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{{short description|Indian physicist}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name = Jayant Narlikar
|image = Jayant_Vishnu_Narlikar_-_Kolkata_2007-03-20_07324.jpg
|caption =
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1938|7|19}}
|birth_place = [[Kolhapur]], [[Kolhapur district]], [[]] ( [[Maharashtra]], India)
|field = Physics, astronomy, writer
|work_institution = [[Cambridge University]] [[TIFR]] [[IUCAA]]
|alma_mater = [[Banaras Hindu University|BHU]] [[Cambridge University]]
|doctoral_advisor = [[Fred Hoyle]]
|doctoral_students = [[Thanu Padmanabhan]]
|known_for = [[Quasi-steady state cosmology]] [[Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity]]
|spouse = Mangala Narlikar
|children = 3
|prizes = [[Smith's Prize]] {{small|(1962)}} [[Padma Bhushan]] {{small|(1965)}} [[Adams Prize]] {{small|(1967)}} [[Padma Vibhushan]] {{small|(2004)}} [[Prix Jules Janssen]] {{small|(2004)}}
|footnotes =
}}
'''Jayant Vishnu Narlikar''' (born 19 July 1938) is an Indian [[astrophysicist]] and [[Emeritus Professor|emeritus professor]] at the [[Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics]] (IUCAA).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mascarenhas |first1=Anuradha |title=Astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar Turns 80: ‘Despite excellent work at many labs, a Nobel Prize in science eludes India since 1930’ |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/jayant-narlikar-astrophysicist-science-nobel-prize-india-5266993/ |access-date=9 June 2020 |work=The Indian Express |date=20 July 2018 |language=en}}</ref> He developed with [[Fred Hoyle|Sir Fred Hoyle]] the [[conformal gravity]] theory, known as [[Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity|Hoyle–Narlikar theory]]. It synthesises [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]] and [[Mach's principle]]. It proposes that the inertial mass of a particle is a function of the masses of all other particles, multiplied by a coupling constant, which is a function of cosmic epoch.

==Early life==
Narlikar was born in [[Kolhapur]], India on 19 July 1938 in a family of scholars. His father, [[Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar]], was a mathematician and theoretical physicist who served as Professor and Head of Department of Mathematics at [[Banaras Hindu University]], Varanasi, and mother, Sumati Narlikar, was a scholar of [[Sanskrit]]. His wife is Mangala Narlikar and he has three daughters.<ref name=INSA>{{cite journal|title=Jayant Vishnu Narlikar|journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy|year=1994|volume=19|pages=123–127|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qzaAAAAMAAJ|access-date=27 July 2015}}</ref><ref name=CurrentScience>{{cite journal|last1=Dadhich|first1=Naresh|title=Jayant Vishnu Narlikar|journal=Current Science|date=10 July 2014|volume=107|issue=1|pages=113–120|url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/107/01/0113.pdf|access-date=27 July 2015|bibcode=2014arXiv1407.4367D|arxiv=1407.4367}}</ref> His maternal uncle was the distinguished statistician [[V. S. Huzurbazar]].<ref name=INSA_Huzurbazar>{{cite journal|title=Vasant Shankar Huzurbazar|journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy|pages=45–50|url=http://insaindia.res.in/BM/BM20_9504.pdf|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref>

==Career==
Narlikar completed his school education from Central Hindu College (now Central Hindu Boys School). He received his [[Bachelor of Science|BSc]] degree from [[Banaras Hindu University]] in 1957. He then began his studies at [[Cambridge University]] at [[Fitzwilliam College]] like his father,<ref>{{cite web |title=Face to Face with Professor Jayant V Narlikar |url=https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/024/09/1029-1045 |website=www.ias.ac.in |access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref> where he received a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] ([[Tripos]]) degree in mathematics in 1959 and was [[Senior Wrangler (University of Cambridge)|Senior Wrangler]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science|publisher=Aurum|date=2005|first=Simon|last=Mitton| author-link = Simon Mitton|isbn=978-1-85410-961-3|page=275}}</ref> In 1960, he won the [[Tyson Medal]] for astronomy. During his doctoral studies at Cambridge, he won the [[Smith's Prize]] in 1962. After receiving his PhD degree in 1963 under the guidance of [[Fred Hoyle]], he served as a Berry Ramsey Fellow at [[King's College, Cambridge|King's College]] in Cambridge and earned a master's degree in astronomy and astrophysics in 1964. He continued to work as a Fellow at King's College until 1972. In 1966, Fred Hoyle established Institute of Theoretical Astronomy in Cambridge, and Narlikar served as the founding staff member of the institute during 1966–72. In 1972, Narlikar took up Professorship at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research ([[TIFR]]) in [[Mumbai]], India. At the TIFR, he was in charge of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group. In 1988, the Indian University Grants Commission set up the [[Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics]] (IUCAA) in Pune, and Narlikar became the Founder-Director of IUCAA. In 1981, Narlikar became a founding member of the [[World Cultural Council]].<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = [[World Cultural Council]] | url = http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/about-us/ | access-date = 8 November 2016}}</ref> Narlikar is known for his work in cosmology, especially in championing models alternative to the popular [[Big Bang]] model.<ref name=LiveMint>{{cite news|last1=Monte|first1=Leslie|title=I don't subscribe to the bandwagon idea of Big Bang: Jayant Vishnu Narlikar|url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/5BzUHIqBzqdx9dJS9netTN/I-dont-subscribe-to-the-bandwagon-idea-of-Big-Bang-Jayant.html|access-date=27 July 2015|publisher=[[Live Mint]]|date=24 January 2015}}</ref> During 1994–1997, he was the President of the Cosmology Commission of the [[International Astronomical Union]]. His research work has involved [[Mach's principle]], [[quantum cosmology]], and [[action-at-a-distance]] physics. Narlikar was part of a study which cultured microorganisms from stratospheric air samples obtained at 41 km.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wainwright M1, Wickramasinghe NC, Narlikar JV, Rajaratnam P|title=Microorganisms cultured from stratospheric air samples obtained at 41 km|journal=[[FEMS Microbiol. Lett.]]|date=21 January 2003|volume=218|issue=1|pages=161–5|pmid=12583913|doi=10.1111/j.1574-6968.2003.tb11513.x|doi-access=free}}</ref> He was appointed as the chairperson of The Advisory Group for Textbooks in Science and Mathematics, the textbook development committee responsible for developing textbooks in Science and Mathematics, published by [[NCERT]] ([[National Council of Educational Research and Training]]).

