Tribute to Dr VB Angadi on his passing

 

In Memoriam: Dr. Veeranna Basavabtappa Angadi (1944–2026) - The Architect of Inclusive Economics and Academic Excellence.

Dr. Veeranna Basavantappa Angadi (VB Angadi) was not merely an economist; he was a bridge between the complex world of global finance and the stark realities of rural India. Born on 8 April, 1944, at a village, Hire Bomnal, in the turbulent pre-independence era in the Raichur district of the Nizam’s Hyderabad, he carried with him the silent history of the Kalyana Karnataka region. His journey from a village witnessing the brutality of the Nizams Razakars to the corridors and high echelons of the Reserve Bank of India is a story of quiet, relentless perseverance. 

Dr VB Angadi passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early morning on Tuesday, 24 February, 2026, at around 5.30 AM in his home, situated at the  RBI Hemal CHS, Andheri West, Mumbai. Incidentally, the RBI Hemal CHS which was home to him post his retirement from RBI in 2004 owes its existence to his untiring efforts and perseverance as the founder President of this society, which is now home to many retired RBI officers.

Like many of his contemporaries born during the pre independence period, he was one among those who grew up seeing the poverty ridden India that was shaking the shackles of the colonial rule with fight for its independence. Post independence, with no foreign rule hangover, and his parents not so well off in his village in Hire Bomnal that did not have any schools to study, his father, Basavantappa Angadi, decided to put the young Veeranna for free education in a Lingayat (Veerashiva) Math in Koppal  : The famous Samsthana Shri Gavimath. This centuries old Lingayat Math (800 to 1000-year-old historic Lingayat monastery) situated on a rocky hillock in Koppal (which has recently gained massive prominence as a major spiritual and social hub in North Karnataka) was an important education and spiritual centre where free education was imparted for children, more specifically for Lingayat community. Known for its unique 24/7 Trividha Dasoha (providing free food, education, and shelter), this Math has now become one of the most revered centres of faith, often attracting lakhs of devotees during its annual fair, similar to a "Kumbh Mela of the South".

The young Veeranna studied at this historic Math, which offered him free education, food and stay during his early school days. He completed his schooling at this math during which his brilliance was noticed by his teachers. After completing his intermediate he was motivated by his teachers at the Math to move to Dharwad, which had by then gained prominence for its education. His poor family conditions did not come his way since he had earned a recommendation from the Seers in Koppal Govimath to the Muruga Math.

The Murugha Math (Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Mahaswamiji Math) is one of the most influential Lingayat religious and educational institutions in the Hubli-Dharwad region of Karnataka. It has played a pivotal role in the socio-cultural fabric of North Karnataka for over a century. This Math in Dharwad is a branch of the primary Chitradurga Murugha Math. It follows the teachings of the 12th-century philosopher-saint Basavanna, the founder of Lingayat, focusing on "Kayaka" (work) and "Dasoha" (service/charity).

The Dharwad branch gained significant prominence under the leadership of Sri Mrityunjaya Swamiji, who is often revered as the "Architect of Modern Dharwad’s Educational Landscape." He arrived at the Math in the early 20th century and transformed it from a purely religious centre into a hub for social reform.

Sri Mrityunjaya Swamiji realized that students like Veeranna, from rural areas were unable to pursue higher education in Dharwad due to the high cost of living. Around 1915, he began providing free food and shelter to a small group of students within the Math premises. By the 1920s, this Math grew into a structured Free Boarding Home (Prasad Nilaya). It was revolutionary because it allowed students like Veeranna Angadi, from impoverished backgrounds to stay in the city and attend school or college without paying for room or board. While this math was initially focused on Lingayat students to preserve the community's educational advancement, the Math eventually expanded its philanthropic reach. Under subsequent seers like Sri Mahanta Swamiji, the focus shifted toward inclusive education for all communities, though it remains a cornerstone of Lingayat heritage. It was at this Math that Veeranna Angadi stayed and pursued his graduation and post graduation studies in arts with economics as his specialisation. 

All through his studies, he grew up amidst students of his ilk, who were beneficiaries of a system that offered them free education. This had a lasting impact on Veeranna Angadi which later became an inspiration for him to improve the plight of his community in his village. 

