It seems to be becoming the standard defence for senior authors in Indian academia to blame their juniors when found guilty of plagiarism. The recent case of plagiarism by Prof. CNR Rao (Science Advisor to the Indian PM) and Prof. SB Krupanidhi of the Indian Institute of Science where they took refuge first in blaming a student and then in trying to trivialise the plagiarism is a case in point.
Now a Professor Rajanish Dass at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad has blamed his co-author, Sujoy Pal (a research associate) for the plagiarism he was found guilty of. Dass has claimed that it was due to “ignorance and not intention” and has gone to the Gujarat High Court to try and delay the inevitable. Ironically Dass claims to be working on e-governance!
Students and research associates rank very low in the hierarchy of Indian academia and are convenient scapegoats for senior scientists and professors when they try to shrug off their responsibilities for wrong-doings.
A Gujarat high court ruling on Monday has come as a breather for IIM-A professor Rajanish Dass, who was held guilty of plagiarism in a preliminary inquiry conducted by the institute.
The k2p blog 