==Honours==
Narlikar has received many national and international awards and honorary doctorates. India's second-highest civilian honour, [[Padma Vibhushan]], was awarded to him in 2004 for his research work.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India]] |year=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6U68ulwpb?url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2014 }}</ref> Prior to this, in 1965, he was conferred [[Padma Bhushan]].<ref name="Padma Awards" /> He was awarded 'Rashtra Bhushan' in 1981 by [[FIE Foundation]], [[Ichalkaranji]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/currsci/52/00000502.pdf |journal=Current Science|date=20 May 1983|volume=52|page=449|title=Rashtra Bhushan}}</ref> He received [[Maharashtra Bhushan Award]] for the year 2010.<ref name=toi>{{cite news |title=Narlikar honoured with Maharashtra Bhushan |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/narlikar-honoured-with-maharashtra-bhushan/articleshow/7650543.cms |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=The Times of India |date=7 March 2011 |language=en}}</ref> He is a recipient of [[Bhatnagar Award]], M.P. Birla Award, and the [[Prix Jules Janssen]] of the [[Société astronomique de France]] (French Astronomical Society). He is an Associate of the [[Royal Astronomical Society of London]], and a Fellow of the three Indian National Science Academies and the [[Third World Academy of Sciences]]. Apart from his scientific research, Narlikar has been well known as a communicator of science through his books, articles, and radio & television programs. For these efforts, he was honoured in 1996 by [[UNESCO]] with the [[Kalinga Prize]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kalinga Prize laureate|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/science-technology/sti-policy/global-focus/science-popularization/prizes/kalinga-prize/kalinga-winners/kalinga-1996-l1/|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=27 July 2015}}</ref> He was featured on [[Carl Sagan]]'s TV show ''[[Cosmos: A Personal Voyage]]'' in the late 1980s. In 1989, he received the [[Atmaram Award]] by [[Central Hindi Directorate]].<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Awardees |url=http://khsindia.org/india/en/awards/award-categories/atmaram-award.html |website=Khsindia |access-date=26 January 2019}}</ref> He received the Indira Gandhi Award of the [[Indian National Science Academy]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://meghnad.iucaa.ernet.in/~jvn/jvn-bio.html |title=Jayant Vishnu Narlikar |website=Meghnad.iucaa.ernet.in |date=19 July 1938 |access-date=29 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204254/http://meghnad.iucaa.ernet.in/~jvn/jvn-bio.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> He also served on the Physical Sciences jury for the [[Infosys Prize]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Infosys Prize 2009 |url=https://www.infosys-science-foundation.com/downloads/ISF-Booklet-2009.pdf |website=Infosys Science Foundation |access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref> In 2014, he received a [[List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for Marathi|Sahitya Akademi Award]] for his autobiography in Marathi, ''Chaar Nagarantale Maze Vishwa''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sahitya Akademi award for Narlikar|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Sahitya-Akademi-award-for-Narlikar/articleshow/45581467.cms|access-date=27 July 2015|work=The Times of India|date=20 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Akademi Awards (1955–2015) |url=http://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/sahitya-akademi/awards/akademi%20samman_suchi.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084937/http://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/sahitya-akademi/awards/akademi%20samman_suchi.jsp |archive-date= 4 March 2016 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |access-date=2 September 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He presided over the 94th [[Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan]] held at [[Nashik]] in January 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Botekar |first1=Abhilash |title=Dr Jayant Narlikar named president for Akhil Bharitya Sahitya Sammelan at Nashik {{!}} Nashik News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/dr-jayant-narlikar-named-president-for-akhil-bharitya-sahitya-sammelan-at-nashik/articleshow/80435661.cms |access-date=25 January 2021 |work=The Times of India |date=24 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

==Books==
Besides scientific papers and books and popular science literature, Narlikar has written science fiction, novels, and short stories in English, [[Hindi]], and [[Marathi language|Marathi]]. He is also the consultant for the Science and Mathematics textbooks of NCERT ([[National Council of Educational Research and Training]], India).

