m →False espionage charges: Fixed typo
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{{Short description|Indian |
{{Short description|Indian rocket scientist (born 1941)}} |
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{{Use Indian English|date=January 2018}} |
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2018}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} |
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} |
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{{Infobox person |
{{Infobox person |
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| name = |
| name = Nambi Narayanan |
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| image = Nambi Narayanan.jpg |
| image = Nambi Narayanan.jpg |
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| caption = Narayanan in 2017 |
| caption = Narayanan in 2017 |
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Nambi Narayanan(born 12 December 1941)<ref name="ReadyToFire">{{cite book |last1=Narayanan |first1=Nambi |last2=Ram |first2=Arun |title=Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9789386826275 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ks1SDwAAQBAJ |access-date=31 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref> is an Indian [[Aerospace science|aerospace scientist]] who worked for the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] (ISRO) |
'''Nambi Narayanan''' (born 12 December 1941)<ref name="ReadyToFire">{{cite book |last1=Narayanan |first1=Nambi |last2=Ram |first2=Arun |title=Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9789386826275 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ks1SDwAAQBAJ |access-date=31 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref> is an Indian [[Aerospace science|aerospace scientist]] who worked for the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] (ISRO). As a senior official at the ISRO, he was briefly in charge of the [[cryogenics]] division.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-08-06 |title=Nambi Narayanan sees U.S. hand in ISRO spy case |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/former-scientist-sees-us-hand-in-isro-spy-case/article35771034.ece |access-date=2022-03-22 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]], India's third-highest civilian award, in March 2019.<ref name="GoI2">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb_z0jFpQKk |title=President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Shri S. Nambi Narayanan |date=16 March 2019 |language=English |publisher=Government of India |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref> |
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In 1994, he was arrested on [[Trumped up charge|trumped up]] charges of [[espionage |
In 1994, he was arrested on [[Trumped up charge|trumped up]] charges of [[espionage]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/reel/900365/rocketry-the-nambi-effect-teaser-madhavan-presents-scientist-nambi-narayans-story|title='Rocketry – The Nambi Effect' teaser: Madhavan presents scientist Nambi Narayanan's story|author=Scroll Staff|website=Scroll.in}}</ref> The charges against him were found to be baseless by the [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI) in April 1996.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/isro-spy-case-the-scientist-who-came-in-from-the-cold/articleshow/64616516.cms|title=Isro spy case: The scientist who came in from the cold|last=Aravind|first=Indulekha|date=2018-06-17|work=The Economic Times|access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref> As a result, the [[Supreme Court of India]] dismissed all charges against him and prohibited the [[Government of Kerala]] from continuing its investigation.<ref name="Nileena-Caravan"/> In 2018, a Supreme Court bench headed by then [[Chief Justice of India|Chief Justice]] [[Dipak Misra]], awarded Narayanan compensation of {{INRConvert|50|l|year=2018}}. Additionally, the Government of Kerala then awarded him further compensation to the tune of {{INR convert|1.3|c|year=2018}} in 2019.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/isro-scientist-implicated-in-fake-spy-case-to-get-rs-1-3-crore-from-kerala-govt-1631928-2019-12-27|title=Isro scientist Nambi Narayanan implicated in fake spy case to get Rs 1.3 crore from Kerala govt|agency=Press Trust of India |date=December 27, 2019 |magazine=India Today|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/nambi-narayanan-to-get-13-crore/article30405362.ece|title=Former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan to get ₹1.3 crore|date=2019-12-26|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-12-27|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The film ''[[Rocketry: The Nambi Effect]]'', based on his life, starring and directed by [[R. Madhavan]], was released in July 2022. |
