After playing host to two prestigious events— the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and the World Telugu Conference—the ‘city of pearls’ failed to welcome the most important science gathering in the country. The 105th edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) was to be held at the Osmania University, Hyderabad from January 3 to 7; but the annual event has been postponed indefinitely due to security reasons. The ISC was to coincide with the centenary celebrations of the university.
According to a scrolling on the ISC website, the vice chancellor of Osmania University had conveyed that they are not in a position to conduct the event. Soon after this, the state government and the vice chancellor of the university came under severe criticism for not allowing the ISC to come to the city after 20 years.
The university, which was the epicentre of statehood for Telangana protests, has been restive.
Earlier this month, a student committed suicide following which fresh protests rocked the university. Student groups blamed the government and its inability to address unemployment as the cause of the suicide. The situation inside the campus turned tense after police barged into the hostel rooms and thrashed the students. The video clips of the incident went viral leading to civil society members condemning the attack on the students.
The decision to postpone the ISC comes in the backdrop of the existing conditions at the university.
Facing the heat from various quarters, the vice chancellor of the university, S. Ramachandram clarified that it was not his decision alone that led to the postponement.
“I am very disappointed with the development,” he said. “It was a combined decision taken by the state government, university and even the organising committee of the ISC. Based on the security inputs, it was decided that the ISC should be postponed. “
He said the university did not incur much loss due to the postponement in the last moment.
“We upgraded our infrastructure and equipment for the Congress. This is not a waste expenditure as it will be useful for the students,” he said.
More than 15,000 scientists, researchers and scholars from across the globe were expected to attend the event. The theme of the conference is ‘Reaching the Unreached Through Science and Technology'.
Not just the local scientists, but even students of the university have expressed their disappointment over postponement. The OU management held talks with student groups requesting them to maintain restraint. The new date and venue of the ISC will be decided on December 27 at a meeting to be held at Indian Science Congress Association centre in Kolkata.
