Bharat Rakshak

Tanaji wrote: ↑04 Apr 2026 19:14 Is it Raghav Chaddha given how it is lately?

Its either Prof Suman Chakraborty or Dr Mondal coinventors of COVIRAP.

I have to admit, took google (AI) help to know to know 'my India'.

In the context of the Bharat Rakshak forum thread, the mention of Raghav Chadha is a tongue-in-cheek political joke by the user Tanaji.
The Context:

• The user Amber G. had posted a "challenge" asking forum members to identify a scientist based on several prestigious achievements (Director of IIT Kharagpur, inventor of COVIRAP, etc.).

Tanaji replied:

• "Is it Raghav Chaddha given how it is lately? Its either Prof Suman Chakraborty or Dr Mondal coinventors of COVIRAP."

• The "Lately" Reference: Raghav Chadha is a prominent young politician from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and a Member of Parliament. At the time of these posts, he was frequently in the news regarding various political controversies or appointments.

• The Contrast: The joke plays on the absurdity of suggesting a high-profile, often-discussed politician for a specialized scientific achievement.

The use of the emoji (a standard forum "grinning" face) indicates he is being sarcastic before providing the actual serious answer: Prof. Suman Chakraborty.

Prof. Suman Chakraborty is indeed the correct answer to the challenge, as he is the Director of IIT Kharagpur and a lead inventor of the COVIRAP diagnostic technology.

*****************
"Dr. Mondal" refers to Dr. Arindam Mondal.


(Photo Credit: iitkgpbioscience)

He is an Associate Professor at the School of Bio Science at IIT Kharagpur and the lead co-inventor of the COVIRAP diagnostic technology alongside Prof. Suman Chakraborty.

• Expertise: He is a specialist in Molecular Virology and Biochemistry. His research focuses on host-pathogen interactions, particularly how RNA viruses (like influenza and SARS-CoV-2) replicate within host cells.

• Role in COVIRAP: While Prof. Suman Chakraborty (a mechanical engineer) led the microfluidics and device engineering aspect, Dr. Mondal provided the essential biological and virological expertise to develop the isothermal nucleic acid-based testing method that COVIRAP uses

.

• He heads the Molecular Virology Lab (IITkgpAMlab) at IIT Kharagpur, where his team works on developing prophylactic and therapeutic strategies against various epidemic-prone infections.

• He completed his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted postdoctoral research at several prestigious institutions before joining IIT Kharagpur.

Thanks. All.

Thanks all ..

Here are the answers to the challenges found on Know Your India forum thread

1. The Three Giants of Relativity
In a rare photo taken at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), the three physicists are:
• C.V. Vishveshwara: Known as the "Black Hole Man of India."
• Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri: Famous for the Raychaudhuri equation, which is foundational to singularity theorems.
• Jayant Narlikar: Renowned astrophysicist and proponent of the Hoyle–Narlikar theory.

2. The World-Famous Doctor (Oncologist)
The doctor whose birth anniversary is March 11 and who has two Nobel Laureates in her family (uncle C.V. Raman and cousin S. Chandrasekhar) is:
• Dr. V. Shanta: The legendary oncologist and former director of the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai.
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3. The Boltzmann Medal Winner
The legendary theoretical physicist described as the first Indian to win the Boltzmann Medal (2022) and an expert in statistical physics is:
• Deepak Dhar: Currently a Distinguished Professor at ICTS-TIFR, known for his work on self-organized criticality and fractals.

4. The "Paper Strip" Scientist
The scientist who became the Director of IIT Kharagpur in 2025 and invented low-cost diagnostic tools like COVIRAP is:
• Prof. Suman Chakraborty: A pioneer in microfluidics who developed medical tests costing less than 2 rupees for resource-limited settings.

5. The Soft Matter Physicist turned Actor
The physicist who won an Obie Award for a one-act play about her life is Bulbul Chakraborty (prominent physicist at Brandeis University ). The play was written and directed by Chakraborty’s son Shayok Misha Chowdhury.

Amber G. wrote: Raychaudhuri is famous for the Raychaudhuri equation, fundamental to the singularity theorems of Hawking and Penrose

An interesting connection with BRF - the late Brig. Raychaudhuri, who used to post as RayC here, was a nephew of Raychaudhuri.

^^^ Thanks!