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== Early and personal life == |
== Early and personal life == |
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Nambi Narayanan was born on 12 December 1941 in the house of [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[ |
Nambi Narayanan was born on 12 December 1941 in the house of [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[Hindu]] parents<ref>{{cite news |title= 'Is It Sin To Be Hindu?', Nambi Narayanan Responds To Criticism Over His Religion In The Movie 'Rocketry' |url=https://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/nambi-narayanan-criticism-hindu-rocketry-nambi-effect-575085.html}}</ref> in [[Nagercoil]], in the erstwhile [[Princely state]] of [[Travancore]] (present-day [[Kanyakumari District]]). He completed his schooling at Higher Secondary School, Nagercoil.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/memories-of-a-spy-who-won-framed-scientist-vindicated-on-milestone-eve/cid/379297|title=Memories of a 'spy' who won - Framed scientist vindicated on milestone-eve|website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://taazakhabarnews.com/how-was-nambi-narayanan-framed-in-a-fake-spy-case/|title=How Nambi Narayanan was framed in a fake Spy Case?|date=17 September 2018|website=Taazakhabar News}}</ref> He received a [[Bachelor of Technology]] in [[Mechanical Engineering]] from [[Thiagarajar College of Engineering|Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai]].<ref name="TH">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=9 December 2014|title=After 5 decades, TCE students come together for a reunion|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/after-5-decades-tce-students-come-together-for-a-reunion/article6675198.ece|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> Narayanan lost his father while pursuing his degree in [[Madurai]], with his mother falling sick soon after. He had two sisters. Nambi married Meena Narayanan and has two children. Their son, Shankar Narayanan, is a businessman. Their daughter, Geetha Arunan, is a [[Montessori education|Montessori school]] teacher in [[Bangalore]] and is married to [[Subbiah Arunan]], an ISRO scientist, who was the director of the [[Mars Orbiter Mission]] anda [[Padma Shri]] awardee.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ram |first=Arun |title=S Arunan: Man behind ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/43406070.cms |access-date=2022-07-09}}</ref> |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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After studying mechanical engineering in [[Madurai]], Narayanan started his career in 1966 at [[Indian Space Research Organisation|ISRO]] as a technical assistant at the [[Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station]].<ref name="Nileena-Caravan"/> He was sent to [[Princeton University]] on deputation at [[Government of India]]'s expense in 1969. He completed his master's program there in chemical rocket propulsion under professor [[:it:Luigi Crocco|Luigi Crocco]]. He returned to India with expertise in [[ Liquid rocket propellant|liquid propulsion]] at a time when Indian rocketry was still solely dependent on [[Solid-propellant rocket|solid propellants]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ittyipe |first1=Minu |title=A Gladiator in the Space-Ring |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/a-gladiator-in-the-space-ring/299101 |access-date=31 October 2018 |work=Outlook |date=13 July 2017}}</ref>{{bsn|date=June 2022}} He has claimed that he had to educate [[Vikram Sarabhai|Sarabhai]] on liquid propulsion technology in his book.<ref name="ReadyToFire" /> |
After studying mechanical engineering in [[Madurai]], Narayanan started his career in 1966 at [[Indian Space Research Organisation|ISRO]] as a technical assistant at the [[Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station]].<ref name="Nileena-Caravan"/> He was sent to [[Princeton University]] on deputation at [[Government of India]]'s expense in 1969. He completed his master's program there in chemical rocket propulsion under professor [[:it:Luigi Crocco|Luigi Crocco]]. He returned to India with expertise in [[ Liquid rocket propellant|liquid propulsion]] at a time when Indian rocketry was still solely dependent on [[Solid-propellant rocket|solid propellants]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ittyipe |first1=Minu |title=A Gladiator in the Space-Ring |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/a-gladiator-in-the-space-ring/299101 |access-date=31 October 2018 |work=Outlook |date=13 July 2017}}</ref>{{bsn|date=June 2022}} He has claimed that he had to educate [[Vikram Sarabhai|Sarabhai]] on liquid propulsion technology in his book.<ref name="ReadyToFire" /> |
