New Delhi: Professor CNR Rao, one of India’s most celebrated scientists and chemists, has received a communication from the Election Commission of India pointing out a mismatch in the spelling of his name in the Special Intensive Revision electoral form, ThePrint has learned.
Representatives of Rao’s family said ECI officials had assured them that the correction would be made and the matter resolved at the earliest, without causing any “inconvenience to Prof Rao”.
AN Jayachandra, administrator of the CNR Rao Education Foundation, told ThePrint exclusively that no “notice” had been issued to Rao. The communication from the ECI only pointed out a spelling error in his name.
“We are in touch with the team. They have, in fact, offered to come and get this correction done. There has been no inconvenience caused,” Jayachandra said.
He said the error stemmed from Rao being more popularly known as CNR Rao, rather than by his full official name, Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao.
“His (Professor Rao’s) official name is Ramachandra, but in some official documents and communication, he is referred to as CNR. That was the only problem,” he told ThePrint.
The 92-year-old scientist and chemist is a Bharat Ratna awardee, India’s highest civilian honour. In 2014, Rao became the fourth Indian scientist to receive the award, which has been conferred on only five scientists.
Staying away from the limelight
A senior scientist at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), where Rao is honorary president, said that while Rao and his wife continue to be regularly involved in the university’s activities, they chose to stay away on Wednesday.
“Professor Rao and Mrs Rao have not come to the university today. We have been in touch with them. It does not seem to be a matter of concern,” the scientist said.
Contributions to science
Born in 1934, Rao obtained an MSc degree from Banaras Hindu University in 1953 and went on to earn his PhD from Purdue University in 1958. He has worked at premier Indian institutions, including Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Department of Chemistry at IIT Kanpur.
He served as National Research Professor, holding the Linus Pauling Research Professor position, and was also the honorary president of JNCASR. He served as chair of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India for two terms — from 1985 to 1989 and again from 2005 to 2014.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)