Chennai: Nobel laureate Professor Kurt Wüthrich had to go baÂck to his family roots and give infÂormation even on his grÂandmother’s naÂme just to get an Indian viÂsa that he needed to come to IIT-MaÂdras to deliver a lecture.
His visa application was sent back thrice for flimsy reasons and he was also chÂÂaÂrged extra as he was to attend an educational conÂfeÂÂrence in India. In an inÂteraction with reporters at IIT-Madras on the sideliÂnes of Nobel laureate lecture series on Friday, Prof Kurt Wüthrich lamented that he and his wife had to fill up a four-page visa apÂplÂication and the Indian ofÂÂficials even asked his grÂand mother’s name in the visa document. “My secretary took two days to fill in the form as it had numeroÂus details to be filled in and the visa application was sent back to me thrice on flimsy grounds,” he said.
Further, he said that his wife’s visa got cleared and his application got delÂaÂyed, as the Indian government wanted him to pay an additional 70 Swiss frÂancs to attend educational conference at IIT-Madras.
“It is not that I cannot pay 70 francs but why does the Indian government want to charge extra stating that I am not only a toÂurÂist. This is not the first time but second time for me,” Prof Wüthrich who was awarded Nobel prize for Chemistry in 2002, saÂid.
Countering the charges made by the Nobel laureate, Prof R. Nagarajan, dean of international relations and alumni affairs at IIT-Madras pointed out that IIT faculty too faced a similar problem with governments in other countries.
“Several countries have denied visa for our faculty and that too when they see the word aerospace in the visa document they immeÂdiÂÂately reject our visa appÂlication. So this is commÂon in all countries,” he said.
Prof Wüthrich also poiÂnted out that India’s lack of investment in laboratory infrastructure would slow down the progress of research in the country.