Post his Masters, Veeranna managed to earn a teaching assignment in a small town Ilkal. It was during his stay at Ilkal he became familiar with the lives of the weavers community who had made Ilkal a prominent place in textiles with Ilkal Sarees becoming a brand of its own. However, as time passed and with the onset of textile industry and mechanised production of textile clothes, the weavers in Ilkal started facing problems which appealed to  Veeranna motivating him to pursue his Doctoral studies on this subject under the title Power-looms and Handlooms in Bijapur District. He earned a PhD from the Karnataka University during his teaching days in Ilkal. Later he was offered a Principals position in a college in Sankeshvar, Belgaum district. By then he had married to Shanta Angadi and had four children, the eldest - Vidya, Angadi, later became my wife, Vidya Khened. He made profound impact at both Ilkal and Sankeshvar colleges during his stay in these institutions. While at Sankeshvar his attention was drawn to a economist position in RBI, which too him was an institution of excellence he always looked up to and it took no time for him to decide making an attempt to join RBI. 

Meritorious that he always was he got selected and joined RBI and was posted at its headquarters in. Mumbai. He rose in rank and files at RBI contributing to the institution. He worked in the economics department with RBI and during the days of Late Manmohan Singh, who was the Governor of RBI from 1982-85, Dr Veeranna worked with him on measures of monetary restraint, curbing inflationary expectations, stability of exchange rate etc. Veeranna Angadi, in a way was also played a small part in the later Economic Reform Policy that Manmohan Singh scripted and introduced. This became the cornerstone of the 1991 economic liberalisation that Manmohan Singh introduced as the Finance Minister which served a turning point in the policy framework for the Indian Economy.

Although Dr. VB Angadi started his working life as a teacher at a college in Ilkal and later as the Principal in Sankeshvar college, his professional life was defined by two great pillars: Policy and Pedagogy.

The RBI Years were truly transformative for Dr Angadi. It was here that he could use his interest and passion for economics to its fullest best. Impressed by his contributions, the RBI provided him a life time opportunity to undertake a postdoctoral study at the Princeton University. His one year stay and studies at the Princeton University was one of the most illustrious chapters of his life. Staying in the very precinct, once inhabited by Albert Einstein, Dr. Angadi engaged in high-level research alongside Jeffrey Sachs, the world-renowned proponent of sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

Sustainable development has increasingly emerged as the central framework for addressing the persistent challenge of global poverty. The work of Jeffrey Sachs, a globally respected development economist, with whom Dr Angadi worked in Princeton, provides a powerful intellectual foundation for understanding how economic growth, social equity, and environmental stewardship must advance together. When viewed alongside the grassroots-oriented perspectives associated with Dr. V. B. Angadi, the conversation becomes especially relevant for countries like India, where development must be both rapid and inclusive.

Sachs consistently argued that poverty is not an intractable destiny but a solvable problem with the right mix of targeted investments, institutional reforms, and international cooperation. His advocacy of the Millennium Development Goals and later the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasizes measurable outcomes in health, education, and livelihoods. Crucially, Sachs highlights that extreme poverty often persists not because of lack of knowledge, but due to gaps in implementation, financing, and political will.

Dr. V. B. Angadi’s approach, rooted in field realities and institutional experience, complements this macro-development vision. Where Sachs provides the global roadmap, Angadi’s perspective underscores the importance of last-mile delivery, community engagement, and context-sensitive innovation. In the Indian setting, poverty alleviation cannot rely solely on top-down economic expansion; it must also leverage local knowledge systems, capacity building, and accessible science and technology interventions.

The convergence of these two viewpoints points to several actionable insights. First, investments in human capital—particularly education, public health, and digital inclusion—remain the most reliable poverty reducers.

For India and similar emerging economies, the real opportunity lies in synthesizing Sachs’s global development economics with Angadi’s ground-level pragmatism. Such a blended approach recognises that poverty alleviation is simultaneously a policy challenge, a governance challenge, and a societal commitment.

In this intellectual crucible at Princeton, Dr. Angadi focused on many Welfare Economics in which RBI a could play a role - Financial Inclusion: Developing frameworks to ensure banking reached the "unbanked" in India's hinterlands, Priority Sector Lending, Analysing how credit could be directed to agriculture and small-scale industries to prevent the very poverty he witnessed in his youth. The Human Cost of Economics: His work always asked not just how much the economy was growing, but for whom it was growing. 

Coincidentally, it was just before his selection for his Princeton assignment that his daughter, Vidya Angadi was selected for an alliance with yours truly and our engagement ceremony was  conducted at the Jalada RBI quarters in Prabhadevi in August 1989. On his return from his studies in Princeton, Vidya and I got married in December 1990. 

At RBI Dr Angadi undertook different assignments including as the teaching faculty at the prestigious RBI Bankers Training College in Mumbai which offers training to the senior management of different Banks in India. He later rose to becoming the  Director of the Department of Economic Analysis and Policy (DEAP) group at the Reserve Bank of India. He was associated with RBI during a transformative era for the Indian economy. Working closely with visionaries like Dr. Manmohan Singh, he contributed to the research that underpinned India’s shift toward modernisation while ensuring that "Welfare Economics" remained at the heart of the conversation.

