Padma Shri For Gomutra Research?: Congress' Jibe At Kamakoti Draws Outrage, Zoho Founder Sridhar Vembu Says 'Enslaved Minds'

New Delhi: The Kerala unit of Congress landed itself in a pit of controversy for taking a dig at IIT Madras Director Veezhinathan Kamakoti after he was conferred with the Padma Shri award for his distinguished service in the field of science and engineering. Several social media users as well as Zoho's billionaire Founder Sridhar Vembu criticised the Congress for its comments and defended Kamakoti. 

The Controversial Post

Reacting to the news of Kamakoti being selected for India's fourth highest civilian award, Congress Kerala sarcastically congratulated him for receiving the honour for his research on ‘gomutra’ (cow urine). In a post on X, Congress Kerala tweeted, “Congratulations to V Kamakoti on receiving the honour. The nation recognises your bleeding edge research on Cow Urine at IIT Madras, taking Gomutra to world stage."

‘He Deserves The Honour’: Vembu

Zoho Founder  Sridhar Vembu defended Kamakoti, saying that it is “slavish colonial mindset” that thinks cow dung and cow urine are not worthy of investigation. In a post on X, Vembu said, “Professor Kamakoti works in deep tech: micro-processor design. He is the Director of IIT-Madras, the best technological  institution in India. He serves in the NSAB. He richly deserves the honour.”

He added, “I have defended him on scientific grounds and I will do so again: cow dung and cow urine have excellent microbiome that could be valuable for humans. It is the slavish colonial mindset that thinks these are not scientific propositions worthy of investigation. Some day, when Harvard or MIT publish a study on this, these enslaved minds would worship that as the gospel truth.”

Several social media users also criticised Congress for its post, with one saying, "How can a national party that ruled the country for 50 years have a social media handle that makes fun of the Padma Shri award?"

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