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In 1974, [[Societe Europeenne de Propulsion]] agreed to transfer the [[Viking (rocket engine)|Viking engine]] technology in return for 100 man-years of engineering work from ISRO. This transfer was completed by three teams and Narayanan led the team of fifty-two engineers who worked on technology acquisition from French. The other two teams worked on indigenizing the hardware in India and establishing the development facilities in Mahendragiri. The first engine, named [[Vikas (rocket engine)|Vikas]], was tested successfully in 1985.<ref name="FFHRP">{{cite book |last=Muthunayagam |first=A.E| editor1-last=Rao |editor1-first=P.V. Manoranjan |title=From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India's Space Journey |date=10 December 2015 |page=344|publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=978-93-5177-690-1 |url=https://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/article-files/node/7808/from_fishing_hamlet_to_red_planet_p_v_manoranjan_r.epub |language=en}}</ref> An enquiry by the vigilance cell in 1982 was dropped later. |
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On 26 January 2019, he was conferred with the [[Padma Bhushan]] award by the Government of India for developing the Vikas rocket engine. |
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{{main|ISRO espionage case}} |
{{main|ISRO espionage case}} |
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In 2001, the NHRC ordered the [[Government of Kerala]] to pay him a compensation of {{INR convert|1|c|year=2001}}.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article3871592.ece A shattered man now sits cool and detached]. The Hindu, 8 September 2012.</ref> He retired in 2001. The Kerala High Court ordered a compensation amount of {{INRConvert|10|l|year=2012}} to be paid to Nambi Narayanan based on an appeal from NHRC India in September 2012. |
In 2001, the NHRC ordered the [[Government of Kerala]] to pay him a compensation of {{INR convert|1|c|year=2001}}.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article3871592.ece A shattered man now sits cool and detached]. The Hindu, 8 September 2012.</ref> He retired in 2001. The Kerala High Court ordered a compensation amount of {{INRConvert|10|l|year=2012}} to be paid to Nambi Narayanan based on an appeal from NHRC India in September 2012. |
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⚫ | On 14 September 2018, the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] appointed a panel to probe the "harrowing" arrest and alleged torture of Narayanan. A three-judge bench led by [[Chief Justice of India|Chief Justice]] [[Dipak Misra]] also awarded Narayanan {{INRConvert|50|l|year=2018}} in compensation for the mental cruelty he suffered all these years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-appoints-panel-to-look-into-harrowing-torture-of-nambi-narayanan/article24943213.ece?homepage=true|title=ISRO spy case victim wants justice|date= 14 September 2018|newspaper=The Hindu|last1=Rajagopal|first1=Krishnadas}}</ref> The same month, Narayanan's name was recommended for Padma awards by [[Rajeev Chandrasekhar]], then a BJP member of parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/former-kerala-top-cop-t-p-senkumar-puts-bjp-in-spot-over-padma-award-for-nambi-narayanan/cid/1682872|title=Former Kerala top cop puts BJP in spot over Padma for Nambi |last=Rakesh|first=K.M.|date=26 January 2019|work=[[Telegraph (India)]]}}</ref> |
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After a meeting between [[Narendra Modi]] and Narayanan in Thiruvananthapuram,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/you-made-me-a-modi-admirer-nambi-naraynanan-217606-2013-11-15|title=You made me a Modi admirer: Nambinarayanan|date=15 November 2013|last=Radhakrishnan|first=MG|work=India Today}}</ref> the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) took up the case and Narayanan's treatment, especially by Sreekumar, in its campaign for [[2014 Indian general election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/report/bjp-attacks-modi-baiter-cop-sreekumar-rakes-up-isro-spy-case/20131107.htm|title=BJP attacks Modi-baiter cop Sreekumar, rakes up ISRO spy case|work=PTI|date=7 November 2013}}</ref> |
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⚫ |
