Rocket Boys’ crime on history: Inventing Muslim villain, stealing Meghnad Saha’s identity

[@ThePrintIndia]

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[@SuputraBharathi]

Excellant subversion technique who is that dude ..who made lines of the news ? Cuz it's Hard to believe some old rotten old man in Delhi did that ..

[@varunmodi643]

Hasi aati hai aise reporting pe 😂 Chuthiya ho kya tum log Puri web series nahi dekhate kya Mathur naam Wale scientist ko villain dikhaya hai Raza ko to Indian patriot dikhaya hai Aur kya dange karane wali title rakha hai video ko Maan Gaye

[@StudyResearchandAnalysis]

@@SuputraBharathi maybe the slap is too hard to you .

[@funkysam1345]

Dude Raza's character is so beautifully described by just one line the journalist Dey tells Mathur in the final episode:"Raza jitni Homi say nafrat karta hai, usse kahin zyaada apne mulk se pyaar karta hai." Matlab bhai tumhe bas kahin bhi agenda chalana hai. Isko kehte hain scriptwriting talent. Raza was kinda disguised as a villain since he would constantly end up in conflicting positions with Homi. But in the end he actually turns out to be a brilliant character. He even talks about the conflict he faced within the Muslim community

[@hetalpatel2198]

L

[@rajdeepkumarnath8944]

The fuck are you talking about? Identify theft of a great Indian scientist is not acceptable. Does not matter if it is portrayed as Villan or not. Seems like you ignorant fuck don't even know meghnad saha! Go enjoy your rocket boys like a kindergarten kid.

[@bhupendertomar5653]

sorry SG but I don't think raza is portrayed as villain

[@nasirshaik5707]

@@seafone12 you are wrong.SG is conservative and capitalist in true sense

[@atyanthdutt6632]

@@seafone12 To some he's conservative and to others he's liberal, he's Modi supporter for some and anti-modi for others......that means SG is a good journalist

[@PP-vx1pn]

SG has no problem when a movie like Sherni (also based on true story about Tiger Avni) invents a Hindu villain for fictional retelling when the villian was actually a Muslim in the real story.

[@arghyadhar5805]

I think his problem its more to do with deleting meghnad saha from history rather then islamophobia

[@seafone12]

Sg himself said that journalists are biased ... because they also vote and everyone has right to their opinion in a democratic context..but his knowledge of lots of matter is really appreciate...that my personal opinion. Especially his ctc....

[@mabhishekjhawar]

Omg ! It looks like you did not watch the complete series . Raza has held in high esteem and In the series Bhabha promoted him to the highest level. Raza is not a villain . Common SG not expected this to turn into a Hindu Muslim identity crisis. In fact the last episode displays how patriotic Indian Muslim Raza was.

[@tksrajan1]

Precisely my point!

[@anootoshsarkar686]

But the showmakers took away Meghnad Saha's character completely so, that's a point

[@rishabhsingh7826]

@@anootoshsarkar686 ya but it becomes. 50-50 na. yes his character was not shown in proper way but I think this series was about 3 guys. Sara bhai, homi and Kalam.

[@anandrmnn]

@@anootoshsarkar686 Bengali's are not important anymore as their state has fallen behind economically.

[@anindarupachunder2001]

@@anandrmnn Bengalis will remain important and relevant as long as Indian history lives and India thrives with her true spirit. Bengal still excels in many of the HD indexes where the self proclaimed super state 'Gujrat' fails miserably. Go check the data and stop bullshiting. It was a Bengal tigress who chased and thrashed the gidars and monkeys messing in Bengal soil last year, like no one could do. Hope you get the sense.

[@sanjayjoshi9878]

As SG confessed, he binge-watched so he might have slept through some parts and thus the factual errors. Mehdi Raza is not the villain in the series though he is shown with many human frailties. The saboteur is the other fictional scientist. SG may follow-up after fact checking.

[@kumargupt3426]

