From being a former an ISRO scientist, who was accused of spying for country's enemies to a Padma Bhushan awardee, Shri Sankaralingam Nambi Narayanan¡¯s story is one of a kind.?
Nambi Narayan was honoured with Padma Bhushan by the President Of India, Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday. It is one of the highest civilian?honour.??
Narayanan is best known for his role in developing the Vikas Engine which was used for the first PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) launched by India. The engine was used in the most historic missions of ISRO, such as the Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan.
To pay respect to all the work he has done until now, a movie called ¡®Rocketry ¨C The Nambi Effect¡¯ was made on his life. The movie was released on January 25, 2019, starring R. Madhavan as the main lead.
Little did he know that from being a pioneer in India¡¯s space technology, he will have to fight for 24 years to prove himself innocent. In 1994, Narayanan and four others were charged with leaking important information and secrets to two alleged Maldivian intelligence officers. Narayanan was arrested and spent 48 days in jail. In 1998, the charges against him were dismissed by the Supreme Court.
But his image was tarnished by then and he was called a traitor, recalling those times he said, "People would come to our house and burn my effigy, call me names, shout slogans... My family suffered a lot. My children were agitated and would fight back. But my wife slipped into depression and stopped talking."
Narayanan has also penned down his story in a?book titled as Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case.