On 14 September 2018, the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] appointed a panel to probe the "harrowing" arrest and alleged torture of Narayanan. A three-judge bench led by [[Chief Justice of India|Chief Justice]] [[Dipak Misra]] also awarded Narayanan {{INRConvert|50|l|year=2018}} in compensation for the |
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=== Recent developments === |
=== Recent developments === |
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In 2021, the Kerala government settled the case filed against it by Narayanan by agreeing to a payment of {{INRConvert|1.3|c}}.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nambi Narayanan gets ₹1.3 cr. additional compensation |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/nambi-narayanan-gets-13-cr-additional-compensation/article32329022.ece |website=The Hindu |date=11 August 2020 |access-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312125858/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/nambi-narayanan-gets-13-cr-additional-compensation/article32329022.ece|archive-date=12 March 2021}}</ref> |
In 2021, the Kerala government settled the case filed against it by Narayanan by agreeing to a payment of {{INRConvert|1.3|c}}.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nambi Narayanan gets ₹1.3 cr. additional compensation |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/nambi-narayanan-gets-13-cr-additional-compensation/article32329022.ece |website=The Hindu |date=11 August 2020 |access-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312125858/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/nambi-narayanan-gets-13-cr-additional-compensation/article32329022.ece|archive-date=12 March 2021}}</ref> |
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On 14 April 2021 the [[Supreme Court of India]] ordered a CBI probe into the involvement of police officers in the conspiracy.<ref>{{cite web |title=ISRO Spy Case |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2021/apr/15/isro-spy-case-nambi-narayanan-welcomes-cbi-probe-says-conspirators-should-be-exposed-2290329.html |website=The New Indian Express |access-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415094846/https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2021/apr/15/isro-spy-case-nambi-narayanan-welcomes-cbi-probe-says-conspirators-should-be-exposed-2290329.html |archive-date= |
On 14 April 2021 the [[Supreme Court of India]] ordered a CBI probe into the involvement of police officers in the conspiracy.<ref>{{cite web |title=ISRO Spy Case |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2021/apr/15/isro-spy-case-nambi-narayanan-welcomes-cbi-probe-says-conspirators-should-be-exposed-2290329.html |website=The New Indian Express |access-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415094846/https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2021/apr/15/isro-spy-case-nambi-narayanan-welcomes-cbi-probe-says-conspirators-should-be-exposed-2290329.html |archive-date=15 April 2021 |date=15 Apr 2021}}</ref> Several of the involved police officers filed petitions in different courts in Kerala lodging documents which they claimed showed transfer of lands between 2004 and 2008 by Narayanan to various CBI officers involved in the investigation, were produced.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://englisharchives.mathrubhumi.com/features/specials/isro-case-getting-murkier-ex-cops-allege-nambi-narayanan-transferred-acres-of-land-to-cbi-officers-1.5854176|title=ISRO case getting murkier: Ex-cops allege Nambi Narayanan transferred acres of land to CBI officers|last=Cherukkad|first=Rajan|work=Mathrubhumi|date=24 July 2021}}</ref> The Kerala High Court dismissed the pleas, stating the documents did not show land sales<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/isro-case-kerala-hc-dismisses-plea-claiming-nambi-narayanan-influenced-cbi-probe-by-land-deals/2369397/|title=ISRO case: Kerala HC dismisses plea claiming Nambi Narayanan influenced CBI probe by land deals|date=15 November 2021|work=PTI}}</ref> but gave permission for the petitioners to file a fresh case if they could provide sale records .<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/nambi-narayanan-isro-spy-case-cbi-kerala-high-court-7616337/|title=Nambi Narayanan influenced CBI probe in ISRO spy case through land deals with agency officials: Kerala HC told|date=10 November 2021|work=PTI}}</ref> |
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[[File:President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Shri S. Nambi Narayanan.webm|thumb|President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to |
[[File:President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Shri S. Nambi Narayanan.webm|thumb|President Kovind presents the Padma Bhushan to Nambi Narayanan]] |
