Speaking out against the Centre for not listening to research scholars' demands for a hike in fellowship, Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter and expressed his disapproval. Recently, several protests were staged by research scholars from all over India in continuation of their demands.
"Our stressed-out PhD scholars deserve a long-overdue increase in their stipends. The revision was due in 2022 after an already delayed raise in 2019. How can they meet their daily needs & undertake research amid rising inflation? @IndiaDST," Tharoor tweeted.
DST's tweet on May 9
The scholars have been demanding a hike in their fellowships since August last year. Despite several meetings with the authorities and submissions of representations by the scholars, no step was taken by the Centre with regard to their demands. On May 9, a tweet from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), left the scholars even more frustrated, as it asked them to wait for some more time. This tweet started a chain of protests across eminent institutes in India, including IIT and AIIMS, Delhi.
The scholars complain that in the absence of a hiked fellowship and regular disbursements, they are unable to focus on research. Their sentiments were echoed in Tharoor's tweet. "Bureaucratic callousness & indifference to their plight discourages many from entering into or continuing in the field of research," he posted.
"The government needs to set up a mechanism to oversee regular revisions & immediate implementation of the promised stipends. This is indispensable for a well-funded independent research environment in the country," the tweet adds.