Post his retirement from RBI in 2004, he was keen to go back to the area of his interest, teaching. He therefore joined the Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Management in 2006, which was then a fledgling institute. He took this institution to greater heights during his tenure as the Director of the institution, during which he also guided many of his PhD students. He continued to remain attached to this institution until his last breath. He served as the Director of this college for many years before retiring and wearing the robe of an Adviser to this institution, a position he held until his passing.

He transformed the Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Management (LLIM) in Mumbai. Under his directorship, the institute didn't just grow in size; it grew in "stature and soul," becoming a hub for research-driven management education attaining the A category status from the UGC.  I had the honour to address the large gathering at LLMI during a conference that they organised on the role of IT in management. 

Even as he served with LLMI his  mind  was always with the village that he was born, Hire Bombay. He purchased agricultural lands in this village and invested in building a temple in honour of his father at the village and also invested in many other community development programs and facility in the village including establishing a small village which he equipped with as many resources as possible. I played a small part in this endeavour in identifying science materials in the form of both printed books and materials and digital resources that became a part of this library which now stands modestly in this village.

Perhaps his greatest title was not "Director" or "Doctor," but "Son of the Soil." His commitment to his ancestral village, Hire Bomnal, serves as a blueprint for "giving back." By establishing a library and mentoring generations of students from his extended family and village, he ensured that the light of education he fought so hard to find would never go out for those following in his footsteps.

"He mastered the macro-economics of a nation, but never forgot the micro-needs of a village student."

It was during the times of Covid and thereafter, Dr Angadi started facing medical problems. Couple of years before he had lost his beloved wife, Shanta Angadi, who was a pillar of strength for him and his family. A year later, he also lost his eldest son pramod Angadi, who was staying in Mumbai, separately with his family. That left the devastated Dr VB Angadi shattered and he had to stay all alone in his Andheri Hemal flat. Unfortunately, although he has four children, his younger daughter, Veena Patil, and family stay in England as its citizens and similarly his younger son Basavraj Angadi and family are settled in Australia as Australian citizens. Although my wife and I were posted in Mumbai and were staying in our office quarters in Worli, Mumbai, he was hesitant to stay with us, believing in those age old traditions that he should not stay in his son laws place. When his wife was around, he was managing well staying together. However, post the death of his wife and elder son, he stayed alone and managed with house help and of course distant support from my wife, who used to ensure that he visits us frequently and she too visited him frequently. Staying alone started taking some toll on his health and then Covid came. When there was complete lockdown he had great difficulty during the lockdown period, although my wife tried supporting his with whatever she could manage, asking my office colleague staying in Andheri to support him as far as possible. 

Fortunately, being a Government servant who could travel in office transport during the Covid period in early 2020, I took the first opportunity to shift him from his home in Andheri to our office quarters in April 2020. Ever since he stayed with us until we moved to his flat in Andheri in 2023. 

During the Covid period, he started facing severe problems with his prostate which he had neglected despite Doctors advice. Attending to his medical problem during the peak of Covid was a major issue, my wife with my support, some how managed to take him to Jaslok Hospital for his prostate problem, where after examination, the Doctor - Dr Raina, advised that he must undergo Prostate surgery at the earliest. Unfortunately, he being a diabetic patient, with his higher sugar levels, and hypertension, the operation had to wait till his sugars were stabilised. Fortunately, his operation (July 2020), went off well, however, he developed some complications during post operative care. He had a mild cardiac arrest which resulted in his shifting to the ICU in Jaslok. Fortunately, since he was in hospital, he came out of the cardiac arrest. But then when in ICU, during his cardiac examination the Doctors discovered six major blocks and we were advised that he must immediately undergo bypass surgery. This was a shock for us more so since that was during Covid and the situation was unimaginable. Moreover, he had already faced a major health issue of a cardiac problem post his prosthetic surgery and risking a bypass surgery was a big risk with his diabetic problem and hypertension. Moreover, his son and daughter were abroad. With the advice of my classmate Doctor friends including cardiac doctor, we  decided not to venture the bypass, which according to my Doctor friends was inadvisable then, a period of uncertainty. He was discharged and stayed with us ever since. We consulted other expert heart specialists in KEM, Breach Candy, Jaslok and others and every one was in agreement with us that putting him on surgery is not advised. He enjoyed his stay at our Worli office quarters primarily because it gave him lot of space and time to walk around the lush green campus inside the Nehru Science Centre, and that ambience and an exemplary love and care of my wife for her father improved his health substantially.

post my retirement we moved to even better accommodation in the precincts of CSMVS where I now serve as the Advisor, He thoroughly enjoyed his stay with us there. Unfortunately, due to structural issue with the old building we had to move out of the Museum campus to his flat in Andheri which had remained empty for three years. Notwithstanding his heart ailment and so also his other issues with severe diabetic Co diction and hypertension, under the care and love of my wife, his doting daughter he improved substantially, against the prognosis of what the Doctors in Jaslok and. Reach Candy where he was admitted for his heart ailments in 2023. However, he had to continue us to be on medication and he was admitted on at least four times at the nearby Belluvia Hospital near our residence. His last admission was on 16 February and he was discharged on 19th.