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==Awards== |
==Awards== |
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* March 2019: [[Padma Bhushan]], India's third-highest civilian award.<ref name="GoI">{{cite AV media |date=16 March 2019|title=President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Shri S. Nambi Narayanan|language= English|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb_z0jFpQKk |access-date=19 July 2022|publisher= Government of India}}</ref> |
* March 2019: [[Padma Bhushan]], India's third-highest civilian award.<ref name="GoI">{{cite AV media |date=16 March 2019|title=President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Shri S. Nambi Narayanan|language= English|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb_z0jFpQKk |access-date=19 July 2022|publisher= Government of India}}</ref> |
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==Bibliography== |
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==In popular culture== |
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===Books=== |
===Books=== |
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* ''Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case'' by Nambi Narayanan, Arun Ram; Bloomsbury India, 2018. |
* ''Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case'' by Nambi Narayanan, Arun Ram; Bloomsbury India, 2018. |
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== Legacy == |
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* In December 2012, he acted as a professor in a documentary, ''Mizhineerkayal'',<!-- this was tagged as kr (Kanuri), an African language --> about the [[Alappuzha|Alleppey]]-[[Kuttanad]] backwaters. |
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* In July 2022, a biographical film was made titled ''[[Rocketry: The Nambi Effect]],'' written, directed by [[R. Madhavan]], who also played the titular role of Narayanan.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 November 2018|title=R. Madhavan: 95 per cent of Indians don't know about Nambi Narayanan, which I think is a crime|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/madhavan-nambi-narayanan-rocketry-the-nambi-effec-5428666/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Teaser of R Madhavan's 'Rocketry – The Nambi Effect' gets 10 million views in 24 hours!|url=http://www.imdb.com/news/ni62268894|website=IMDb}}</ref> |
* In July 2022, a biographical film was made titled ''[[Rocketry: The Nambi Effect]],'' written, directed by [[R. Madhavan]], who also played the titular role of Narayanan.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 November 2018|title=R. Madhavan: 95 per cent of Indians don't know about Nambi Narayanan, which I think is a crime|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/madhavan-nambi-narayanan-rocketry-the-nambi-effec-5428666/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Teaser of R Madhavan's 'Rocketry – The Nambi Effect' gets 10 million views in 24 hours!|url=http://www.imdb.com/news/ni62268894|website=IMDb}}</ref> |
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Nambi Narayanan
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![]()
Narayanan in 2017
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Born | (1941-12-12) 12 December 1941 (age 82) |
Alma mater |
(Bachelor of Technology)[2] |
Occupation | Aerospace engineer |
Spouse | Meena Narayanan |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Subbiah Arunan (son-in-law) |
Awards | Padma Bhushan (2019)[3] |
Nambi Narayanan (born 12 December 1941)[4] is an Indian aerospace scientist who worked for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). As a senior official at the ISRO, he was briefly in charge of the cryogenics division.[5] He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in March 2019.[6]
In 1994, he was arrested on trumped up charges of espionage.[7] The charges against him were found to be baseless by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April 1996.[8] As a result, the Supreme Court of India dismissed all charges against him and prohibited the Government of Kerala from continuing its investigation.[9] In 2018, a Supreme Court bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, awarded Narayanan compensation of ₹50 lakh (equivalent to ₹67 lakh or US$80,000 in 2023). Additionally, the Government of Kerala then awarded him further compensation to the tune of ₹1.3 crore (equivalent to ₹1.7 crore or US$210,000 in 2023) in 2019.[10][11] The film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, based on his life, starring and directed by R. Madhavan, was released in July 2022.
