‘Devas’tating Denouement

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Behind the veil of secrecy that obfuscates the Indian government’s unprecedented action against a celebrated space scientist, Gopalan Madhavan Nair, and his former colleagues, are a plethora of questions that beg answers. The main question is this: Is there a scam at all in the allotment of satellite transponder capacity — not spectrum, as is being commonly misinterpreted and misunderstood to equate it to the 2G telecom scam — by ISRO’s commercial arm, Antrix Corporation, to a private company, Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd? Or, are Dr Nair and the others being hung out to dry in a hurry over a perfectly legitimate affair, admittedly suffering from procedural lapses, because the UPA-II, already reeling under a series of scams, does not want to be hit by allegations of inaction on yet another one?

At least one of the two committees that probed the contract has reportedly pointed to ‘procedural lapses’, albeit no loss to the government. This report, along with that of the latest probe team, which also had Isro Chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan as one of its members, are now ‘secret’
documents, with ISRO turning down every request -- even those from RTI activists -- for access to them.
Worse, the Department of Space (DoS) has not told these scientists where they erred, but painted them black in a first-of-its-kind step by the five-decade-old organisation. Dr Nair and the others are distraught that they were tried in much haste, and not even given a chance to face the committee headed by former CVC Pratyush Sinha to explain the Devas deal.
Ironically, an ex-officio member secretary of the probe panel itself, Dr Raghunandan Nadadur, who was additional secretary, DoS, quit the civil services when he found that he was also being held responsible for wrongdoing. The government, however, has maintained silence about a senior bureaucrat based in New Delhi, evidently wary of his connections with the first family of UPA ally, DMK.
While the former Isro chairman plans to move court, former executive director of Antrix K.R. Sridhar Murthi, who has also been blacklisted, is devastated. “Insinuations are being hurled at us without anyone making an effort to understand the basic difference between space-based S-band Spectrum and Terrestrial Spectrum — or the fact that Antrix had allotted transponders in a similar manner to other customers as well in the past.
It’s traumatic for me, I spent several years trying to increase the revenues
for Antrix by signing on more customers.”
Even as these space scientists bemoan their misfortune, there are indications of an impending political storm over the Antrix-Devas contract.
The government is certain to face the heat from within and outside. While DMK leaders have been waiting for an opportunity to settle scores with the Congress over the 2G telecom scam, in which former minister Raja and DMK leader M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi had to go to jail, the BJP is likely to target the PMO soon after Assembly elections in five states. Many also dread that documents available with the said Delhi-based bureaucrat, who is well connected to the Karunanidhi family, could spell more trouble for the PMO.
For Indian space scientists, the latest row has revived unpleasant memories of the damage wrought to the space programme and their morale by the “spy scandal” that erupted in 1995 following the arrest of Maldivian women Mariam Rasheeda and Fawzia Hussain and Isro scientists Nambi Narayanan and Sasikumaran. It took a couple of years for the CBI, IB and other agencies to realise that it was just a case of much ado about nothing — the women had merely overstayed their visas, but there were no honeytraps or salacious tangles with the scientists. The episode muddied the reputation of top space scientists at a time when Isro was on the verge of achieving self-reliance in launching one-ton satellites with the PSLV.
In 2009, when the row over the Antrix-Devas deal first made headlines, Isro was basking in worldwide acclaim for the Chandrayaan-I mission and was on the threshold of crossing another milestone with an indigenous cryo-engine powered GSLV. The controversy took many twists and turns, culminating in the harsh action against Dr Nair and his colleagues, a move that has demoralised scientists and engineers in Isro.
“It’s impossible for us to work on ambitious projects like launching an Indian into space. And with such punitive action over contracts, it will be difficult to sign up new customers for our launch vehicles or offer to build and launch satellites for them,” said a senior scientist.
So, what, or rather who, triggered such a furor over this contract?
Space scientists suspect the hand of the powerful cartel of terrestrial telecom firms in making the Devas deal a controversial one. In fact, some of them did initially write to Dr Nair before he stepped down as Isro chairman in November 2009, asking him to reconsider the Antrix-Devas contract. As soon as he left, Isro scientists allege, they managed to spark trouble for the organisation and the man who led it during its halcyon days.
Dr Nair vows that he did no wrong (see interview) and that his successor, K.
Radhakrishnan, chose to speak “half-truths” though he was aware of all details of the contract. For reasons best known to him, Dr Radhakrishnan has decided to keep mum.
But it’s the deafening silence of the likes of renowned space scientists like Prof M.G.K. Menon, Prof U.R. Rao and Dr K. Kasturirangan, which adds to the mystery surrounding the whole controversy. They know the truth - whether their former colleagues erred while inking the pact with Devas or have been pronounced persona non-grata for no fault of theirs.
With the truth at stake, and reputations, the country’s shining jewel — Isro — could well lose its glow and turn into another non-performing public sector enterprise. And the scientific community, already seething with rage at the manner in which Dr Nair and others were blacklisted, could give up pursuit of cutting-edge technologies. That’s the big worry now.