Dr Angadi was passing through period of trials and tribulations for nearly three years with his failing health, the last several months of which had left him immovable warranting support in all his activities, mundane included, which his doting daughter, my wife, who worked more like a mother than a daughter to him, was lovingly performing in his last days taking exemplary care of him. 

On his sudden passing on the early morning of 24 February, no wonder his daughter prevailed in ensuring his wish to be cremated in the village - where he was born - and laid to rest adjacent to his wife in his agriculture fields has been fulfilled notwithstanding operational difficulties which we had face. His last rites was performed at Hire Bomnal,following all the ritual burial practices which go with the cremation of people belonging to the Lingayat community members. Fortunately, his daughter Veena and her husband who reside in England and his Son, who resides in Australia also made it to pay their last respect to their be,over father in the large presence of village elders and many of his friends and relatives and Villagers and people from far of places including Koppal where he has a small house, which he used whenever he went to his native village, which was too frequent until Covid set in. 

On performing his final rites in Hire Bomnal on 26 February, Dr. V.B. Angadi returns to the earth of Hire Bomnal, leaving behind a legacy of brilliance, compassion, and an unshakeable belief that economics is, at its core, the study of human dignity. And that any one irrespective of their family hardship and beginning can raise to the heights that he rose, by sheer hard work and dedication and contribute back to their society. As a Son In law, the husband of his eldest children, and husband of Vidya, Baby to her, all his life, until his last breath,I feel honoured to have played a minor role in his caregiving with my support to my wife who is still in his native place performing and fulfilling  us tons and rituals and wishes of her doting father. I am sure Dr Angadi will miss his baby a lot who took exemplary care of him not as a daughter but more like his own mother,the words which he uttered innumerable times often times at the irritation of his daughter. Even a brief period of absence of his daughter scared him and he would say, come back fast before his passing, often times angering his daughter. She would forget these and any such instances which increased with the onset of Parkinson, which had begin to set in. 

On his passing he leaves a legacy for his village where every one, elders of the village more particularly, looks up to him and recall his contributions to his village which he loved so deeply and it where he now resides in eternal peace and bliss, praying almighty that his land be blessed to produce many many more Angadis. 

Om Shanti Rest in Peace Dr VB Angadi. 

A Mother’s Blessing, a Narrow Escape, and Darwin’s Day – My Salutation to Smt. Gauramma Devendrappa Gurugunti, on her passing.

Early morning on 10 February, 2026 – around 7 AM – I received a call from Sangamnath, my close friend for nearly fifty years, followed by a brief call from Dr Sumana, the wife of our dearest friend Dr Umeshchandra, that her mother in law - mother of our close friend Dr Umeshchandra Gurugunti, is an extended family to our family, Smt. Gouramma Devendrappa Guruganti, passed away peacefully in her sleep, aged nearly 90, at their residence in Kalaburagi at around 4.30 AM.

While paying my profound respect and homage to the noble departed soul - after returning back to Mumbai after travelling two days (10th and 11th Feb) and seeking her blessings and joining our friend Dr Umesh and family in the last rites to the holy departed soul of Smt Gauramma, at Kalaburagi - I feel blessed to write this tribute to share our experience of the divine blessings that we received from Smt Gauramma - mother to us all - in her passing, which saved us during our journey.

That shocking telephonic news of the passing of Dr Umesh’s mother made me momentarily indecisive in my thoughts as to how my wife and I can reach Kalaburagi in time to seek her last blessings and pay our last respect. Fortunately, Sangamnath planned the schedule and had decided that our two families should travel together from Pune to Kalaburagi. I had to reach Pune from Mumbai as early as we could for the onward journey from Pune. Sangamnath was in Mahabaleshwar, and he had to reach Pune, which he hoped he would by 10AM.

