushand promote mythology as science. They have tried to build a fake, manufactured narrative of a mythical past when ancient Vedic-Hindu knowledge preceded, and indeed surpassed, all knowledge from all other civilizations and cultures. This does great disservice to the many real, major achievements in ancient India, which may come under suspicion due to this cloud of untruths and exaggeration.

Scientific temper is also being undermined when the government refuses to collect data or denies or falsifies official data. Which it has done repeatedly in the past nine years. Without collection of data, its critical examination not effectual policies could be formulated. It not only devalues evidence-based reasoning but also subverts evaluation of policies and conclusions.  Leading scientists and technologists have expressed concern that, for the first time since Independence, they are nowadays not consulted for policy-making which is often done without evidence-based expert opinion as witnessed during demonetization and the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the campaign, the unscientific social-cultural and false a-historical narratives of the groups who seek to manufacture a single “Indian” culture will be countered. These fake narratives are now sought to be spread through the school and higher education system. They try to force manufactured “national” culture and identity upon the huge cultural, linguistic, ethnic and religious diversity that is the real India. We will undertake activities to counter all the falls narratives. We are aware that the critics of these trends are viciously attacked as anti-national, westernized, and products of “colonized minds,”.We are also aware that we will be confronted by an organized army of violent trolls, but we also strongly believe that our society, our democracy is threatened and it is our duty to protect it. This can only be done by reaching out to the masses and building a scientifically tempered society.

AIPSN-BGVS calls upon all rational, critical thinking people to join in the National Campaign on Scientific Temper.We in the process will also build a broad alliance of all those organizations who cherish the constitutional values and dream of propagating scientific temper in the country.

 

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NCERT special modules on Chandrayaan 3 which are full of errors and pseudoscientific claims

ON 17 October 2023, NCERT released ten  special modules in English and Hindi on Chandrayaan 3, for circulating to millions of school students as supplementary reading material. However due to severe criticism as seen in  press and media coverage the NCERT initially took down the webpage on the modules but after the Government defended the modules in a PIB release on 25 October saying “Mythology and philosophy put forward ideas and ideas lead to innovation and research” the website came back online!

The pdf link of the modules (English) are given in this page.

Our Chandrayaan-Foundational stage_1_1F

Mera pyara Chaanda – 1_2P

Bharat’s Expedition to Moon 1_3M

Chandrayaan- JTM 1_4S

Exploring the Moon Mission of Bharat-1_5S

Towards moon and beyond 1_6S

Exploring Chandrayaan -BLM 1_7HS

Bharat on the Moon 1_8HS

Bharat’s Space Mission-TCM 1_9HS

Physics of Chandrayaan 1_10HS

AIPSN Condemns raids at Newsclick: Call to stop the harassment and denial of democratic rights
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AIPSN Condemns raids at Newsclick: Call to stop the harassment and denial of democratic rights

 

Click to see the letter sent to press/media

 

Click to get pdf of AIPSN Statement English

 

 

All India Peoples Science Network (AIPSN) Statement

5 Oct 2023

 

AIPSN Condemns raids at Newsclick:

Call to stop the harassment and denial of democratic rights

 

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. In Feb 2021 the Enforcement Directorate raided the offices of the web based news and current affairs portal Newsclick and the residences of its editors and director. AIPSN, many media houses, civil society and all those working to strengthen critical thinking and scrutiny of government policies in the public, were shocked and raised their voices. Now on 3 Oct 2023, the Special Cell of the Delhi police conducted an early morning raid on the houses of several journalists and technicians and confiscated their electronic gadgets including laptops and mobile phones. The raid started from 6 am at over 100 places in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Mumbai. Amongst those whose houses and offices were raided by the Delhi Police were the Editor of Newsclick, Prabir Purkayastha, the former Managing Editor of NDTV, Aunindyo Chakravorty, senior journalist and researcher, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, and senior journalists including Urmilesh, Abhisar Sharma, Bhasha Singh, Subodh Verma,  Anuradha Raman, Aditi Nigam, Pranjal, Sumedha Pal, Mukund Jha and some others. The police also searched and seized the devices of satirist and stand-up comedian Sanjay Rajoura, historian Sohail Hashmi, author Gita Hariharan, D. Raghunandan of Delhi Science Forum and Kiran Chandra of Free Software Movement of India. In addition, the Delhi police raided the office and residence of Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand of Sabrang India in Mumbai. It also raided the house of Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the CPI (M) party and confiscated a device of the son of a staff member. 46 people including 9 women were questioned either at home or taken away to the special cell. Shockingly, the Delhi Police sealed the office of Newsclick and arrested Newsclick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha, and also Amit Chakravarty of Newsclick, a polio survivor and person with disability who uses crutches, under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Over two years the government agencies were unable to find anything substantive; the Enforcement Directorate has not filed a complaint accusing Newsclick of money laundering, the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police has not been able to file a chargesheet against Newsclick for offences under the Indian Penal Code, the Income Tax Department has not been able to defend its actions before the Courts of law. However, the Enforcement Directorate had attached Newsclick’s assets after starting a probe into its funding. This was done after The New York Times alleged in an article without any evidence that the news portal was among Chinese propaganda outlets being funded by American tech mogul Neville Roy Singham.

Now, ahead of the elections, the draconian UAPA has been used with farcical allegations such as “The analysis of the e-mails  further shows that Neville Roy Singham, Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty are in direct touch with each other wherein they were found to be discussing how to create a map of India without Kashmir and to show Arunachal Pradesh as disputed area”. None of the people questioned and whose electronic properties were seized were served with any notice. Those ‘taken away’ for questioning were done so without any information of charges against them. Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty were arrested but not given the FIR. A letter by 16 media bodies to the Chief Justice of India points out that the seizure of devices integral to their work, was done without ensuring the integrity of their data—a basic protocol essential to due process. It calls for the courts to frameguidelines for “the interrogation of journalists and for seizures from them, to ensure that these are not undertaken as fishing expeditions with no bearing to an actual offence”; and “finding ways to ensure the accountability of State agencies and individual officers who are found overstepping the law or willfully misleading courts with vague and open-ended investigations against journalists for their journalistic work.” The raids have been condemned and called “an egregious assault on the right to privacy, the right to dignity, as well as the freedom of journalists to practice their profession fearlessly,”

Newsclick’s coverage of various issues in science and technology (S&T), public policies related to S&T, Covid19 pandemic, farmers protests, Delhi riots, CAA protests  have provided an alternative and informed perspective often unabashedly critical of the  government. AIPSN is deeply disturbed by these raids on Newsclick and harassment of journalists, academics, artists and science activists. Newsclick has clearly stated, both now and before, that all these charges are not true.

At this crucial point in our nation’s history as a secular, democratic society bound by the Constitution of India, AIPSN expresses its solidarity with Newsclick, other independent media outlets and journalists and urges the Government to not strangle voices of dissent so essential for science.

AIPSN deplores this attempt to intimidate and silence journalists, academics, scientists, writers, and artists. AIPSN strongly condemns this hounding and witch-hunting of people committed to self-reliance, people’s centric development, and democracy.

 

For clarifications contact:

 

Asha Mishra, General Secretary, AIPSN

gsaipsn@gmail.com, 9425302012, Twitter: @gsaipsn