UNHURRIED REVIEW OF PSI SPECIAL PUBLICATION-4 HIMALAYAN FOSSIL FRAUD" (A view from the galleries) S K Shah (Lucknow 2013)

141p . by A.D.Ahluwalia, Geology Department, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014 (arundeep.ahluwalia@gmail.com) +919878684441 Though its timing is strange, it is nice to see the veteran retired Professor Som K Shah of Jammu University opening out at last 49 years too late on the infamous fake Himalayan fossils and giving vital though unfortunately partial, selective and falsified historical and scientific perspectives involving V J Gupta. Shahs book illustrates nothing but even its present unscientific format sums up useful facts and documents. Unlike a scientific publication from a learned society in Lucknow University, it draws from a lot of hearsay and presumptions. Had the book been reviewed before publication, credibility of S.K. Shah and PSI would have been saved this huge hit. PSI President Ashok Sahni who lived through the Gupta Era could have done a great job editing the book. This book deals with the history of falsifications of the Himalayan stratigraphy through various combinations and permutations of plagiarism, publication of foreign gifted, stolen or replicated fossils reported from localities not even visited by Gupta. I was a school boy in city beautiful Chandigarh when V J Gupta did his first falsification in the Ph D Thesis guided by M R Sahni yet S.K. Shah ridiculously wonders if I was privy to his frauds but he does not ask if M R Sahni was as guide of his thesis! Today when even a small plagiarism is tested through software, both the guide and the student would have been hauled up even if the veteran Late M R Sahni (the guide) was absolutely innocent. But was he innocent? M.R. Sahnis two papers with Gupta in NATURE (London) in mid sixties and his mysterious silence till his death to all questions on their validity escapes curiosity of S.K Shah. M.R Sahni indeed founded the PSI in Lucknow which is today desperately publishing books like this for quick money giving up even a pretention of being a scientific body based in a famous University in a city of culture, ethics and scholarship. Lucknow University VC Prof Nimse who unwittingly released the book may at least now inquire into the credentials of the PSI and its office bearers as they have shamed not only themselves but also embarrassed the university through this thoughtless publication sans any peer review or academic probity. Nothing unusual, wherever individuals like Secretary M.P. Singh seen in the picture (holding the book) remain in their position for a life time, money becomes more important than the mandate of the society. Surprisingly I was informed by President Ashok Sahni about this book (extreme left in picture) requesting me to buy, review and promote sales of what he thought was a money spinner.

During my stay in Geological Survey of India in late seventies, I also had the misfortune of being duped by Gupta as a co author. I had gone to see the expert guest Dr Kiril Budurov ( Bulgaria) but was trapped by the host V J Gupta who was not letting me talk to the guest directly. I have been frequently named in the 141 pages of this book and often commended for my courage but also maligned and defamed. Som Shah had the mistaken information that I had registered for my Ph. D. degree under V J Gupta and based on this he goes on to slander my fair name. I was often called unpatriotic and unfaithful for speaking honestly against a "fellow Indian" by Gupta's cronies who used all tricks to defend him against onslaughts of John Talent and Editorials in NATURE (London), THE TRIBUNE (Chandigarh) and leading magazines and TV channels of the world. Someone ( Rajesh Kochhar) said in Indian Express just as politics is the last resort of a scoundrel, patriotism was indeed the last resort of a scientist caught in a fraud. Shah even today quotes those desperadoes trying to confuse ( since they could not convince). Why does he do two decades after I had been applauded across the country and the world? Am I culpable just because Shah thought I was V J Gupta research scholar? The PSI, Lucknow officials knew me for long and were very well aware that I had actually been guided by reputed palaeontologists Prof B S Tewari of Panjab University (till recently President PSI, Lucknow) and Dr O N Bhargava of GSI. I wonder why they did not care to correct this serious blunder by Shah in the book? The author Som Shah was allowed to be mislead into a false belief and abuse me. He is abusive on many others too. I am in good company with Prof S B Bhatia FNA. Shah was also careless enough to mix up my colleague and co author S S Kanwar of Geological Survey of India with R C Kanwar ( a Gupta representative) and goes on to question why Kanwar was my co author. How could he pass sweeping comments without even looking at a reference? Perhaps that has been his style, I would let him be as he is.