Fortunately, I could manage a taxi to travel to Pune, and both my wife and I boarded the taxi with absolutely no preparation whatsoever, to travel to Pune with the aim to reach at the earliest. We left Mumbai at 7.15 AM, hoping to reach Pune as early as possible, knowing well what the peak time traffic jam and travel will be in Pune. We managed to reach Sangamnath’s house only by 10.55 AM, due to heavy traffic congestion in Pune city. And our two families together departed for Kalaburagi in Sangamnath’s car at 11.05 AM. What divine intervention unfolded on that journey from Pune to Kalaburagi is something I feel I must share, to express that not everything that happens can be explained in scientific terms, perhaps each time, every time.

When we left Pune at 11:10 AM on 10 February, Google Map showed an arrival time at Kalaburagi as 7:30 PM. The distance was over 410 kilometres and we were also to pass through Pune city and its traffic congestion. The cremation, we were informed by Arun Shetkar, our friend, who was managing the arrangements, had to take place before sunset — before 6 PM — as per the guidance of the priests.

The arithmetic was unforgiving. Nearly two hours were spent negotiating Pune’s traffic for barely 60 kilometres. At 1.10 PM, we still had about 350 kilometres to cover in less than five hours. It appeared impossible.

Yet Sangamnath, who once headed the Tata Motors plant at Pimpri from where the very Tata Hexa we were travelling in had rolled out, believed in his machine. More importantly, we believed in our purpose — to see our mother-like Gouramma one last time and seek her blessings before her final journey. Both our wives, despite health constraints mandating them to take breakfast, resolved that we must make every effort to reach Kalaburagi in time to seek the blessings and last Darshan of Umesh’s mother.

Arun kept cautioning us to drive safely. He even offered to arrange a video darshan if we could not make it in time — which, rationally speaking, seemed the only likely option possible. But something remarkable happened. As we advanced on the highway, the expected time of arrival that Google started showing kept shrinking, gradually. Sangamnath had thrown caution to the winds while he drew the Tata Hexa at speed, we would never ever imagine. What seemed impossible began to appear faintly possible with the man and machine collaborating to make this possible. Sangamnath had only one instruction for me: “Tell Arun to wait for us till the last second before sunset.” The distance kept shrinking and so did the expected time to reach the spot of funeral, before the sun set.

Then came the moment that would have changed everything for something terrible, but due to divine intervention - Smt Guaramma’s blessings – it did not.

Just about 15 kilometres short of Kalaburagi and the site of funeral, at nearly 90 kmph speed at which Sangamnath was driving the car, the rear wheel briefly slipped off the tarred edge of the single road on the sharp turning, onto loose, slippery ground near a trench nearly four metres deep on both sides of the road. For a fraction of a second, disaster seemed certain and inevitable. A fall into the trench or a collision with an oncoming vehicle on that narrow two-way road would have been catastrophic.

What followed was extraordinary presence of mind, perhaps Gauramma’s blessed mind at that moment. With remarkable control, Sangamnath steered and braked in a way that the vehicle spun almost 360 degrees and came to rest — without toppling, without collision, without a scratch, and with no vehicle approaching from the opposite side at that exact moment.

We were inches away from a certain tragedy, an accident, which was averted, with not just the man machine collaboration but definitely with divine intent, the blessings of our motherlike figure, Gauramma. We were safe!

In that instant, my so-called rational thinking dissolved. As a science communicator with four plus decades of experience, I have always stood firmly by reason, probability, and evidence. I do not consider myself a spiritual person in the conventional sense. And yet, sitting there in that halted car, heart pounding, one thought overwhelmed us all: We have been spared, by divine intervention.

Spared so that we may reach in time to seek Mother Gauramma’s blessings, one last time

Spared so that we may see our departed mother like figures face.

We saw our mother Gouramma one last time. We bowed. We sought her blessings and finally all of us together completed the final rites of her cremation just in time, before the scheduled sun set.

Was it Sangamnath’s skill that helped us reach safely and in time? Certainly. Was it mechanical reliability? Undoubtedly. Was it coincidence? Perhaps.

In that spinning moment of split-second accident which had positioned us between trench and survival, notwithstanding my four decades of professional experience as a science communicator, I could not help but feel that perhaps God does play dice – and that day, the throw was mercifully blessed by Guaramma.

In the deepest chamber of my heart, which I now believe, I feel it was something beyond all the skills and expertise of Sangmanth’s driving skill or the robustness of the Tata Hexa we were travelling in, it was purely the grace of our motherlike figure, Gauramma and her divine blessings which saved us all from a certain accident and a disastrous consequence which would have followed that helped us to navigate such long distance, without any break to reach the site safe and sound to seek her blessings, one last time.

