Jayant Narlikar: The Scientist Who Questioned the Universe
The world of science has lost a fierce thinker. Jayant Narlikar, India’s legendary astrophysicist and the face behind the bold challenge to the Big Bang theory, died at 87 in his Pune home. It’s hard to overstate how different the landscape of Indian cosmology looked before Narlikar came on the scene. The huge turnout of tributes, from students and academics to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, says a lot about how much his work meant to both India and the world.
Narlikar wasn’t just good at math—he was a rebel. In the late 1960s, teaming up with Sir Fred Hoyle at Cambridge, he introduced the Hoyle-Narlikar theory, shaking up accepted notions of how the universe began. They brought Mach’s Principle into the spotlight, questioning whether the universe really started with a fiery bang as most believed. Instead, they argued for a steady-state model, with new matter constantly being created. This wasn’t science for comfort or easy agreement—Narlikar actually stood firm even as evidence for the Big Bang, like background radiation, piled up. Sure, most folks stuck to the standard model, but Narlikar’s questions forced cosmologists to probe deeper and not take the easy answers.
But it’s not just his theories that left a mark. Narlikar’s real magic was building spaces for discovery. When he set up the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune back in 1988, he wanted to create something Indian students had only dreamed about: a high-powered institute focused just on astronomy, without the red tape and closed doors. This place soon drew top-tier researchers and young learners alike, changing the face of science education in India.
His leadership went global—he chaired the International Astronomical Union's Cosmology Commission between 1994 and 1997, giving Indian science a strong voice worldwide. Over his decades in research, Narlikar’s work in quantum cosmology and the physics of action-at-a-distance kept his name in conversations from Cambridge to Kolkata.
Legacy Beyond Academia
If you ever saw him at a school auditorium or flipping through the pages of a popular science magazine, you know Narlikar loved to make astrophysics sound downright friendly. He hated jargon and wanted to show everyone—kids, parents, curious bystanders—that the universe’s mysteries weren’t just for experts. His books and talks were bursting with stories, clever analogies, and sharp questions. In a country where science seemed untouchable for generations, Narlikar helped take astronomy out of the textbooks and into homes.
Family mattered too. His wife, Mangala Narlikar, was a renowned mathematician, and all three of his daughters—Geeta, Girija, and Leelavati—carved out their own careers in scientific fields. Just watching that, you got a sense that Narlikar didn’t see any gap between life and discovery. He treated curiosity as something you lived, not just studied.
Science in India can sometimes feel like an uphill climb, but having someone like Narlikar in your corner made the journey a little less lonely. Even after surgeries slowed him in his last months, he remained curious, skeptical, and sharp as ever. His legacy isn’t just in theories or awards—it’s in every student, teacher, and backyard stargazer who ever asked, “What if?”