Foto: BB.LV / женщина и мужчина
The scandal surrounding the granting of Latvian citizenship to Indian researcher Divya Kanane Vishwanatha has gone beyond discussions of her professional merits. Now, the reputation of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (LAS) and its president Ivars Kalviņš is in question, reports [TV3 News](https://tv3.lv/zinas/latvija/sabiedriba/viss-ir-slikti-skandala-ap-indijas-zinatnieces-pilsonibu-zinatnieki-pieprasa-skaidrojumus/). It was Kalviņš who recommended Vishwanatha's candidacy for citizenship for special merits, citing her work in the field of artificial intelligence research and development. However, following the decision of the Saeima, scientists began to verify the information presented and discovered a number of discrepancies. ## Scientists Cannot Find Confirmation of Scientific Achievements One of the first questions was the existence of scientific publications by Vishwanatha that could confirm her qualifications. Materials science specialist and LAS academic Andris Šutka stated that he attempted to find her works independently but was unsuccessful. > "Yes, I tried to find publications, but I was unable to. If this is true, then the author has no articles at all. If this is the case, there are no grounds to recognize her as an outstanding scientist and guarantee her citizenship on that basis," Šutka stated. Even more questions arose after changes were made to the researcher’s own website. Chemist and full member of the LAS Kristaps Jaudzems claims that over the weekend, new information appeared on the website that only intensified doubts about the reliability of the presented information. According to him, some publications contained strange discrepancies in dates. For example, materials marked as published in 2018 contain data from 2026. In other cases, images created in 2026 were allegedly added to the works only over the past weekend. > "All the listed publications raise doubts. Did the author even participate in their preparation? The data on the time periods is also questionable. To put it briefly, everything is bad," Jaudzems stated. ## Suspicions of Using Publication Factories Arise Jaudzems also pointed out the existence of commercial structures that offer the production of scientific materials and research results for money. > "Unfortunately, recently there have been opportunities to generate scientific results for money. Entire factories operate in this field. Available data suggests that in this case, services from such factories may have been used," the scientist believes. At the same time, these are suspicions, not established facts of using such services. Questions also arose regarding Vishwanatha's alleged collaboration with Latvian researchers in the development of innovative pharmaceutical products. Jaudzems, who works in this field himself, claims that he had previously heard nothing about the Indian researcher’s involvement in such projects. ## Calls for the President of the Academy of Sciences to Resign In light of the scandal, part of the scientific community has openly expressed a loss of trust in the leadership of the academy. Physicist and full member of the LAS Vyacheslav Kashcheev believes that the current situation harms how society perceives Latvian science. > "There is a dissonance between the image of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and scientists that is formed in society and how the academy is daily represented by its members. I believe that at this point, the leadership has lost our mandate of trust to represent science to the Latvian society," Kashcheev stated. Scientists are demanding Kalviņš's resignation, believing that recommending the candidacy without sufficient verification could undermine trust in the academy. Šutka warns that the consequences could extend far beyond a single scandal. > "Trust in scientists, allocating funding to scientists — all of this will become a politically unpopular decision. This will also slow down the development of innovations. And everything else in the chain. And we do not need that," he emphasized. ## Kalviņš Has No Plans to Resign The president of the Latvian Academy of Sciences himself rejects the accusations against him and does not believe it has been proven that Vishwanatha provided false information. According to him, there are currently no grounds for conclusions about possible deception or for his resignation. > "I do not know why I should resign. There are no grounds for that. If it turns out that I was seriously misled or deceived, then I will consider this issue. Until it becomes clear who is behind all this, I will not comment," Kalviņš stated. Nevertheless, he will have to provide explanations to the members of the academy. Jaudzems believes that the circumstances of the case require thorough investigation. > "All of this points to a scam, but answers need to be obtained," the scientist emphasized. ## The Scandal Will Be Addressed by the Saeima Commission The story of granting citizenship to Vishwanatha will also be examined at the parliamentary level — in the Saeima Commission on Citizenship and Migration. The main question is whether the deputies had reliable and sufficiently complete information about the researcher's achievements when they made the decision to grant her Latvian citizenship. Equally important remains the question of the accountability of the Academy of Sciences leadership for the recommendation issued. Thus, the dispute over the scientific qualifications of one researcher has turned into a verification of trust in the leadership of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and the procedure for granting citizenship for special merits.