Q: 1) सभी देवता भारत मै ही क्यों आए? जवाब: आप जिसे भारत कह रहे हो वो पहले ईरान से लेकर इंडोनेशिया तक था जिसे हम लोग अखंड भारत कहते रहे। भगवान शिव और मां सरस्वती ने जापान में Daikokuten रूप में अवतार लिया और माता ने बिवा रूप में अवतार लिया । और माता रानी को अरब के काबा में अल लत नाम से पूजा जाता था और यहां तक कि श्री गणेश जी की मूर्तियां आज भी इंडोनेशिया में मिली रही है। Q: 2) भगवान जानवरो को ही अपना यान क्यू चुनते है? भगवान जब भी कहा पर अवतार लेते है तब वहा के हि प्रविवेश के अनुसार अपना यान चुनते है। जैसे कि वैज्ञानिक मानते है कि homo erectus के समय काल मै एक ऐसे हाथी होते थे जिनके कई सुर होते है और जो कि Mamuthus primigenius प्रजाति के थे। वहीं हाथी देवराज इन्द्र का वाहन है। Q: 3)सभी देवता राज घराने मै ही जन्म क्यू लेते है। सभी ने राज घराने में नहीं जन्म लिया १)वामन अवतार २) भगवान परशुराम ३) दत्तात्रेय ये सब भी ईश्वर के अवतार थे तब भी इन्होंने गरीब परिवार में जन्म लिया। भगवान राम ने एक राजघराने मै जन्म लेने के बावजूद भी 14 वर्षों का वनवास काटा। Q: 4) क्या वेद में ईश्वर की मूर्तियां को पूजने की मनाही है? अथर्व वेद 3/10/3 खुद मूर्ति पूजा का समर्थन करते है सं॑वत्स॒रस्य॑ प्रति॒मां यां त्वा॑ रात्र्यु॒पास्म॑हे। सा न॒ आयु॑ष्मतीं प्र॒जां रा॒यस्पोषे॑ण॒ सं सृ॑ज ॥ Q: 5) अभी भगवान क्यू नही अरहे है?? भगवद गीता के आध्या 4 श्लोक 7 हे अर्जुन! जब-जब धर्म की हानि और अधर्म की वृद्धि होती है, तब तब मैं आता हूं ॥ साधु पुरुषों का उद्धार करने के लिए, पाप कर्म करने वालों का विनाश करने के लिए और धर्म की अच्छी तरह से स्थापना करने के लिए मैं युग-युग में आता हूँ | कलयुग के अंत मै पाप चरम पर होगा तब भगवान अंतिम बार अवतरित होंगे । कृष्ण का पुरातात्विक सबूत JOURNEL OF THE ORIENTED NUMISTATIC SOCIETY NO 176,216,222 में मिलता है। Q: 6) भगवान को बुरे लोगो को मारने मै इतनी देरी क्यों हुई| जवाब: जब भगवान श्री राम आए तब Early Homo Sapines का समय था उस वक़्त इंसानों की जीने की अवधि अभी से ज़्यादा होती थी और जब इसलिए आपको लग रहा है कि भगवान ने उन्हें मारने मै इतनी देर क्यों हुई! भगवान श्री कृष्ण ने तो बचपन में जाने कितनो असुरो और कंश को मार दिया था । वे जब चाहे तब असुरों को मार सकते है लेकिन वो इंसानी रूप मै आते है इसलिए वो इंसानों के जैसे होकर सब कुछ करते है। अगर इनका अल्लाह होता तो इतने काफिरों को पैदा होने ही नहीं देता और अगर है भी तो क्या वो अभी काफिरों का बिगाड़ सकता है। और वो लोग मुसलमानों से आगे है बहुत से क्षेत्रों में। Q. क्या मां सरस्वती ब्रह्मा जी की पुत्री थी? ब्रह्मवैवर्त पुराण के अनुसार मां सरस्वती ब्रह्मा जी की वाणी थी और मां देवी की विनती करने करने पर ब्रह्मा जी ने उन्हें अपनी अर्धांगिनी के रूप में स्वीकार किया था (Devi Bhagwatum Puran Chapter 3/6). अलोक्या उपनिषद ने सुरुवात से ही उनके बीच दाम्पत्य संबंध होने की बात की गई है । Q: क्या श्री कृष्ण ने 16000 गोपियों से विवाह किया था? जबाब: वो जितनी भी गोपियां थी वो पिछले जन्म में ऋषि थे जिन्होंने नारायण की तपस्या करके उनसे वरदान मांगा कि वो सब अग्ला जीवन उनके साथ बिता सके इसलिए प्रभु ने उनकी इक्छा को पूरा किया। Q: मुसलामानों ने भारत पर हमला क्यू किया? अक्सर मुस्लिम कहते है कि मुस्लिम का आतंकवादी बनने का इस्लाम से कोई लेना देना नहीं है लेकिन असलियत कुछ और ही है। (मुहम्मद ने खुद कहा था कि जो मुसलमान सिंध(भारत ) पर हमला करेगा वो जहन्नुम की आग से बच जाएगा।) sunan Nasai 4:25:3177

[@frankly.speaking]

Too agree with u...

[@fulkrumsukhoi1941]

Mehdi Raza is infact proved to be a true nationalist in the end. Shekhar probably did not wait till the end and got rattled by his 'fear-mongering the minority' instinct and got-up quickly to spread his propaganda. He may not follow-up because a nationalist movie that invokes national pride most probably is not something he wants his leftist followers to watch as it's counter-productive for the mindset he wants them to have. These people still play politics over Atmanirbhar Bharat, India becoming militarily-capable and advance in Science and discourage people to support it. Even though it's not about BJP but India's glory. This movie may not go well with that motive of the left.

[@KshitijBhambri1]

@@fulkrumsukhoi1941 I love Nehru and Congress. They did it. They made India what it is today. I just can't imagine what India would have been had Communists or Bharatiya JanaSangh got power at the time of Independence

[@fulkrumsukhoi1941]

@@KshitijBhambri1 Yes surely. But a much better fit and the rightfully deserving candidate was Sardar Patel for the post of the first PM of India. Congress was promising at the beginning but they never rose above red-taping and dynast politics. They should have reduced red-taping, stood tall against foreign adversaries and planned the development of India better in terms of infrastructure. We ended up being a poor socialist economy even after 70 years of Independence. We could have replicated China's model. We should have built infrastructure, boosted make in India productions and strived for more cleanliness. Every other development would have automatically followed. After Indira Gandhi and Vajpayee, this is the only government taking the right steps for the future by appropriately taking the above crucial steps.

[@sankaranarayanan45]

During 1923-25, my grandfather Subramoni Iyer studied physics under Sir CV Raman in Calcutta. Staying very close to CVR's house, my grandfather rushed to his house early in the morning with the Statesman to announce the the election of CVR to the Royal Society. The first reaction of the man was : "The next to get the FRS will be Meghnath Saha." Sure enogh, within a year Saha was elected to the Royal Soxiety.

[@pspsdan]

Wonderful to hear about Saha in CTC, the man who is not as well known as Raman, or J. C. Bose, or Bhaba, but whose contribution is immense to the growth of science in India. Saha institute of nuclear physics in Kolkata is still this nation's foremost research centers in the area.

[@shubh_1895]

Meghnad Saha wala part i noticed. But I never saw the character of Raza as an Intentional "Muslim Villain" as such. (Spoiler Alert) In fact, he turned out to be a patriot and "hero" in the end.

[@manavsingh5501]

Bhai mere spoiler alert spoil karne ke baad kon likhta hai

[@heerendradigarse5024]

@@manavsingh5501 😂

[@abcd-sr4ov]

Are spoiler alert start mai lik dete

[@arnabroy7596]

Bhai it is intentional,there was no existence of world class Bengali muslim scientist in pre independence era,so while watching every Bengali started to think who is that charector?

[@shubh_1895]

@@manavsingh5501 sorry bhai jis order me dhyan aaya usi order me likh dia 😂. I am assuming someone watching SG's this video has already seen the series.

[@sadhanasatapathy9945]

I strongly disagree with you sir. The idea is that contrary to the perception of us about muslims, a hindu(Mathur) turns out to be a villain.It shows how people are misunderstood on the basis of religion.

[@maxpayne2060]

Sir One interesting fact both S N Bose and Meghnad Saha stood First and Second in all of their exams throughout their academic life.But remained fast friends .

