India, May 21 -- On Tuesday, India lost one of its most brilliant scientific minds-Dr Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. A cosmologist of global renown, he was also a passionate science communicator, a teacher to generations, and a staunch believer in questioning dogma-scientific or otherwise.

Dr. Raghunath Srianand, current director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) that Narlikar founded in 1988, called his passing a "big loss" to the world of science. "His vision was to empower researchers from across India, especially those from remote regions, to pursue high-quality research in astronomy and astrophysics," said Srianand. "He laid the foundation for what is now known as cosmology in India."

While the Big Bang...