To his credit Som Shah is almost the first geologist to go on record to criticize Late M R Sahni as the creator of a monster in palaeontology. Shah falls short of blaming M R Sahni for being careless in guiding the Gupta Ph D thesis. Why? What is surprising is that the author sings praises for junior Sahni (Ashok Sahni) without noticing that there was an important Sahnis connection to the Himalayan Fossil Fraud by V J Gupta. Both the Sahnis had failed to react to various whispers across the world about the veracity of the two papers authored by M R Sahni with Gupta in Nature (London) and eight others elsewhere. These papers were not ever verified by the Palaeontological Society of India, Lucknow during life time of M R Sahni the founder President. Why this apathy to truth Shah fails to ask? Shah also fails to ask any questions to Ashok Sahni or M P Singh (Secy PSI) about their insight into the mind of Late M R Sahni about his Gupta experience till his death in 1983. They surely can tell if M R Sahni was a victim of Gupta's deception or he was like Ashok Sahni finding it expedient to keep quiet rather than get into any controversy. Expediency seems very likely. I fail to understand why Som Shah is making such a hero of Ashok Sahni. Junior Sahni was in fact a close confidante and associate of V J Gupta from 1979 to 1989 as a co guide of four Ph D theses and co author of ten research papers. Senior Sahni (MRS) could have been duped by his Ph D student V J Gupta but junior Sahni was a willful collaborator of the all powerful and influential V J Gupta who was calling all the shots in Panjab University. Like all others he preferred to go with the current. How could such a person be called a saviour? Be it as it may, why did the senior Sahni (founder President of PSI) not act against Gupta all the 17 years till his death inspite of all his power and clout? Had he wanted PSI could have forced Gupta to go with a team of skeptical geologists and defend himself. MR Sahni surely knew how to verify the veracity of Gupta's discoveries. Why did he not show the curiosity or scientific will posterity will always ask? At least as a father and fellow palaeontologist one would expect him to advise Ashok Sahni not to associate with V J Gupta when he joined Panjab University in 1979 as a Professor. There lies the catch. Shah cannot be so naive as not to see the Sahnis connection with V J Gupta but he glosses over the details for reasons best known. Apparently with M R Sahni gone to the Heavens and Ashok Sahni ducking all questions, the shadow of the Himalayan Fossil Fraud definitely is engulfing the two Sahnis. Did both know the truth about V.J. Gupta? Shah ducks this question. It is common knowledge that Ashok Sahni's papers like those of M R Sahni have the Gupta touch e.g. dinosaur fossil eggs from Mongolia are widely known to have found their way to Jabalpur. Genuine dinosaur fossil eggs found in Jabalpur later do not ever justify the transplant and transport. Jabalpur may be but the tip of an ice berg. No one can be called largely honest and allowed an occasional dishonesty. Not in science! It allows mistakes but does not allow silence about mistakes once these are known. This book would have been indeed complete if the details of the acts of omission of Ashok Sahni during Inquiry by Retd Chief Justice M S Gujral had been known

to Som Shah and documented in the book. Shah otherwise has access to even most confidential documents of Panjab University. I was indeed the first to be asked to frame the charge sheet on V J Gupta and I had listed as charge number one taking Ph D and D Sc fraudulently and guiding four Ph D theses candidates to do frauds similar to what were there in Guptas theses. I was a very junior lecturer though a well known crusader pitted against a powerful Gupta lobby. I was a duped co author like so many across the world. Ashok Sahni being an eminent Professor apparently presumed untouched by V J Gupta considered impartial. He was sent the charge sheet when he was appointed Technical Expert to Inquiry Officer a Retired High Court Chief Justice. I watched the court proceedings all through from the gallery as Vice ChancellorT N Kapur had declared the inquiry open. During its proceedings I was shocked to see Ashok Sahni had dropped the charge number one listed by me. Reason: His father was Guptas Ph D guide. He himself had been a co guide and co author with V J Gupta. It is not rocket science, anyone can see through it. It seems to be sheer convenience for which Ashok Sahni is quite famous. His ploy to get this scandalous book out of PSI soon after taking over has President PSI seems to have boomeranged on him. The encomiums and accolades showered in the book on Ashok Sahni seem to definitely hint towards a pact. He looks like a hidden or ghost co author of S.K.Shah. It is a paradox and divine poetic justice that Ashok Sahni is virtually facing a hornets nest of questions on his own reputation as well that of his father M R Sahni (son of Ruchi Ram Sahni) because of Som Shah overdoing the eulogy for the PSI President Ashok Sahni.