After paying our last respect we stayed back in Arun’s place and left Kalaburagi to travel back to our respective destinies after reminiscing the motherly love and affection of Gauramma in Dr Umesh’s house with all the family members, her three children, Dr Umesh and his two elder sisters, her daughter and son in law, her grandchildren, her great grandchild.

Sangamnath and I left Kalaburagi next day morning – 11 February – and travelled back to Pune and reached Pune safely at 6.40 PM. After a brief wash and change at his home and hurried dinner, which Mrs Rajalaxmi, Digge had prepared for us, my wife and I took a taxi back home to Mumbai and reached our place at midnight.

This morning 12 February, as I recollected all those events which had passed my mind the previous days, and was thinking what written homage I must pay to the noble departed soul of our mother-like figure, Gauramma, thoughts that came my mind have led to this write up.

As has always been a habit for me to express my thoughts in writing, I also realised that today, 12 February, is the birth anniversary of Charles Darwin — the great naturalist who transformed our understanding of life through the power of natural selection. A thinker who replaced supernatural explanations with scientific reasoning.

To honour the passing of Smt Gauramma Devendrappa Gurugunti, I have also written a blog post of tribute to Darwin on his birth anniversary, reflecting on his legacy, whose link is given below. This post is dedicated to the noble departed Nobel soul of Gouramma.

https://khened.blogspot.com/2026/02/remembering-charles-darwin-on-his-217th.html

For even as Darwin taught us the laws of nature, life occasionally humbles us with experiences that remind us how little we truly comprehend about timing, chance, survival, and grace.

If science teaches us probability, life teaches us gratitude.

Perhaps one need not abandon reason to acknowledge wonder.

Perhaps faith and science are not adversaries but different languages through which we attempt to interpret the same vast mystery.

On Darwin’s birth anniversary, I bow to science.

And in the memory of Gouramma — who loved us all like her own children — we bow to her grace and blessings.

Om Shanti.

 

Remembering Charles Darwin, on His 217th Birth Anniversary - 12 February 2026

 

Remembering Charles Darwin, on His 217th Birth Anniversary - As a Tribute to Smt. Gauramma Devendrappa Gurugunti - a motherly figure, who passed away on 10 February, 2026

On February 12, 1809, in the town of Shrewsbury, England, a child was born who would eventually challenge the very foundations of how we perceive life on Earth. Today, as we celebrate the birth anniversary of Charles Robert Darwin, we reflect on a man whose life was a testament to curiosity, resilience, and the courage to be wrong.

Darwin’s path to becoming a legendary naturalist, which we know today, was anything but a straight line. Born into a wealthy and intellectual family—his father, Robert Darwin, was a successful physician, and his grandfather was the famed Erasmus Darwin, was one of the leading intellectuals of eighteenth-century England, a man with a remarkable array of interests and pursuit, a respected physician, a well-known poet, philosopher, botanist, and naturalist -  young Charles was therefore, under immense pressure to follow the family tradition. However, that was not to be.

At 16, Charles Darwin went to Edinburgh University to study medicine. However, the lectures did not appeal to him, and he found the subject dull and, more importantly, Charles Darwin could not bear the sight of blood or the “brutality of surgery” in the pre-anaesthesia era. His father soon realised that medicine was not cut out for his son and therefore he was shifted from medicine and admitted to Christ’s College, Cambridge, to study theology. Although Darwin did not find theology and prospectus to becoming a clergyman appealing, yet the ambience of Cambridge appealed to him. Cambridge exposed him to a network of scientists, including Professor John Stevens Henslow, a botanist who saw in Darwin a "naturalist in the making." This was the Turing point in his career.

 The defining moment of Darwin's life occurred on December 27, 1831. It is a date I hold dear for personal reasons—it is my wife’s birthday—and it serves as a reminder of how one day can signal the start of an epoch-making journey. Darwin joined the HMS Beagle as a self-funded naturalist. For five long years, under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy, the Beagle surveyed the coasts of South America. While the crew mapped the shores, Darwin mapped the history of life. He went beyond his calling and duty, assigned to him. He didn't just collect finches; he documented what would later turn out to be an important piece of evidence of evolution. 

Darwin found fossils of extinct giant armadillos (Glyptodon) that looked remarkably like smaller, living versions. He saw how species on the Galápagos Islands differed slightly from island to island, yet shared a common "ancestral" look. This was the birth of Natural Selection, which was later to become a monumental publication that would eternally etch the name of. Harley Darwin in the annals of scientific history, his publication of his findings, “On the Origin of Species, by Means of Natural Selection”.