===Non-fiction===
In English:
*Facts and Speculations in Cosmology, with [[Geoffrey Burbidge|G. Burbridge]], Cambridge University Press 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-521-13424-8}}
*Current Issues in Cosmology, 2006
*A Different Approach to Cosmology: From a Static Universe through the Big Bang towards Reality, 2005
*Fred Hoyle's Universe, 2003
*Scientific Edge: The Indian Scientist from Vedic to Modern Times, 2003
*An Introduction to Cosmology, 2002
*A Different Approach to Cosmology, with [[Geoffrey Burbidge|G. Burbridge]] and [[Fred Hoyle]], Cambridge University Press 2000, {{ISBN|0-521-66223-0}},
*Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei: An Introduction, 1999
*From Black Clouds to Black Holes, 1996
*From Black Clouds to Black Holes (Third Edition), 2012,<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.worldscibooks.com/physics/8148.html |journal=World Scientific Series in Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=13 |title=From Black Clouds to Black Holes |edition=3rd |author=Jayant V Narlikar |access-date=30 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519203844/http://www.worldscibooks.com/physics/8148.html |archive-date=19 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Seven Wonders of the Cosmos, 1995
*Philosophy of Science: Perspectives from Natural and Social Sciences, 1992
*The extragalactic universe: an alternative view, with [[Fred Hoyle]] and [[Chandra Wickramasinghe]], ''Nature'' '''346:'''807–812, 30 August 1990
*Highlights in Gravitation and Cosmology, 1989
*The Primeval Universe, 1988
*Violent Phenomena in the Universe, 1982
*The Lighter Side of Gravity, 1982
*Physics-Astronomy Frontier (co-author Sir Fred Hoyle), 1981
*The Structure of the Universe, 1977
*Creation of Matter and Anomalous Redshifts, 2002
*Absorber Theory of Radiation in Expanding Universes, 2002
In Marathi:
*आकाशाशी जडले नाते
*नभात हसरे तारे

===Fiction===
In English:
*''The Return of Vaman'', 1990
*''The Adventure''
*''The Comet''
In Marathi:
*वामन परत न आला
*यक्षांची देणगी
*अभयारण्य
*व्हायरस
*प्रेषित
*अंतराळातील भस्मासूर
*टाईम मशीनची किमया
*उजव्या सोंडेचा गणपती

In Hindi:

* पार नज़र के

==Personal life==

Narlikar married a mathematics researcher and professor, [[Mangala Narlikar]] (née Rajwade). The couple have three daughters: [http://narlikarlab.ucsf.edu/ Geeta], a biomedical researcher at the [[University of California, San Francisco]], Girija and Leelavati. He is the uncle of the Cambridge University social sciences academic [[Amrita Narlikar]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Jayant Vishnu Narlikar}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.iucaa.in/~jvn/ Jayant Narlikar's Home page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051202023836/http://www.indien-netzwerk.de/navigation/bildungwissenschaft/artikel/eng/astro-sars-eng.htm An interview with Jayant Narlikar on virus from outer space (2003)]
*[http://hispalois.blogspot.com/2006/04/creer-en-el-big-bang-es-un-acto-de-fe.html An interview with Jayant Narlikar on the origin of Universe (2004, in Spanish)]
*[http://perso.orange.fr/lempel/jv_narlikar_uk.htm Jayant V. Narlikar's Summarized Biography]
*[http://perso.orange.fr/lempel/publications_de_narlikar_01_uk.htm Publications of J.V. Narlikar – part 1]
*[http://perso.orange.fr/lempel/publications_de_narlikar_02_uk.htm Publications of J.V. Narlikar – part 2]
*[http://perso.orange.fr/lempel/Narlikar-CDF.pdf Cosmology, Facts and Problems (French)]
*[https://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/12/neutrino-misbehaviour-suggeste.html Narlikar predicted neutrinos traveling faster than light in 1962]

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1960–69}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narlikar, Jayant Vishnu}}
[[Category:Marathi-language writers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in science & engineering]]
[[Category:Indian astrophysicists]]
[[Category:Banaras Hindu University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Scientists from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award]]
[[Category:Kalinga Prize recipients]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian astronomers]]
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Emeritus Professors in India]]
[[Category:Indian male novelists]]
[[Category:Indian academics|Professors Emeritus]]
[[Category:Indian award winners|Professors Emeritus]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi]]

Jayant Narlikar - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 12:06, 14 August 2023