Indian American scientist criticizes
New Delhi: An Indian-American scientist, academic and entrepreneur hired to work with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has written a letter to the Prime Minister saying that he was fired from his job for criticizing the leadership of India's largest scientific organization.
"(CSIR) is attempting to remove me (in) reaction to my addressing well-known, intrinsic leadership issues during the course of my professional duties to serve the cause of Indian science and innovation," said Shiva Ayyadurai in the letter. According to Livemint, Ayyadurai, 45, holds four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S., and has created multiple companies over the course of his career, including one of the world's earliest email systems. He has won some of America's top awards for innovators.
Samir Brahmachari, Director General of CSIR, said that Ayyadurai's services were terminated because he was a 'financial mismatch.' "He was demanding too much salary," said Brahmachari. "Everyone told me I was pampering him because he came from abroad."
In June, Ayyadurai was in India on a Fulbright scholarship when Brahmachari invited him to join the organization under the Scientist and Technologist of Indian Origin (STIO) programme. Launched by CSIR in 2008, STIO encourages partnerships between Indian scientific organizations and scientists of Indian origin based abroad. Ayyadurai's offer was withdrawn on 26 October.