[@anandrmnn]

Were they in the same class?!!

[@PhysRiders29]

​@@anandrmnn yes

[@lalitsagar2318]

We tend to jump to conclusion that the fictional character Mehdi Raza is not in fact the real villain of the show, and debunk Shekhar sir's argument. The whole premise of the argument seems to be regarding the identity theft of Meghnad Saha, and adding communal tinge to the show's narrative, which could have been done without.

[@sidhuparakala]

Lol, read the heading of the video again

[@Thoughtflux]

The only thing fictional in the character of Mehdi raza is the name.

[@supdasaaf]

Very well said.

[@shyambajekal8084]

Yes agreed. That is indeed sad. But why say that Raza is the villain when it's not true. SG needs to correct this mistake. Or else he's adding to the polarisation

[@lovesharma4883]

It's the one sided victim card that's triggered most of the comments. References: the Movie sherni and Jai Bhim.

[@darthashpie]

There's a difference between villain and antagonist , like why does his religion even matter to you?

[@manishk3693]

Lutyens media, their heart beats for islam

[@laba3423]

who has watched whole show knows if he is shown as villain , media has habit of juming on narrative which suits them

[@mandaldeb]

There is a serious factual mistake here. Saha was indeed from a backward caste of petty shopkeepers, but he was probably not from an Untouchable caste i.e., he was not a Dalit according to today's lexicon. On the other hand, the Namasudra caste is considered Dalit or SC. Saha did face severe discrimination and insult from upper caste fellow students, and this hardened his outlook against the Hindu caste system, but it is also imperative that we keep the facts intact.

[@premprasad3511]

He faced discrimination from Nehru too...in great scientist of that time faced and even Raman was no exception ---so dont start ranting upper caste, lower caste here

[@Malfoy-bk8tm]

Lol yes every bengali knows that Saha's come from a caste of shopkeepers and small businessmen, they are savarnas, to characterise them as Dalits extremely shoddy and inaccurate.

[@dibyajyotidas5239]

Why do you test history on today's lexicon? Where is the fact in that?

[@trideep220280]

We can give Shekhar that much leeway for the more substantial matter of identity theft of Meghnadh Saha.

[@dibyajyotidas5239]

You are as much denier of the caste based discrimination as much as saying Holocaust did not happen. A caste that has developed now can no way be the basis of judgement of what its status was in preindependent India. And no wonder your post has that many likes. It is the very "fact" on the basis of which the courts go on extending reservation.

[@cyrilmathew4136]

Today we know that stars are mainly composed of hydrogen and helium. This discovery was made by analyzing the spectra of stars using the Saha equation by scientists like Cecilia Payne. Her story is also quite interesting.

[@dwaipayandebnath4232]

Saha's ionization equation is still used today to solve line driven massive star winds.

[@imaginaryprofessor6173]

Meghnad Saha deserves an own biopic 😊.

[@Subh8081]

It was okay to imagine a fictional character as villain, but not base on a real life person who happens to be a great person. In the series, this character is accused of taking money from Jinnah and trapped by CIA to subvert Indian nuclear program.

[@fulkrumsukhoi1941]

It is not Saha's character. The director has himself said that it's purely a fictional character. All other names were used without changing it. So, if Saha's name isn't there, that means his character was not introduced in the series. Moreover, even the fictional Raza's role turned out to be a good one and not a villain's in the end.

[@nikhilgoutam3867]

Just finished this series in one day... it's a masterpiece, every indian will know about our great scientist from this movie. Ugly waiting for part two ❤️😍

[@aayushpaliwal3450]

Remember that movie Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW) featuring John Abraham as Rehamatullah Ali inspired from the life of Ravindra Kaushik. . Or the movie Sherni where Vidya Balan played real life shero KM Abharna as Vidya Vincet .

[@azgaming5269]

It is not about any Hindu Muslim issue, but replacing the character of Meghnad Saha is not at all appropriate. He was one of the leading physicists of the 20th Century.

[@sayanbanerjee8459]

Actual analysis of Meghnad Saha. And rightly said that unfortunately Saha was a Namashudra at that time. It was the societal structure of that time that Surname 'Saha' was acknowledged as namashudra community. And it is a very grave mistake to the legacies of great scientist like Saha to not get represented properly in the Web series.

[@ABhattacharya]

Saha are bene. Namasudra? Are you sure?

[@champaroy2656]

Saha are a bussiness baishya community not at all namasudra

[@yesminister6736]

Saha became Raza in the series u idiot. N Raza was a competent good guy ....it's a case of usual fake muslim fictional hero n not fictional muslim villain as this basterd wants us to believe

[@sayanbanerjee8459]

@@yesminister6736 will you please explain with your great wisdom how a character like Meghnad Saha is replaced by a person whose name was neither in scientific history of india compared to the top casts of the web series? And my friend if one is doing a web series based on true facts and not an adaptation then there is a need to portray all the characters with highest significance. The man behind modern India's scientific progress and modern river planning has been outcaste by some Mr. Raza. It's not a clarification to the significance of that man. We all talk about Bhaba and Sarabhai but the scientists who actually paved the way of scientific Renaissance in the country all belong to undivided bengal and they never tried to take credit for their work or come to limelight so that in future a film could be made on them.

[@whocares3132]

Are you f** stupid. How the f* Sahas are Namosudra?? They are Beneya or Boissya ( business class. I am Bengali Bairagi.

[@patriot9981]

SG, many scientists and leaders are eliminated by agencies of US, USSR and your favourite PRC in India especially of ISRO and DRDO. See videos of NK Sood the true nationalist and done many sacrifices during his tenure in RAW. Please add this to your knowledge.

[@vikramadityajha8924]

I am fortunate enough to read all the great Scientist with positive mind in my text book that give equal importance to all of them including the great Meghnath Saha. Our generation text book not only glorify there effort, but feel us proud on their achievement. As the time passes we might get lnferior version of our great past. The real villain is those give importance to entertainment over our proud history.

[@Hokage982]

True...the textbooks i studied growing up were all about giving equal respect to all scientists...

[@saikatbanerjee6535]

Saha and Subhas Bose were planning for modern India both of whom were marginalized by Nehru.

