Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (1938-2025), who offered an alternative to ‘Big Bang’ theory, passes away aged 86

Renowned Indian astrophysicist and science communicator Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, born to a family of mathematical wizards, passed away in his sleep on May 20, 2025, in Pune aged 86. He had recently undergone surgery for a hip fracture and was recovering at home.

Born on July 19, 1938, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Narlikar was the son of Vishnu Vasudeva Narlikar, a mathematics professor at Banaras Hindu University, and Sumati Narlikar, a Sanskrit scholar. He completed his BSc at BHU in 1957 and pursued higher studies at Cambridge University, where he became a Wrangler and Tyson Medallist in the Mathematical Tripos. Under the mentorship of Sir Fred Hoyle, he earned his PhD in 1963, and went on to develop the Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity, which integrates Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity with Mach’s principle, offering an alternative to the Big Bang theory.

Narlikar, who was featured on Carl Sagan’s TV show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, was the founding director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, established in 1988, and played a pivotal role in promoting research and education in astronomy and astrophysics in India. He had authored books on science fiction, had written novels and short stories in English, Hindi, and Marathi. He had also served as consultant for the Science and Mathematics textbooks of NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training, India). Narlikar had also penned his autobiography in Marathi, titled Char Nagarantale Maze Vishwa.

A multifaceted scientist who popularised science among the masses writing extensively about topics such as cosmology and Black Holes, Narlikar is a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Padma Bhushan in 1965 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2004. He had earlier worked with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai where he was in charge of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group. Narlikar is survived by his three daughters. His wife, Mangala Narlikar, a mathematician, passed away in July 2023. Among their daughters, Geeta is a biomedical researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, Girija and Leelavati are computer scientists.

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