O Chairman! My Chairman!
You could tweak Walt Whitman's stirring lament a little and encapsulate why the passing away of Dr K Kasturirangan makes this a truly sad Friday for me. The former chairman of ISRO was more than a friend. There was a saying within ISRO that Dr Kasturirangan was a person with golden fingers. We have lost that golden touch and much more.
The first time I met Dr Kasturirangan was at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, in 1967, immediately after I joined the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station. He was a research scholar at the Physical Research Laboratory then, and we were staying together at a hostel there for several weeks. That was how our association began.
When he took over as chairman of ISRO in 1994 after UR Rao's departure, I served under him for all the nine years of his tenure. This was in various capacities -- as Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, as Project Director for PSLV, etc. We were therefore intimately connected professionally, and the mutual discussions and interactions I had with him were highly beneficial.
He rose to the helm of ISRO just after the failure of the first Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in 1993. It was a herculean task to recover from that and ensure a successful mission as quickly as possible. But then again this was Dr Kasturirangan we are talking about.
Under his leadership, in 1994 itself, we were able to achieve the first successful launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. And since then, we have never had to look back. Almost all the PSLV launches were successful.
Whatever he touched was a success. After completing his PhD, he initially joined the ISRO Satellite Centre at Bangalore, working on projects like Aryabhata, our first-ever satellite, and Bhaskara.
Later, he was a key figure in developing the first Indian Remote Sensing satellite, IRS-1A, which was launched from Russia. Eventually, this IRS series was launched, using PSLV. There were dozens of successful missions, both launch vehicle and satellites, during the nine years under his leadership.
As a leader, he focused on motivating team members, and providing the right kind of technical guidance. This led to success after success. That is how he came to be known as the chairman with golden fingers.
In earlier stages, during Satish Dhawan's time, it was more about infrastructure building and technology initiation. During UR Rao's time, it was the ordeal of technology development and demonstration.
Without any foreign help, developing sophisticated technologies for launch vehicles or satellites was a huge challenge. During this process, we encountered a few failures. But ISRO had developed the habit of learning from these failures and correcting mistakes to avoid repetition. This culture really helped us.
Looking back, the foundation built by Professor Dhawan and Professor Rao was crucial in building the future development course of ISRO. Dr Kasturirangan truly benefited from this legacy.
Remarkable handling of the infamous spy case
He was heading the organisation when the infamous spy case broke out in 1994. The way he handled the situation was remarkable. Without getting into the limelight, he silently managed the situation.
First, he ensured that there was no leakage of any technical information from ISRO to outside agencies. Then he worked with the Prime Minister at the time, Narasimha Rao, and brought in the CBI to look into all aspects and quash the false allegations raised against ISRO scientists. Not only that, he ensured there was no demoralisation in the organisation, which can often happen during such crises. As a result, the third PSLV launch was made within a year, after the so-called spy scandal.
He also played a major role in the management of the cryogenic contract with Russia. Initially, it was supposed to involve technology transfer but due to the geopolitical situation and the breakup of the Soviet Union, it was denied.
This led to the responsibility of developing cryogenic technology in the country falling upon ISRO. Under his leadership, ISRO took the initiative of establishing various test facilities for it and developed the first indigenous cryogenic engine.
Gentle giant who believed in science helping the common man
One of his significant contributions was the application of satellite technology for the benefit of the common man.
Earth observation satellite data was widely used for agriculture, forestry, water resources management, fisheries development, and assessing damage during severe events like cyclones or heavy rainfall. This helped the nation implement several practical projects providing advance warnings about weather events, managing water resources, and even forecasting agricultural yields, using remote sensing. He believed in using satellite technology for development and implemented many programmes, in cooperation with various central and state government departments.
As a person, he was very gentle, soft-spoken, and analytical. In case of an issue, he would go through it himself in fine detail to ensure no mistakes were made at the design or implementation stages.
When it came to fund utilisation, he was extremely careful and made sure there was no wasteful expenditure in the organisation. He was always there with the working teams at ISRO's various labs across the country, motivating people, listening to their problems, ensuring relief for those in need, and encouraging those who were sometimes depressed by failures during the developmental stages.
Post-ISRO years: Big NEP contribution and Western Ghats
After leaving ISRO, he played a significant role in the Planning Commission as a member, and also served one term as a Member of the Rajya Sabha.
After his tenure as a parliamentarian, Dr Kasturirangan played a very major role in giving future direction to the education system in the country, as the chairman of the NEP commission. This report is now being taken up by the Centre for implementation. It stresses the need for identifying talents at a young age itself and laying focus on developing the talents of each individual, as per their abilities. It also provides a flexible scheme for continuing higher education so that the financial burden of higher education can be managed effectively. This is a unique scheme and it's going to revolutionize the entire education system in the country.
As far as Kerala is concerned, what is still remembered is the Western Ghats Environmental Impact Assessment Report. Earlier, Dr Gadgil had submitted a detailed assessment about the resources in the Western Ghats and how they had to be protected. But there were many practical issues. Dr Kasturirangan carefully analysed the situation using satellite images, interacted with various stakeholders and brought out the Kasturirangan Report, parts of which have been implemented to safeguard our prestigious natural resources in the Western Ghats.
He was a great scientist, a highly practical individual, a social scientist and above all, a very fine human being. It is a great loss for the nation.
(The author is former Chairman, ISRO)