Nambi Narayanan was born on 12 December 1941 in the house of Tamil Hindu parents[12]inNagercoil, in the erstwhile Princely stateofTravancore (present-day Kanyakumari District). He completed his schooling at Higher Secondary School, Nagercoil.[13][14] He received a Bachelor of TechnologyinMechanical Engineering from Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai.[2] Narayanan lost his father while pursuing his degree in Madurai, with his mother falling sick soon after. He had two sisters. Nambi married Meena Narayanan and has two children. Their son, Shankar Narayanan, is a businessman. Their daughter, Geetha Arunan, is a Montessori school teacher in Bangalore and is married to Subbiah Arunan, an ISRO scientist, who was the director of the Mars Orbiter Mission and a Padma Shri awardee.[15]
After studying mechanical engineering in Madurai, Narayanan started his career in 1966 at ISRO as a technical assistant at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station.[9] He was sent to Princeton University on deputation at Government of India's expense in 1969. He completed his master's program there in chemical rocket propulsion under professor Luigi Crocco. He returned to India with expertise in liquid propulsion at a time when Indian rocketry was still solely dependent on solid propellants.[16][better source needed] He has claimed that he had to educate Sarabhai on liquid propulsion technology in his book.[4]
On 30 November 1994, Narayanan was arrested as part of an investigation of alleged espionage, by a team of Kerala Police and Intelligence Bureau officials, based on the videographed statements by a colleague that he and Narayanan had received money for transferring drawings and documents of rocket engines to two Maldivian women, Mariam Rasheeda and Fauziyya Hassan, who were suspected to be spies. In December 1994, the transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was criticized in media and by opposition parties in Kerala. CBI was seen to be dominated by P. V. Narasimha Rao, then-Prime Minister of India and some of the people named in the investigation were close to Rao and K. Karunakaran, then-Chief Minister of Kerala.[9]
Narayanan spent 50 days in jail. He claims that officials from the Intelligence Bureau, who initially interrogated him, wanted him to make false accusations against the top brass of ISRO. He alleges that two IB officials had asked him to implicate A. E. Muthunayagam, his boss and then-director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), saying that when he refused to comply, he was tortured until he collapsed and was hospitalised.[17] He says his main complaint against ISRO is that it did not support him. K. Kasturirangan, who was ISRO chairman at the time, stated that ISRO could not interfere in a legal matter.[citation needed] He has written that the director of CBI Vijaya Rama Rao met him in jail on 8 December (four days after the case was transferred), when he explained to the director that the drawings of rockets and engines were not classified and has expressed that the CBI director wondered how the case had gotten so far and apologized in that meeting.[9]
In April 1996, before the 1996 Indian general election, CBI submitted a closure report,[18] saying that there was no espionage and that the testimonies of suspects were coerced by torture.[9]: 1 In a previous order in a related case, Kerala High Court, which had seen the videos of interrogation, had dismissed allegations of torture and made critical comments about CBI's failure to follow all the leads.[9] Amid attention on gaps in the CBI closure report, a challenge of the report in Kerala High Court by S. Vijayan, a police officer[18] and continuing political pressure, the Kerala government revoked the permission granted previously to CBI to investigate the case and ordered the Kerala police to take it up again. But a Supreme Court bench stopped it in April 1998 saying that "the CBI found that no case had been made out" and ordered the Kerala government to pay ₹1 lakh (equivalent to ₹4.5 lakh or US$5,400 in 2023) to each of the accused (including Narayanan).[19] In September 1999, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) passed strictures against the government of Kerala for having damaged Narayanan's distinguished career in space research along with the physical and mental torture to which he and his family were subjected. After the dismissal of charges against them, the two scientists, Sasikumar and Narayanan were transferred out of Thiruvananthapuram and were given desk jobs.[20]
In 2001, the NHRC ordered the Government of Kerala to pay him a compensation of ₹1 crore (equivalent to ₹4.0 crore or US$480,000 in 2023).[21] He retired in 2001. The Kerala High Court ordered a compensation amount of ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹19 lakh or US$23,000 in 2023) to be paid to Nambi Narayanan based on an appeal from NHRC India in September 2012.
On 14 September 2018, the Supreme Court appointed a panel to probe the "harrowing" arrest and alleged torture of Narayanan. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also awarded Narayanan ₹50 lakh (equivalent to ₹67 lakh or US$80,000 in 2023) in compensation for the mental cruelty he suffered all these years.[22] The same month, Narayanan's name was recommended for Padma awards by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, then a BJP member of parliament.[23]
In 2021, the Kerala government settled the case filed against it by Narayanan by agreeing to a payment of ₹1.3 crore (US$160,000).[24]
On 14 April 2021 the Supreme Court of India ordered a CBI probe into the involvement of police officers in the conspiracy.[25] Several of the involved police officers filed petitions in different courts in Kerala lodging documents which they claimed showed transfer of lands between 2004 and 2008 by Narayanan to various CBI officers involved in the investigation, were produced.[26] The Kerala High Court dismissed the pleas, stating the documents did not show land sales[27] but gave permission for the petitioners to file a fresh case if they could provide sale records .[28]
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