[@dheerajmitra8693]

Who read between the lines and found a “religion” angle here? Perhaps a seasoned “journalist”. Welcome the acknowledgement!

[@anshul9462]

Why India has now stopped producing such great scientist now?

[@cg8397]

Cronyism. Note that Bhabha and Sarabhai recruited scientists from all kinds of backgrounds because of merit. Today's recruitment in India is based mostly on family and friends connections.

[@ssrinivasan5969]

Saha's writings are available in 4 volumes. It shows the breadth of his interests. These were indeed great science administrators of the time. Add to his Satish Dewan a decade or 2 younger and even MS Swaminathan. The reading of Saha into Mehdi Raza is a bit misplaced by SG. This was also the era of dreamy science when science was pure as the driven snow without any politics. The narrative built by these titans needs to be interrogated however without in no way diminishing them.

[@krishnaagarwal5163]

then science was science. There was not even an iota of politics. Also agree with your view that Dhawan and Swaminathan are also in the same league. Perhaps, you could include Dr. Raja Ramanna also,

[@janami-dharmam]

@@krishnaagarwal5163 Politics was omnipresent; caste was so powerful even then. You need to be an yes man (if you are a junior fellow) just to get a promotion even those days

[@sanjana3218]

Respect your opinion but a 1.Bengali scientist 2.working on cyclotron 3.senior to bhabha 4. Member of planning commission 5.with immense love for country 6. Interest in politics 7. had already established a state-of-the-art research facility in Kolkata before TIFR 8. Coming from extremely humble background n fighting povert n discrimination.. Meghnad Saha is written all over Mehdi Raza.. the intent, i assume was not mallicious from the makers pov. But it's difficult not to read saha in Raza when you grew up reading about the genius who deserved Nobel.

[@anandrmnn]

I grew up in India hearing Meghnath Saha's name along with S. N. Bose, C. V. Raman, J. C Bose, etc as one of the foremost Indian scientific minds - never thought he was neglected nor did I know his lower caste status until SG announced it today!! It's very sad that how the Indian intelligentsia instigate caste conflicts among the Hindus and actively undermine their unity... I would have given the benefit of doubt that they actually want dignity and equality for all, but curiously, the same people never talk about the caste discrimination among the Muslims, which according to Dr. Ambedkar, is much more severe and rampant and never seen any reform or remedy from within the society!

[@bharatpandit4796]

Satish Dhawan, you mean!

[@devjyotichakravorty]

If a fictional muslim charector generates so much anger, I urge negative charectors to be named as A1b2c3 next time.

[@atpugnes]

I think that the primary argument is that; did they have to steal Saha's identity to create this character? It is very convenient to do that to someone forgotten by history. Instead of morphing Saha's identity and adding a Muslim touch, there could have been better alternatives.

[@husaindaud5569]

Hindu _ muslim angle ... I never thought someone could think this after watching such a program.

[@gcdumful]

Dear SG, i have a doubt weather you completed the series. Raza is the one who warned bhaba that he could be killed at the end of the story. He was never a villain. It was mathur. Please dont make a story out of everything. It can be passed of as creative liberty! As per fabrication is concerned... it is even done in our history books to suit a section. No intellectual elites question that. Even in the movie jai bhim there was a fabrication of the character of the police. But no. You wont speak about that. Please dont make your life complicated about it. Lastly, Meghnad Saha is quiet a renowned scientist acknowledged by everyone in bengal. No one has forgotten him.

[@nitinpatel1039]

Bollywood has creativity, really 😂

[@gcdumful]

So dont watch. No need to!

[@mutualrespect4411]

Modi is doing Hindu Muslim, while all the media and entertainment industry cannot think about anything else than hindu muslim...

[@Djain5545]

Raza was never portrayed as a villain on the contrary he had a redemption arc and on top of that he was well respected by Homi. Please watch the complete series.

[@shubhrasaha6890]

9:15 In Bengal, every caste is considered as 'Shudra' except the 'Brahmins' according to the scriptures. It has a different caste structure altogether. But the 'Saha' is not considered backward or Dalit/Namashudra at all. It sits somewhere in the middle.

[@souravsaha8535]

Just wanted to know that, Are ur comment is from present day cast structure in bengal...... Or pre-independent era cast structure(On SC/ST context) .

[@dparamful]

Shekhar plays fast and loose with facts.

[@jyothikumar811]

I haven't seen this movie but from your discussion, Similarly Jai-Bhim movie as well, the Hindu is the invented villain, this goes on as we are some way or other always biased and pick and chose to discuss We fear to show what is real and change to suit the time and call it as freedom of expression and creativity.

[@TheShrestha997]

dear, what directors do out of creative liberty is their business, as viewers we should keep our eyes open and accept the truth for what it is. NO VILLAIN IS EITHER HINDU OR MUSLIM FIRST, THEY ARE VILLAIN INSIDE OUT AND MORE IMPORTANTLY VILLAINS IN FICTION WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO COMPETE WITH THEIR REAL COUNTERPARTS!

[@mrthinker321]

So now there can be no Muslim villians. Cause Muslim villain = Islamophobia

[@gtj400]

Its disturbing how many of the users here are justifying such an act of blatant rewriting of history. We owe ourselves truth in its whole complexity. Without that we will be lost. Thanks SG for clarifying.

[@sauron2000000]

There is no truth. Watch a movie named Rashomon.

[@gtj400]

@@sauron2000000 been on my list for a long time. Will do!

[@p.iabhivyakti9641]

I absolutely agree with Mr.Shekhar Gupta . Saha was a great scientist and patriot .........his memories should be respected .

[@jaipreetsingh6566]

People should not rely on internet series, movies and memes for knowledge on politics, history and philosophy...psuedo intellectualism is at rise...I realised that I was one too 😅

[@sauron2000000]

When were you one?

[@abcd-sr4ov]

You say people shouldn't relay on internet series but most of the Indians learn about history through these serials Most of the people learned about Jodha Akbar by movie or serials and they think it as the fact ,they will do the same with this series as well

[@pharaohakhneton9553]

Very apt observation.There is no short-cut to knowledge. It demands one's total attention,devotion, commitent ,sustained interest , love fir learning and physical movement also, which is beyond the scope if most people. What we see in internet is the magnification of profanity. So searching for scholarly opinion is like searching for a pin in haystack.

