When Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the 105th edition of the Indian Science Congress here on Friday, he will be addressing an audience only half as strong that marks a typical Congress.
There will neither be foreign delegates nor lectures by Nobel Laureates. Officials associated with exercise said that school students and teachers — a sizeable portion of the attendees — couldn’t make it because of ongoing examinations.
Student unrest
Typically invites are sent to Nobel Laureates a year in advance. Twelve Laureates were invited to Osmania University, where the Congress was originally scheduled to be held this January. Due to student unrest and the possibility of a student unrest, the Congress for the first time in a century had to be “indefinitely postponed.”
Ashok Saxena, organiser and former president, Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), blamed the Osmania University for the state of affairs. “They have caused great damage to the Congress,” he said.
The ISCA is now considering amending rules on how universities or institutions that want to host a Congress must go about it. “Now we will require a written confirmation from the Chief Minister and Governor of a State where the host university is located,” said Mr. Saxena.