George Gamow was one of the brightest young physicists of Soviet Russia. However, in 1933, he moved to the West, suffocated by the growing conflict with political authority. He was already in touch with other gifted physicists of his generation and became apprehensive of his own future if he remained in Russia. He was also excited to experience the extraordinary possibilities of research and freedom in the West and was attracted by the scientific ferment in centres such as Göttingen, Cambridge and Leiden, where researchers exchanged ideas, collaborated across borders and participated in the rapidly advancing frontiers of modern physics.
Gamow’s story highlights the fact that scientists do not leave jobs but ecosystems. Today, a nearly century later, India faces a different kind of migration by its scientists. Reports of around 100 scientists and engineers leaving the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in recent months jolted the nation, with many forced to ask, how such a thing could happen in the largest democracies of the world and nation that honours and elevates its scientists to even become President of the country. Although ISRO scientists did not face any Soviet-style repression, it is important to find out why ISRO is facing such huge talent exodus.
Economic Pull
Earlier there were only a few organisations that worked in the field of space research. Besides the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and ISRO, there were the Department of Atomic Energy, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Physical Research Laboratory and a select few public-sector enterprises. After 2020, the government opened up the space sector to private players.
According to a report by Reuters, “Investors poured $119 million into Indian space start-ups in 2022, up from a total of just $38 million in all the years up to 2017. They see a less-costly alternative to European launchers that are grounded or under development, as well as access to a bustling manufacturing hub, analysts say”. Naturally, privatisation brought competition to ISRO when it came to hiring talent as well as poaching experienced scientists from these public enterprises.
In an interview with a TV channel, former ISRO Chairman, G. Madhavan Nair said, “Some private ventures are trying to enter the sector and build organisations that virtually replicate what ISRO has been doing. These companies cannot suddenly obtain the human resources required for such activities. They need people from the only two available sources – ISRO or DRDO. What they are doing is totally unethical. From what I understand, they are paying three to five times higher salaries and trying to attract these people. Money is certainly an attraction for young people, and this will distort the system.”
Babu Raj
Contrary to claims of good governance at all levels, it is undeniable that even such premier organisations such as ISRO are plagued with bureaucratic and political interference. Scientists have to increasingly work inside rigid administrative structures. Decision-making is slow, hierarchy dominates and innovation suffers.
According to Nair, “I think there has been an impression that, of late, ISRO has been bureaucratised more and more. Unnecessary and unwanted interference from some quarters is really worrying. The first and foremost is the autonomy of the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Space Commission; the unity of command has to be restored. This has been distorted some time back by creating extra centres like IN-SPACe and, to some extent, the new organisation, NewSpace India Limited, which do not have a proper linkage.
“Previously, the Chairman and Secretary were answerable for all space-related activities, so that arrangement has to be restored. The Space Commission has to be given full powers. It is the Space Commission that has to take decisions on technical, financial, and managerial issues – not some officer sitting in the government offices in Delhi.”
Working Abroad
A 2021 parliamentary report stated that approximately 6.08 lakh Indians renounced Indian citizenship between 2017 and 2021. The main destination countries included the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In the same period, only 4,177 people were granted Indian citizenship. The reasons behind this brain-drain are many and multi-faceted. The developed countries offer higher income and perks. The overall working environment is more professional and there is appreciation and quick promotion for excellence and good performance. Thus, in the West it is meritocracy that matters and not sycophancy and “buttering your bosses”.
Another major factor for this flight of talent is the lack of dignity in the work spaces here. Racism, casteism, Islamophobia, misogyny and classist behaviour are part and parcel of the work environment in our country. Above all this, many talented professionals want to secure the future of their children by enrolling them in foreign universities. The best way to that is to migrate to the West when you are at the top of your game and in “demand” in the job market. Almost all these factors are equally applicable to the space scientists leaving India for greener pastures abroad.
Hollow Nationalism
The political narrative built in this country revolves around nationalism and patriotism. Certain religious communities are branded as ‘anti-national’ and they are deemed to be less patriotic. Anybody who questions and criticises government policies is deemed a foreign agent and deserving prolonged incarceration under draconian laws without trial.
Quitting jobs that are directly in the field of the nation maintaining strategic and tactical supremacy in the field of space, defence and armaments – definitely raises the question about the nationalistic credentials of these scientists and professionals. However, questioning their patriotism would damage the narrative that villainises certain religious groups and glorifies a certain caste and political class. Nevertheless, the ISRO talent exodus is a serious challenge to claims of our country being a vishwaguru and being in amrit kaal. After all space is the final frontier, one that we can ill afford to lose.