From 100ft room to galaxies: Unlikely birth of IUCAA through space and struggle

Time of India

20-05-2025

Pune: From a 100sqft room in Golay Bungalow, the house where the registrar of
Savitribai Phule Pune University
once lived, to a 2,000 sq ft temporary 'cottage' and finally to the 10-acre campus where Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and
Astrophysics
(
IUCAA
) now stands, the journey of one of India's premier astrophysics institutes is as fascinating as the cosmos it explores.
In 1988, University Grants Commission (UGC) thought of creating 'centres of excellence.' Eminent astrophysicist
Jayant Narlikar
, who had returned from Cambridge in 1972 and was working at TIFR in Mumbai, brainstormed with fellow theoretical physicist Naresh Dadhich at SPPU. It led to their proposal for IUCAA.
However, the journey wasn't easy— SPPU refused to give land. It took the intervention of a Prime Minister and two chief ministers to make the idea a reality.
Today, IUCAA's campus is the cradle of some of the country's finest astrophysicists. It has played a key role in both national projects like ADITYA-L1 and international collaborations such as the Gravitational Wave research.
Dadhich, Narlikar's friend, colleague, neighbour, and co-founder of IUCAA, said, "He carved a special and unique hole for himself in 'time'. He was two months short of his 87th birthday on July 19.
It marks the end of an era. His legacy is such that he doesn't leave behind a vacuum but a thriving world-class institute in IUCAA, a brilliant school of cosmology and astrophysics in the country."
He recalled the time when visionary UGC chairman Yash Pal told Narlikar to set up the centre but securing land was difficult. "Pune University had given land to TIFR on the promise that its scientists would teach MSc students on the university's campus.
However, when TIFR discontinued this practice, the university was unhappy. When we approached the vice-chancellor for land, he refused. We were stuck. This led to Narlikar meeting Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then chief minister Shankarrao Chavan, who both agreed.
But the VC still declined. When the state govt changed and Sharad Pawar became CM, the land was finally allotted to IUCAA," Dadhich said.
He added that IUCAA was Narlikar's greatest gift to science, to the nation, and—perhaps most importantly—to university students and faculty.
"Its main objective was to facilitate the publication of their research and to encourage astronomy research in universities. This centre provided a common facility to work and interact. It wasn't just the building, but the way it operated; everyone felt involved, even the administrative staff. The principle was distributive and participative governance. That message was key to IUCAA's success. Its motto was 'trust breeds trust,'" Dadhich, its former director, said.
Ajit Kembhavi, one of IUCAA's three co-founders and a former director, said he was Narlikar's PhD student, who then became his colleague, and was invited to join IUCAA.
"The idea was to have one central machine that everyone could use, and it worked brilliantly. The best part was the 'associateship' where a university professor could spend three years at IUCAA conducting research, bring along students, and have full access to all resources.
This transformed the research landscape across the country," Kembhavi said.
Pune: From a 100sqft room in Golay Bungalow, the house where the registrar of Savitribai Phule Pune University once lived, to a 2,000 sq ft temporary 'cottage' and finally to the 10-acre campus where Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) now stands, the journey of one of India's premier astrophysics institutes is as fascinating as the cosmos it explores.
In 1988, University Grants Commission (UGC) thought of creating 'centres of excellence.' Eminent astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar, who had returned from Cambridge in 1972 and was working at TIFR in Mumbai, brainstormed with fellow theoretical physicist Naresh Dadhich at SPPU. It led to their proposal for IUCAA.
However, the journey wasn't easy— SPPU refused to give land. It took the intervention of a Prime Minister and two chief ministers to make the idea a reality.
Today, IUCAA's campus is the cradle of some of the country's finest astrophysicists. It has played a key role in both national projects like ADITYA-L1 and international collaborations such as the Gravitational Wave research.
Dadhich, Narlikar's friend, colleague, neighbour, and co-founder of IUCAA, said, "He carved a special and unique hole for himself in 'time'. He was two months short of his 87th birthday on July 19.
It marks the end of an era. His legacy is such that he doesn't leave behind a vacuum but a thriving world-class institute in IUCAA, a brilliant school of cosmology and astrophysics in the country."
He recalled the time when visionary UGC chairman Yash Pal told Narlikar to set up the centre but securing land was difficult. "Pune University had given land to TIFR on the promise that its scientists would teach MSc students on the university's campus.
However, when TIFR discontinued this practice, the university was unhappy. When we approached the vice-chancellor for land, he refused. We were stuck. This led to Narlikar meeting Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then chief minister Shankarrao Chavan, who both agreed.
But the VC still declined. When the state govt changed and Sharad Pawar became CM, the land was finally allotted to IUCAA," Dadhich said.
He added that IUCAA was Narlikar's greatest gift to science, to the nation, and—perhaps most importantly—to university students and faculty.
"Its main objective was to facilitate the publication of their research and to encourage astronomy research in universities. This centre provided a common facility to work and interact. It wasn't just the building, but the way it operated; everyone felt involved, even the administrative staff. The principle was distributive and participative governance. That message was key to IUCAA's success. Its motto was 'trust breeds trust,'" Dadhich, its former director, said.
Ajit Kembhavi, one of IUCAA's three co-founders and a former director, said he was Narlikar's PhD student, who then became his colleague, and was invited to join IUCAA.
"The idea was to have one central machine that everyone could use, and it worked brilliantly. The best part was the 'associateship' where a university professor could spend three years at IUCAA conducting research, bring along students, and have full access to all resources. This transformed the research landscape across the country," Kembhavi said.