By Tej SH
The ban on Israel from the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics has led to a conflict amongst scientists of Indian background. Over 500 Indian academics have filed a petition against the inclusion of Israel. A negative reaction from 300 scientists has risen as they have urged the Prime Minister to take stringent measures.
The event organised by International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) is set to begin in 2026. This Olympiad was hosted in the city of Mumbai from 11 to 21 August. High school students are the target audience for this tournament. 63 countries had sent their students along with scientists acting as mentors and leaders had taken part in this.
More than 500 Indian scientists and students decided to petition against Israel because of their actions in Gaza. The petition had a term that suggested that Israeli students be allowed to participate in the competition, but they would not be allowed to represent their country’s flag. In the letter of petition submitted to the IOAA, they mention how Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed over sixty thousand Palestinians, not limited to thousands of children and how Palestinians were denied access to this Olympiad as well.
The IOAA released an official statement that the board of one hundred and twenty members would not stop the Israeli students but the usage of any national identifiers such as flags, names and so on would lead to an instant disqualification. This decision led to a strong negative reaction from over three hundred academics and students.
The people protesting over this decision include people from higher positions of powers in institutes such as TIFR, IITs and so on. They state their disdain over the protests and the decision in a letter to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. They mention how this Olympiad was supposed to be a celebration of talented youth and collaboration amongst countries, whereas these academics made it about an ideological agenda which allegedly does not have a place in discourse regarding academics.
The letter also pressed the government to take strict actions against the faculty members who were named. They also aim to demand responsibility from the directors of the publicly funded institutes who are involved.