King’s College, London, is seeking clearance of pending funds from the Government of India for the operationalisation of the Dhawan Chair in Space Policy at the college.
Visiting Professor Bhupendra Jasani of King’s College has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard and has also sought an appointment with him to apprise him of the ideas on the Dhawan Chair.
With this, the Chair not only aims to honour Satish Dhawan – the former Chairman of the Indian Space and Research Organization and architect of India’s highly successful space programme – but also intends to train the next generation of scientists through the teaching of human values in science, emphasising international cooperation and research that promotes social development.
The plan is to establish the Chair within the college’s Department of War Studies.
Funds to the extent of £3.5 million – partly to be raised in the UK and partly in India – were deemed necessary to operationalise the Chair on a sustainable basis.
In January 2012 the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, had offered some seed funding for three years to establish the Chair.
“The funds were to come through the High Commission’s Office in London to King’s College. However, subsequently the DST for administrative reasons preferred to change this and channel the funds through the National Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bangalore. We made a fresh application and submitted the same to DST in 2013. I also understand that DST sought the views of two eminent referees and DST is in receipt of the referee inputs supporting the establishment of the Chair. In spite of all this, unfortunately the matter has not moved any further,” Professor Jasani, in the letter to the PM, said.
Professor Jasani also sought a one-on-one with the PM in this regard. “I also look forward to an opportunity to meet you personally at your convenience and seek your advice on the operationalisation of the Dhawan Chair in Space Policy at King’s College, London,” he wrote to the PM.
The Dhawan Chair in Space Policy to be established in King’s College, London, was conceptualised in 2009.
Professor Satish Dhawan was a humanist who saw technology, especially high technology, as a way of transforming societies.
Satish Dhawan (1920-2002) was a very unassuming man. Under his leadership, two of the major programmes – remote sensing and communications – were clearly defined and systematically executed. The third, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was developed, a modified version of which launched India’s first unmanned lunar probe, the Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.
The establishment of this unique Chair outside the sub-continent will be a fitting tribute to this great son and scientist of India.