It took Darwin over 20 years to publish his findings. It must be seen here that the times in which he was living was not conducive to his understanding of the origin of species which in a way went against the clergies, and the powerful Church. Fearing the social and religious backlash, he meticulously gathered evidence until 1859, when he finally released On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

The book's premise was revolutionary yet simple: individuals with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. Over generations, these traits accumulate, leading to the formation of new species. Today even as we remember Darwin for his monumental publication on the origin of species, we must also remember that he too could go, wrong like any one of us, the humans, who are known to err - to err is human.

As much as we revere Darwin, he was—like all of us—fallible and could commit mistakes. He not only committed a mistake; he blundered in his understanding of traits of inheritance. This statement of Darwins blunder is best highlighted in Mario Livio’s book, Brilliant Blunders. This is very important for us, Indians, more so as we inch towards exam times and the fear of failures and going wrong has most unfortunately, resulted in precious loss of lives of young lives due to societal pressure to always succeed and not fail. 

Darwin’s greatest struggle was explaining how traits were passed from parent to offspring. He relied on his flawed understanding of how inheritance happened which he called "Blended Inheritance."  Darwin assumed that the "essence" of two parents mixed like liquids (e.g., a tall parent and a short parent produce a medium-height child). Inheritance was not as easy as Darwin thought it to be. If inheritance worked like mixing paint, any new, trait would be diluted and disappear into the population within a few generations. Natural selection would have no "permanent" material to work with.

Unbeknownst to Darwin, a contemporary named Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian monk, who born in to penury, was solving this exact problem in his monastery garden. Mendel’s experiments with pea plants proved that inheritance is particulate. Traits do not blend; they are passed as discrete "units" (genes). A trait can be hidden in one generation and reappear in the next, perfectly preserved. This was the missing piece of Darwin's puzzle. Darwin had Mendel’s work sent to him, but Mendel’s works remained in his library, the pages reportedly unread.

Darwin’s life teaches us that science is not a collection of absolute truths, but a process of constant refinement. Even his "blunder" regarding inheritance doesn't diminish his greatness; it underscores the reality that progress requires us to build upon the works—and the mistakes—of those who came before - standing on the shoulders of the giants, as the great Newton put it. 

Today, as my wife and I are back in Mumbai, late last night, after attending to the funeral of Gauramma, Devendrappa, Guragunti, who passed away peacefully in her sleep, aged nearly 90 on 10 February, the divinely mother of my dearest friend Dr Umeshchandra, I am reminded that life and death are a part and parcel of the biological law, and we are all part of this "endless forms most beautiful," as Darwin so eloquently put it. 

This piece of tribute to Darwin is therefore my reverence to the passing of the noble soul, Gauramma Guragunti, who was not just the mother of my friend Dr. Umesh, and two of her other siblings and mother-in-law to her sibling’s better half’s and so also brand mother and great grandmother to many of her children’s children, she was also mother to many of us, Umesh’s friends. More importantly to me, Gauramma reminded me of my mother, who unfortunately had passed away when I was just 10 months old, and made me experience what mothers love is all about ever since I first met her in 1977 and ever thereafter, until my last meeting just a month ago, 8 January 2026 when she was frail, yet I could see the same love and affection. When my wife sought her blessings, she blessed her and, as always, reminded her to take good care of me, her dear Shivu, for all times. May you rest in eternal peace, my dear mother, and may you continue to bless us all. 

Om Shanti.

To you, Charles Darwin, thank you for teaching us how to look at the world with wonder and yet reminding us of the mistakes which we are bound to make in our lives, that we must not be afraid of, and to take life and death as part and parcel of the dice that “God plays”.

While commemorating the anniversary of Darwin's publication, I had penned a blog where I chronicle the history, in brief, of the historic occasion of commemoration of the 165th anniversary of Darwin's monumental publication.

https://khened.blogspot.com/2024/11/165th-anniversary-of-charles-darwins.html

Image courtesy: Wikipedia.

 

 

Indo – US Trade Deal: Data, Narrative, and Public Discourse

India’s public discourse today is marked by a degree of political and social polarisation unprecedented in recent decades. In such a charged environment, every announcement made by an interested party—particularly when supported by selective data or anecdotal references—demands careful scrutiny. Yet increasingly, information is received not with curiosity or scepticism, but through rigid filters of ideological alignment.

What is most troubling in this moment is not disagreement itself, which is intrinsic to democracy, but the manner in which data and statistics are deployed. Instruments once meant to illuminate complex realities are now routinely used to reinforce pre-existing beliefs. Data, which should function like streetlights—casting light to dispel darkness—has instead become a convenient pole on which narratives are propped up.

This tendency is evidenced in recent developments: the Indo-US Trade deal and the social media post by US President, Donald Trump, referring to the trade deal; the release of the Economic Survey, Union Budget; and the sharply polarised responses to these events. Each episode has generated competing interpretations, often based on selective reading rather than comprehensive understanding.

Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform offers a clear illustration. Within hours of his limited public statement on the Indo – US trade deal and also the Tweet by PM Modi, acknowledging the Indo-US trade deal, opposing camps in India quickly constructed definitive conclusions. Critics of Prime Minister Modi portrayed the Indo-US Trade deal development as a diplomatic capitulation, while supporters claimed it reflected quiet strategic success, arguing that India’s steadfast position had compelled concessions from the United States. The same fragment of information produced contradictory narratives, each presented with absolute certainty.

A similar fate awaited the Union Budget and the Economic Survey, which preceded it. Intended as a diagnostic document outlining the economy’s performance, structural challenges, and medium-term prospects, the Economic Survey was swiftly mined for convenient excerpts. Optimistic growth projections were highlighted by some as conclusive evidence of economic strength; cautionary observations on employment, consumption, and inequality were emphasised by others as proof of systemic failure. In the process, the Survey’s own caveats, assumptions, and analytical limitations were largely ignored.

The Union Budget too was subjected to the same treatment. Within hours of its presentation, it was declared either visionary or disappointing, inclusive or exclusionary. Selective data and numbers—tax provisions, capital expenditure outlays, welfare allocations, fiscal deficit targets—were lifted from their broader context and pressed into the service of rival political narratives. Once again, the same data points were used to arrive at entirely opposite conclusions.

What stands out is that each side claims fidelity to “facts” and “data”. Yet the outcomes could not be more divergent.

This is hardly a new phenomenon. Indian civilisation itself offers a cautionary tale in the Mahabharata. Yudhisthira, known for his unwavering commitment to truth, announces the death of Ashvatthama, adding quietly the word “kunjarah” (the elephant). Dronacharya, hearing only what aligns with his fear, lays down his arms and is killed. The statement was technically true, yet truth itself was distorted through selective emphasis and omission. The episode reminds us that truth can be undermined not only by falsehood, but by partial disclosure.

One illustrative example - during the cold war times - is frequently used to demonstrate how narratives were constructed by the two warring sides, United States and the Soviet Union. In an imaginary international sporting contest, the US announces that it won Gold, pushing the USSR to last place, while the Soviet Union declares that it won silver, relegating US to second-last position. Both claims are technically correct, yet profoundly misleading. What is left unstated was that there were only two teams in the contest.

Such narrative constructions remain deeply embedded in current times in public discourse. Whether it is a Trump post, Economic Survey, or the Union Budget, selective emphasis is used to manufacture certainty and moral clarity where none truly exists. Social media platforms, designed to reward immediacy and emotional engagement, amplify this tendency, encouraging citizens to retreat into ideological echo chambers.

As someone long engaged in science communication, I find this trend deeply concerning. Science instils a fundamental discipline: anecdotal data does not constitute evidence; isolated observations do not establish causation; and interpretation without context is inherently incomplete. Science and rationality warrant that data must be interrogated, its assumptions examined, and its limitations acknowledged before conclusions are drawn.

Public discourse today increasingly departs from these principles. Data is often treated as a verdict rather than a signal, as proof rather than a prompt for further inquiry. Economic indicators are presented as definitive judgments instead of partial snapshots. Nuance is dismissed as equivocation, and uncertainty is portrayed as weakness.

Economic Surveys are diagnostic tools, not report cards. Budgets represent complex trade-offs shaped by fiscal constraints, global conditions, and competing social priorities. Trade negotiations unfold over time and rarely conform to the dramatic narratives of instant victory or defeat that dominate social media. Yet these realities are flattened in the rush to claim validation or assign blame.

The deeper danger lies not in disagreement but in the erosion of public reason. When citizens consume news primarily to confirm their beliefs rather than to challenge them, democratic debate is impoverished. When data is used selectively to legitimise predetermined conclusions, trust in institutions and expertise gradually weakens.

Scientific temper, enshrined in the Constitution of India, must extend well beyond laboratories and classrooms. It must equally apply to how we read economic surveys, interpret budgets, and respond to political claims. Scientific temper requires skepticism without cynicism, openness without gullibility, and a willingness to hold competing possibilities in mind.

Data must serve as a streetlight, illuminating complexity rather than obscuring it. When it is reduced to a pole supporting narratives we already believe, it ceases to serve the public interest.

Democracies rarely erode through sudden collapse. More often, they weaken gradually, as truth becomes fragmented and citizens retreat into separate interpretive worlds, each convinced of its own completeness.

In such times, the most responsible civic act may be the simplest: to pause, read carefully, ask what is missing, and think rationally—before choosing what, and whom, to believe.