Let imagination lead: Former director P. Balaram urges ISI graduating students to move beyond
Telegraph | 18 February 2026
Coronavirus, responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, transcended all religious, political, and ethnic boundaries, said P. Balaram, former director of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, during his address at the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta on Tuesday.
“This fact must remind us that politics and religion, two favourite pastimes worldwide, offer no protection against the force of nature,” P. Balaram said in his convocation address on the ISI campus.
“Remember, also arrogance, most often a quality possessed in abundance by the very powerful and the very rich, is no defence against the forces of nature,” he said.
A biochemist, Balaram, edited the journal Current Science until June 2013.
On Tuesday, his audience included graduating ISI students, teachers and former directors.
Balaram explained why he was drawing the audience’s attention “to such a disparate group of subjects”.
“It is because of the environment, climatic, social and political in which we live today. Some reflection on the roles of science and understanding the nature may allow us to introspect on the course of human history and attempt to rationalise why the world today is the way it is,” he said.
“Science is a deeply humbling subject, and every day, we are reminded of our imperfect understanding of even the subject of our daily research. It is this humility that is important in any sphere of human activity. Remember also, learning is a continuing and never- ending process,” he added.
According to Balaram, in an age dominated by “mythology, we would do well to remember that comparative genomics tells us that human beings are a minor branch in the tree of life”.
“Life on earth is dominated by microbial branches and bacteria,” he said.
Balaram pointed out that the basic sciences are “neglected in institutions”.
Two qualities — resilience and imagination — will stand them in good stead in whatever they wish to do, Balaram told the graduating students.
“In research and in life itself, failure is more common than success. Overcoming the fear of failure is often the first step towards success. Let your imagination take you forward,” Balaram said.
The convocation was held at a time when a protest cry was ringing among ISI students and teachers opposed to a bill proposed by the Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation, which seeks to overhaul its governance structure.
The protesters have alleged that the bill seeks to dispense with the ISI’s autonomous structure, altering a society-based governance model and introducing a corporate-type decision-making system.
On Tuesday, many wore badges on the convocation gowns that said: “Reject the ISI Bill.”
“We have to carry on with a sustained protest against the bill that has been introduced without consulting the institute’s council and academic council. The bill seeks to impose the ministry’s control on the institute. We will oppose it wherever it is possible so that the ministry is forced to withdraw the bill,” said a graduating student.
In all, 568 students received their degrees at the convocation.
The president of ISI, Shankar Kumar Pal, recalled the role played by PrasantaChandra Mahalanobis in establishing the pioneering institute in 1931.
During his speech, Pal mentioned that the institute was governed by an act passed in Parliament under the leadership of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
The ISI bill seeks to repeal the 1959 Act.
The new system envisions an ISI run by an overarching board of governors comprising members handpicked by the Union ministry.