[@PhysRiders29]

I think now a biopic or webseries on Meghnad Saha needed to be made

[@kaushikchatterjee7045]

Saha was an outspoken critic of the science and industrialization policies of the Nehru era that seemed in accord with his own views. Unlike Bhabha, Saha opposed its setting up at that time since India had not been ready with the industrial base and trained manpower required for that purpose, and preferred the French model for India. Nehru, however, favoured the approach of Bhabha. It should be remembered that Saha introduced nuclear physics as a compulsory subject at MSc level (1939), surmised the possibility of selfsustained fission (1941), set up the Institute of Nuclear Physics (1950) in which Asia’s first Cyclotron was built. However, Saha’s continued differences with bureaucrats, as G. Venkataraman narrates in his book Saha and His Formula (Universities Press, Hyderabad, 1995), his strong disapproval of certain symbols as reflecting ‘a retrograde and anti-scientific mentality’, and his evangelist spirit did not always endear him in power circles. It is unfortunate for Indian science that the three great physicists at Calcutta - Raman, Saha and Bose - couldn’t work together as a team. Raman went to Bangalore, Saha to Allahabad and Bose to Dacca. Raman and Saha had strong disagreements, sometime acrimonious. On his election as an independent candidate to the first Lok Sabha, Saha’s public activities expanded. Though often critical of the government, he chaired the Calendar Reform Committee to propose a uniform calendar for India that led the government to adopt the Saka Calendar from 1956. Saha attended a UN meeting to explain the desirability of World Calendar Reform based on scientific principles.

[@GauravSingh-fw2xf]

By This stretch Article 15 movie Villanised Yogi Aadityanath ( mahanth character) where as The Badayun incident from where the movie is adapted from happened in SP Akhilesh Yadav rule. In the movie perpetrators were shown to be Brahmins where as in actual Badayun case they were Yadavs The movie showed rape victims as dalits but in real case victims were actually upper caste poor Brahmin girls but

[@amatrasen6086]

Watched the whole series, the fact of Meghnad Saha's rejection is so cruel...and then the present bigotry pandering too pulled the standard of the show...

[@khushbooagrawal6435]

Make a counter movie then....... instead of crying in comment section

[@orkkojit]

@@khushbooagrawal6435 did your father make the movie ? Who are you to talk ? What science have you accomplished compared to Meghnad Saha ? When a country doesn't respect it's real scientists and has bloody idiots like you, science in India suffers and decays.

[@orkkojit]

@Ramesh Patel The film directors evidently don't respect Meghnad Saha else they wouldn't have disrespected his legacy in this *DISGUSTING* *CRIMINAL* *MANNER* .

[@orkkojit]

@Ramesh Patel MEGHNAD SAHA was also a rocket science. I have no problem with Bhabha but why POTRAY MEGHNAD SAHA IN A *DISGUSTING* MANNER

[@orkkojit]

@Ramesh Patel Mehdi Raza is MEGHNAD SAHA

[@Liberal_right]

Many such examples existed in Bollywood since 1950’s. Those days Pandits were regularly showcased as villan in almost all movies. Cinematic liberty should not be a excuse to defame a caste or religion.

[@arijitchatterjee1470]

Unacceptable and feeling humiliated as an Indian

[@shivam-oz6gz]

Not the india mg dreamt of 😭

[@rishabhbajpai21]

Agree with Shekhar Ji on stealing the identity part but also wished if Print was born before Kabir Khan stole the identity of MirRanjan Negi in Chak de India.

[@KapilMurarkar]

Wonderful historical insight. Truth is so accurately depicted unlike some on the other episodes. I wish Mr. Shekhar Gupta tries to take time and research and tell the world about Dr B R Ambedkar

[@swastikamukherjee3526]

Please watch the entire series.. Raza's character is so beautifully articulated.. He is not at all a villain.

[@sailendradewan]

Why did the makers of this series convert Saha to Muslim? Saha, as he existed in history, would have added a perfect dimension to this series. His story should have been told without compromising his basic identity.

[@71espn]

Saha died in 1952, so the rivalry between the scientists wouldn't be fleshed out and the other points that the creators wanted to make such as the elitism and favoritism, that helped bhaba or his other flaws. Raza was a perfect narrative device for the creators to show all this. Also the CIA plot to sabotage Indians scientists is fleshed out through Raza and the twist in the last episode is only possible because Raza is still alive whereas in reality Saha was long dead.

[@himangkakaushik2542]

There are film critics and their reviews. And then there are journalists and their analysis. Best ever.

[@bhavyajain3655]

Wait Mehdi Raza was villian what??? Where??? Shekar gupta ji did we even watch the same series or maybe you watch first five episodes and decided to make this video. Because as far as rocket boys is concerned mathur was the villian.

[@arundevan3162]

As usual Indian people used to discriminate great people like Dr. Meghnad Saha because he belonged to the Scheduled caste.

[@chandrikasaha6301]

Saha among Bengalies are Vaisya, teli and Suri. He was vaisya, I know personally from a distant family connection.Dalit thing is(was) not there as it is(was) in other parts of the country. Below Bramhin almost everyone was treated as low in stature. Take Tagores, they too were given a low stature in the society from marital stand points. But poor and non Bramhin was the toughest position. From there Meghnad Saha emerged out which shows his iron zeal, determination and intellect. He was treated poorly in his batch in Hindu College(now Presidency College) by his batch mates except Satyendranath Bose. He therefore changes is original name from Meghnath to Meghnad choosing to represent the asur/ rakshsas instead, than to side with the Gods.

[@sahasupremacy]

Chandrika, u r absolutely correct. Sahas are categorized into three castes vaishya(baishya saha), teli(obc) & sunri(sc).

[@chandrikasaha6301]

@@sahasupremacy I belong to Vaisya Saha myself. Dr. Meghnad Saha's (arranged) marriage proposal came for my paternal grandmother's beautiful sister who eloped with somebody else just before that marriage.