As luck would have it, an opportunity came to me again to press the charge of fraudulent Ph.D. theses omitted on the sly by Ashok Sahni the Technical Expert. V J Gupta got me officially ordered to appear as a witness in the court to be cross examined by his lawyer. I wondered how I could be called as a witness by Gupta when Ashok Sahni was not calling me though he had called senior geologists O N Bhargava and U K Bassi as witnesses. I got all the six theses issued from rare book section and pushed these into the so called court with my letter. What happened inside court was never told to me. Ashok Sahni for sure knew but has not told the rather spicy story even to Shah. Gupta was the one who knew too much about his dropping me as a witness but would not ever talk to me. After being made to wait for two days I was called in and told to go away as Gupta had dropped me as a witness and university expert Ashok Sahni was not presenting me as a witness either. There were heated arguments. My questions were ducked by all. It was strange that Gupta and Sahni were together as both were happy avoiding my testimony. That Sunday I forced the then Vice Chancellor T N Kapur to order Ashok Sahni to present those theses before the judge. I had to tell him that I suspected a collusion to avoid a very strong and damaging testimony by me. I wonder if Sahni indeed gave the testimony about the theses on behalf of university as there was no mention in the final report of Gujral. It looks Som Shah either also did not get details from Ashok Sahni or he prefers not to list the theses because of their Kashmir and Kashmiri connection( one Gupta misguided

thesis was of Kachhroo). Som Shah and Ashok Sahni indeed now appear to be such great collaborators thanks to this belated book. I have seen Shah telling in Jammu in presence of Ashok Sahni a joint student of Ashok Sahni & V J Gupta (now in Delhi) not to ever tell anyone his V J Gupta link. In contrast he dubbed me as Gupta's Ph D student though my thesis had nothing to do with V J Gupta! But for this Sahnis link blacked out in the book published in secrecy by PSI and some avoidable vituperation and casual utterances Shah has done a good job which could have been better. PSI could have saved its credibility and face if President Ashok Sahni and life long Secretary M P Singh had been frank truthful and also carefully gone through this rather free style narration and enhanced its professional and historical value. I congratulate the author and wish him better luck with second edition. S K Shah and the publishers need to delete so many factual blunders and uncalled personal derogatory references to a few co authors duped by V. J . Gupta? Their situation indeed is like that of a school with a lizard in its midday meal. They look like serving the meal as it is where it is. That is not science but reckless money making and very unfortunate for Lucknow University where PSI is based and the retired teachers manning it are staying put for a life time endlessly getting self elected. The veteran teacher S B Bhatia, a Gupta duped co author is ridiculed by Shah in the book. Unlike M R Sahni & Ashok Sahni, Bhatia spoke out honestly in NATURE (September 7, 1989) and was vindicated by the judge and applauded by the scientific community for frankness rather than sitting on the fence like many others. Ashok Sahni is digging his feet in silence and is unwilling to share details with the world of his decade long researches with V J Gupta. He needs to come out clean. The father M R Sahni and the son Ashok Sahni both kept a similar stony silence and avoided speaking on Gupta. Why does the author Som Shah condemn the dead father (MRS) but applaud the living son (AS)? In fact posterity would ask questions to both the Sahnis. Shah could have spoken much earlier being based in J&K where Gupta initiated his Himalayan Fossil Fraud. He is welcome even today to initiate a probe into conduct of both the Sahnis. It will be a credit to him. Others may follow his lead. Hopefully PSI, Lucknow itself acts more exhaustively on scientific ethics of the episode and their own publication ethics of a hurried book without even a review by impartial experts. They may need to print the book afresh and avoid embarrassment before readers across the world. In its uncorrected form the Som Shah's maiden book HIMALAYAN FOSSIL FRAUD will ruin reputation of the author and its publishers who think saying "author is responsible" will absolve them of responsibility. They are mistaken if they underestimate the capacity of community to see through the network in PSI, Lucknow.