Three Rajasthan University teachers accused of plagiarism

In a case of academic theft, three teachers of the Rajasthan University have been accused of plagiarising a research article of a former director of the Geological Survey of India (GSI).

Two professors - Rajiv K. Sinha and D K Pandey of the Geology department - jointly got their plagiarised article published in a Netherlands' journal in the year 2000. They co-authored it with Sinha's Australia-based civil engineer son Ambuj Sinha.

As if that was not enough, the same article was plagiarised again by another teacher in the department of environmental science - assistant professor Surendra Singh Chauhan in 2010.

While Prof. Sinha is currently a visiting research fellow with Australia's Griffith University, Pandey, then an assistant professor, recently got promoted as professor.

The third plagiarist Prof Chauhan was recently promoted as director, University's Indira Gandhi Centre for Human Ecology and Population Studies.

It was in December last year that Dr M L Jhanwar, former director, GSI was shocked to see his research work on mining in Bijolia region of Rajasthan titled: 'Mining, Environment and Development' published in 1997 in a research journal -'Environmental Crisis and Human at Risk: Priorities for Action' was stolen by three university teachers.

Professors Pandey and Sinha and latter's son co-authored their eight-page paper titled "Mining and Environment: a case study from Bijolia quarrying site in Rajasthan, India", in Netherlands' The Environmentalist in 2000.? This was the verbatim copy of Jhanwar's article.

Earlier, in October, Jhanwar noticed that Professor Chauhan reproduced the same article in his name and titled it 'Mining Development and Environment: A case study of Bijolia Mining Area in Rajasthan, India' and got it published in a Delhi based Journal of Human Ecology in 2010.

Jhanwar giving details of the matter sent a letter to vice chancellor Prof. B L Sharma as also the Director, School of Environmental Engineering, and Griffith University, Queensland, Australia for initiating action against the guilty.

In response what he received was not a reply from vice chancellor but found professors Pandey and Chauhan knocking at his door, Jhanwar told Mail Today.

Both pleaded with Jhanwar not to pursue the matter with the university as it could cost them their job. "I snubbed them for blatant plagiarism", Jhanwar said.

In the absence of any action at VC's level, he has now decided to take up the matter with Governor Margaret Alva who is ex-officio chancellor of the university.

While the vice chancellor is said to be waiting for an input from the research cell in his secretariat, a spokesman of the university said that such matters were referred there (research cell) for its comment.

Prof Pandey though conceded that he had talked to Jhanwar on the matter but held Prof Sinha responsible for the crime. "Sinha got the paper published. As he took some input from me on geology for his paper he decided to put my name as co-author", Pandey clarified.

A senior officer in the VC's office said that plagiarism had become very common practice on the campus and it was bringing disrepute to the institution.

Source: http://indiatoday.feedsportal.com/c/33614/f/589700/s/28a1feee/l/0Lindiatoday0Bintoday0Bin0Cstory0Cthree0Erajasthan0Euniversity0Eteachers0Eaccused0Eof0Eplagiarism0Eindia0Etoday0C10C250A540A0Bhtml/story01.htm

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