[@sahasupremacy]

@@chandrikasaha6301 I urge u to go through this book(page no:12) "Meghnad Saha- His Science and Persona through Selected Letters and Writings" just google it's available in pdf format. this book is a reminiscences of meghand saha's daughter chitra roy.

[@sahasupremacy]

u will get to know about his caste. please reply after looking it up in the book...

[@chandrikasaha6301]

​@@sahasupremacy surely. I wish I could learn of his work more. And yes, his achievement from all the adversaries is inspiring.

[@bangguyraj]

And most of these scientists were born in today's Bangladesh claimed to be Indians like most of the Calcutta based intellectuals who hailed from East Bengal (Bangladesh).

[@varoonnone7159]

I can understand that the Panchama community rightly revers Dr Ambedkar, the jurist but it's such a pity that they don't give due respect to Professor Meghnad Saha who is one of the most celebrated scientists of pre and post Independent India.

[@anandrmnn]

I grew up in India hearing Meghnath Saha's name along with S. N. Bose, C. V. Raman, J. C Bose, etc as one of the foremost Indian scientists - never thought he was neglected nor did I know his lower caste status until SG announced it today!! It's very sad that how the Indian intelligentsia instigate caste conflicts among the Hindus and actively undermine their unity. I would have given the benefit of doubt that they actually want dignity and equality for all, but curiously, the same people never talk about the caste discrimination among the Muslims, which according to Dr. Ambedkar, is much more severe and rampant and never seen any reform or remedy from within the society!

[@varoonnone7159]

@@anandrmnn Meghnad Saha has not been neglected by society at large but by the Dalit community itself. I have never once heard a Dalit community leader speak of Saha as a role model. They only glorify Ambedkar. That's a pity because the stigma against Dalits stems from their so-called "impure" professions but by putting forward a Dalit who was one of the most celebrated scientists of 20th century India, they will show that not only Brahmans can be intellectuals. I agree that the Muslim caste system is never talked about when it is even solely based on race where muslims with claimed arabic blood are on top not forgetting the so-called Syeds who claim to descend from Muhammad himself. But do we have an interest in speaking too much about it? Because if we do, muslim lower castes will claim reservation benefits and that's not good for the country.

[@anandrmnn]

@@varoonnone7159 Why do some caste has to rally around someone just because s/he is/was from their caste?!! I haven't come across any else writing about as unapologetic and unambiguous way about Hindu-Muslim issue as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar - why can't I rally around it just because he's not from my caste?! Muslims are already getting reservations, not only that, they are getting many other benefits (in the name of Minority Rights) that are not available to the Hindus of India. Ignoring the fault-lines within the Muslim society is just foolish and just helps them to perpetuate their mythical unity.

[@varoonnone7159]

@@anandrmnn You can of course use what Ambedkar said against Islam It's not about rallying. I just find it a pity that they don't glorify Saha and I clearly explained why. It is generally accepted that Panchamas don't indulge in intellectual work. Here you have a well-known counter example of that common belief. Why not use it?

[@JetFlash512MB]

From where this perception is coming that Meghnad Saha is a dalit? If you come to Assam or North Bengal , the most famous Bengali Surname is Saha. And nowwhere we get benefit of Schedule Caste Reservations. Saha s are known as Vaishayas among Bengalis i.e. the Business Community. Late Mr Meghnad Saha family was a distant relative of my Father's Sister family. And he was the same caste as ours. So please acknowledge this fact that Saha Surname belongs to general caste. If Mr Shekhar Gupta or The Print have any information to the contrary then share that information is with us, we will challenge that

[@abhijitdatta7796]

The whole concept of 'patal lok' was stolen from the tehelka owner's episode of 2001.it was then adulterated into something ridiculous with huge amount of propaganda.guptaji never did a national interest in it.

[@nckrimo]

When a movie Muslim character ( Incorrectly if I may say so) is painted as bad guy suddenly the secular people like SG wake up to condemn it. Why not apply the same yardstick when similar things happened in the movie Sherini where the actual hunter guy was in reality a Muslim but in the movie he is a Tilak wearing Hindu? Or the complete caste/religion flips that happened in Jai Bheem ( The inspector who tortures the tribal guy to death) or Soorari Potru ( Based on Capt Gopinath). When these are fair in the name of Creative Liberties, so is the Rocket Boys series.

[@keertivardhan9305]

I don't think you have watched the series in entirety Mr. Shekhar Gupta. In the last episode it was revealed that though Raza had inferiority complex against Bhabha, he was a patriot and his actions were always in the country's interest. It was also revealed that actually it was another scientist who Bhabha trusted the most was conspiring with CIA, which also seems a little far fetched.

[@jhawar-ji]

Mehdi Raza is not a portrayal of one scientist. Maybe (I'm not sure) his character was based on Saha, but (on the basis of achievements) he is more closely related to Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhari (the person who developed India's first cyclotron and Director of SINP after Saha). And for people who will say, this description is given on Rocket Boys Wikipedia, FYI, I only updated that on their profile. And those who have seen Rocket Boys should once read Nagchaudhari's profile and decide for themselves who is a better fit for Mehdi Raza's profile.

[@navani45]

Dear sir if I had not heard this national interest episode I would not have know Dr Megnath Shah and thought a Muslim Razak was trying to sabotage the efforts of Dr Homi baba and Dr Vikram Sarabhai. I feel regulatory bodies must ask the producer of Rocket Boys to correct this grave mistake which is aiming to make market benefit in the polarised environment. Very sad. Thank you Shekar sir for educating us!!!

[@deepakjiwani6476]

Bhai, see the series. You will see SGs fanning the communal divide. And there is no Muslim foe.

[@krishnaagarwal5163]

I have to watch Rocket Boys now. As also your video again. Babha, Sarabhai, Saha were the greatest of the scientists of golden era of Indian science. I had the privilege of listening to speech by Dr. Bhabha, JRD Tata at an event at IISc in early 60s. Marvelous ideas from both.

