ISRO chairman withdraws autobiography amid controversy over Chandrayaan 2 remarks

Somanath's book of 160 pages was written, he reiterated, with the intent to inspire people through the personal challenges he faced in his journey of becoming a space technologist.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath on November 4 withdrew his upcoming autobiography Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal from publishing after a controversy that it contained some critical comments about his predecessor K Sivan.

A report by The Hindu quoted Somnath as saying that the publisher of the book may have released a few copies but the official launch has not happened yet.

Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal, which loosely translates to 'lions that drank the moonlight', reportedly had critical remarks about the failure of Chandrayaan-2.

"There has been some misinterpretation. At no point have I said that Dr Sivan tried to prevent me from becoming the chairman. All I said was that being made a member of the Space Commission is generally seen as a stepping stone to (ISRO’s chairmanship). However, a director from another (ISRO centre) was placed, so naturally that trimmed my chances (at chairmanship)," Somnath said.

The book of 160 pages was written, he reiterated, with the intent to inspire people through the personal challenges he faced in his journey of becoming a space technologist.

The original report by Malayala Manorama quoted excerpts from the book which suggested that Sivan, the former ISRO chairman, may have hindered "key promotions" that Somanath thought he was due for.

However, Somnath said that he merely tried to suggest that not everybody gets the position they deserve, as it is difficult to climb up the ladder in this field. "I just tried to bring out that particular point. I didn’t target any particular individual in this regard," he said.

According to the excerpts, what is palpable was "Somanath's discomfort" with Sivan's decision not to be explicit about the reasons for the failure of the Chandrayaan-2 mission. The issue was a software glitch but was publicly communicated as an "inability to communicate with the lander".

According to a report by News18, Somanath admitted that in his book he had mentioned the lack of clarity with regards to the announcement of Chandrayaan-2 mission failure.

The Chandrayaan-2 mission was originally scheduled for July 15, 2019. However, the launch was called off an hour ahead, due to a "technical snag". It eventually lifted off on July 22 but the Vikram lander, which was to descend smoothly on the moon and then release the Pragyaan rover, deviated from its planned trajectory and crashed on the moon.

Somnath additionally confirmed that the book was not asked to be withdrawn by the Union government.