[@puneethraj173]

Our film makers did the same thing even in Dangal everything in that movie was okay but at the end when coach locks amir Khan in a room downstairs was so cringey and unnecessary Our film makers should learn from films like Bohemian Rhapsody It was one of the first Hollywood biographies that I saw It really blew me away I even started to listen various music 🎵 played in that movie

[@fredrichwilliam2345]

Nothing wrong in it. In every other movie and series these days Hindus are villified and Muzl are shown as messiah. It's ok if it is shown the other way round. SG has no balls to talk about movies disrespecting Hindu gods and goddesses and claims to be a secular journalist.

[@lalitthapa101]

Meghnad Saha deserves better

[@josephandrews5467]

I remember my father talking very highly of his brilliant professor in his BA class in Allahabad University Dr. Meghnad Saha , calling my own professors in my college as scarecrows !

[@suddhasattasaha4793]

And yes Megnad Saha was the heliophilus of Modern India. Not only emeritus in teaching, but was also deeply concerned about his students and did excellent research in a wide arena of topics. He is not related to me tho, but I have vowed to carry his legacy forward - i.e. to use physics for a better India.As I become a physicist, I will keep my promise. Megnad Saha , Raman and Feynman are my role models- they ( especially Saha and Feynman) have heavily inspired me and are a reason why I want to contribute to National development using science. This webseries could have portrayed Saha himself, though the underlying message was very strong.

[@pinakibanerjee129]

Forget religious identities imagine in this post truth era audience after watching the show tries to find out the real identity of Mehdi Raza,the villain on Google. And Google will obviously answer Meghnad Saha, imagine what kind of character assassination that will incur on one of the greatest scientist India ever produced. People today don't have patience to read the full history, that's why they learn it from movies moreover they aren't willing to learn history they just want to fight over it.

[@ramaprasadmajumder6449]

Very good comment

[@speedbird109]

AI Flight 101 which killed Homi Bhabha was a pilot error. He was warned multiple times about being low and off course but he descended earlier than he should have thinking he had crossed the ridge. Only the right wing tip hit the ridge. Capt Joe D’Souza 16 year veteran.

[@theswapnilsaga]

Well, while I binged the whole series back to back, literally I too felt that this Mehndi Raza's character was the villian but later realised as the story progressed, that he was rather shown a victim of bad times, still the one who is struggling to make his own way and also shown the one and only genius enough to challenge Bhabha's character. Talking about him being shown evil, I would like to argue since the only thing Raza's character is shown fighting is Bhabha being privileged and favoured by Nehru and high society. Except that, there is no scene where he is shown disrespecting or disregarding Bhabha's dexterity, even in the end he is shown praising Bhabha when he creates nuclear reactor! And even disengages himself upon knowing the journalists evil intentions. I believe Raza's character is not one but a mix of all those geniuses at that time. We as audience didn't count that as Muslim character, then why do you bring that difference into light being a senior journalist, claiming it our ignorance but highlighting it for you communal means??

[@muawazanwar5207]

I lost you when you inferred "we as audience", they have literally named a fictional Muslim character out of creative liberty, is not going to be perceived as Muslim? I highly doubt it. some due diligence ,should have been exercised, would do more good to history. period

[@shivkumarpabba4089]

Shekhar ji: You rise to new heights in this “review” as a film critic too! Trust me, it is illuminating and persuasive and fair and sensible! Your perspective is justifiably historical and biographical (the film’s positioning indeed warrants such a perspective and bust the stock ploy of “creative liberties”) and I haven’t watched anything like this. And it was not as if you turn a blind eye to the films good points too. But you teach us to appreciate the film from a new angle!

[@beanbag933]

The more I read about Indian Independence movement or any other country's period of major change, the more i realise there were professors and academia at the frontlines and backstage dabbling into constructive politics, but today (I seriously pray that someone proves me wrong) I hear of no professor, no academic doing their job as academic as well as taking to risk of changing the country through politics. Afterall it's politics which puts the food in you plate, doctors in your hospitals and petrol in your vehicles.

[@ghost_particle]

Meghnad Saha was a Bengali Vaishya not a Dalit

[@krishnachaitanya3105]

Wonderful and well narrated .. my heartfelt gratitude to professor Saha for his great contributions to national building .

[@LegendTD]

"in our book this is a crime" , strong words

[@Valkyri3Z]

I think the calculation was since Bhaba was a Parsi so lets have a villain who is a Shia Muslim , because of course Parsis were kicked out of Iran by Shias and then rest of the formula falls in place to make him look as bad as possible. Very silly and immature and very typical of most Indian story tellers. Old habits die hard. It could have passed if they did not appropriate the identity of Meghnad Saha, which is very unfortunate.

[@nikhilgujar]

Sir, agree, with you, though Raza ( Saha ) was not depicted as villian as a anti climax Mathur was revealed as one. Historically, many sequences are incorrect. Even Maharaja of Travancore meeting with Mr Nehru where he is pressurized to give Monazite for uranium processing. I found that Kingdom of Travancore was amongst the first to accede to India in July 1947 even before india got its independence. ( I may be wrong ). This disturbs me. However, after all it's a movie and credit be given to the movie that it made me Google about Travancore, Mr Saha. To that extent the movie has been great.

[@SubrataDas-xn8qj]

Meghnad Saha came from a very humble background but he was/is undoubedly one of the great scientists India has ever produced.But alas today's generation knows every little about this prodigy!

[@anindyabagchi6119]

To all listeners, may I recommend reading the article. It is a treat to read something so well written.

[@ric1666]

Totally agree, this isn't like ancient history that for plot you will create drama and it's fine. This effects our current society.

[@mahuyaghosh6154]

Meghnath Saha is a huge figure in the field of Physics,his contribution in this field is commendable. We must know about him but for sure not in twisted

[@orunabho]

In 1992, MSc Physics students in Calcutta University were still using the book written by Prof Saha as the book on "Heat". A masterpiece by itself. Not sure, if it still continues as the reference book now. What a tragedy.

[@krishnaagarwal5163]

Meghnad's book on Heat - one of the all time classics

[@vikashkthakur]

And not only that, they wasted time on fictional dramas around ATIRA with Sarabhai. That project also involved Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, who could have got his own character in the show for his contribution to science in India and establishment of CSIR. They completely vanished Vallabhbhai Patel from the narrative, him and VP Menon were the ones involved in annexation of princly states, not Bhabha. Our main characters, the scientists, were shown doing less science, more politics. Narrative choices were weird, even Dr Kalam's introduction was rushed. Had high hopes from this series, they fell flat on delivery.

[@Mjjjyyy]

GuptaJi, your new avatar as a cinema critic is amazing. Keep going.

[@mtarkes]

Meghnad Saha is more famous in at least eastern India than Sarabhai. There are literally entire chapter in our school books dedicated to him. First you are trying hard to make Mr. Meghnad a Dalit, second you are trying hard to show the Muslim character as villain, third you are trying too hard to show that the Muslim character is completely based on Saha, and fourthly why are you again and again trying to make skin color an issue?

[@0xDEADD00D]

I think the issue here is that the Raza character is built by adding things upon the character of Meghnad Saha. I can see that creators tried to differentiate between the two but clearly failed, which is obvious. Interestingly changes introduced in the Saha's character to make Raza are mostly typical cliches to spice up the plot. In this politically and social issue related charged environment I can understand how people can derive different patterns out of these. I personally don't think the creators were being disrespectful or they had any ill intention, they were a bit careless and lazy is all.

[@val-schaeffer1117]

I am Bengali. And I do not think character of Mehdi Raza is villainised or inspired by Meghnad Saha. It is called creative liberty. Not any different from majority of Bollywood actors being Punjabi and Pathan, or characters being Khanna Malhotra Singhania.

[@jsshenoy204]

Like a good suspense-thriller, the villain is exposed only in the last episode. And you have not talked anything about the real villain of the serial. Will you please devote some time to the character named Mathur, a close confidant and the secret enemy of Homi Bhabha in coming episodes Shekhar? Even your brief comment is welcome.

[@rathinbasu6952]

Dear Shekhar Gupta: I appreciate very much the way you brought out this topic and exposed the way truth gets distorted to disorient the present generation. After watching your video, I don’t feel the urge to see the Rocket Boys. Thanks for a brilliant handling of this very complex topic, including taking inputs from Dr Anil Kakodkar.

[@ashokegupta1]

Brilliant and deserve kudos. You have rightly placed Dr. Meghnath Saha's contribution in Indian science. I fully agree with you there was no need for creating a villain in this series. Thanks for making this episode.

[@krishanshukla3121]

darbari hai gupta ji, kripa patr. research about his past.

[@avinabsarma2079]

Villain is not raza ...it was mathur.

[@indro401]

Brilliant piece by Shekhar ji. We need this for historical records before history is re-written per the whim and fancy of the current establishment (or those who want to be in their good books).

[@CountingStars333]

Finding bs when there is none

[@Malik-rf6op]

Most in comment unable to understand SG gave pass for name of villian, he was talking about achievements of Saha and his humble background. He was asserting that factually villian description is wrong.

[@hardayaldawra1458]

India is fortunate. It produced brilliant scientists and politicians, dedicated and honest.

[@ObitoUchiha10089]

Sir, I think there might be a misunderstanding in this case. Saha surname is mostly used by “Baniya”/“Bene” community as we call in Bengal. Most of my Saha friends and acquaintances are Baniya. Yes, few are Namasudras indeed. But Namasudra very distinct from Dalits. Yes, they are categorised as Scheduled Caste, but there has been talks since the very beginning if Namasudras are actually eligible for this privilege.

[@janami-dharmam]

your observation is correct; his father was a small shopkeeper in a village. Nehru once taunted him once on this...

[@anandrmnn]

@@akashsaha4363 I read that all people of Bengal was actually outcast and relatively recent convert to Hinduism in the larger scheme of 'Hindu' history - that's why Ramayana Mahabharata doesn't have any important role of Bengal. Many years back six Brahmin families were invited from Kahshi to Bengal to teach and convert the Bengali population the 'Hindu' way - but they were not allowed to go back to Kashi after (as they had come in contact with the 'impure' Bengalis) - so they settled in Bengal. One of those families became the well known Tagore (Thakur) family which the famous polymath Rabhidranath Tagore belonged to. Is that correct?

[@stxfdt1240]

@@anandrmnn lol....what nonsense...who is chandidas,shashanka then??

[@stxfdt1240]

@@anandrmnn lmao joker comment

[@anandrmnn]

@@stxfdt1240 Are you joking? they are very recent, from the medieval period. Bengal has few thousand years of recorded history - but apparently it's not nearly as old as the Vedic period.

[@TheB657]

One single question will bust the context of your title : *Why don't you ask the same question to the hundreds of films made till date choosing 'Hindu Villain' opposite an Abrahamic hero ?* Tell me Mr. intellectual then let's discuss the falsities in this film. *You ready ?*

[@dhaneshbavot]

That was great history lesson SG. I am glad to know fact from fiction from you, about this show. However, I do disagree with your opinion that Saha was villainized in the show. I think your title "..stealing Meghnad Saha’s identity" is a bit of a stretch. Rather, he was used as an inspiration to create a plausible villain. I agree that the show makers shouldn't have done that because as much as it makes for a captivating story, it blurs the line between fact and fiction, when the show involves historical figures. It doesn't do anyone any good other than reaffirm their own ideas about reality. Another thing I would disagree is about the "Make In India" push. I believe that was quite the motivation for many of the visionaries and leaders at the time. I don't think the current PM invented that idea. But I do agree that this could be a sneaky political campaign posing as a show about the brilliant minds of near independent India. As we all know, most of us don't do a thorough fact check about everything we see or hear these days.

[@aryanbparida5998]

Fun fact: Almost nobody cared whether the villain is a Hindu or a Muslim. Media is on a whole new level.

[@arkachakraborty7172]

I want to see the show but has not got the opportunity yet, but depicting Meghnad Saha as villain is worst at the best. He is a pioneer in the field of physics

[@Mukesh_Devrari]

Ok now I will watch it. Gupta ji is our national public intellectual.

[@Abbyramrosy]

It is important to tell the truth to youngsters who are more fed with fiction and told to believe that as facts. We need to have people like SG to keep journalism it's values in India. Keep writing and podcasts for the benefit of growing generation. 👍🙏❤️