Polymath academy or echo chamber? A personal take on knowledge, control, and WhatsApp moderation

A few months back, I was made a member of a WhatsApp group called Polymath Academy. Frankly, I didn’t know what the word polymath meant until its administrator, veteran Gujarat-based sociologist Vidyut Joshi — with whom I have been interacting since the mid-1990s when he was with the Gandhi Labour Institute — told me it refers to a person with an exceptional academic record.

One of the few who guided me in writing some crucial news articles for The Times of India, where I served from 1993 to 2012, and thereafter on this blog, Prof Joshi's deep understanding of social issues stands out in stark contrast to the general lack of intellectual insight in Gujarat.

I generally avoid going through every post on the WhatsApp groups I'm part of, though I occasionally share links to my reports and blogs — published on my news blog, counterview.net — to widen their reach. I’ve typically done this in several media groups, but lately, I thought: why not do the same in the group formed by Prof Joshi so that academics could also read, reflect, and critique them?

What prompted me to write this blog is that Prof Joshi deleted the link to my recent blog titled "Business requirement? Modi’s quiet push for English in Gujarat despite Sangh's swadeshi garb." Surely, it’s a blog written in the first person, and by no stretch of imagination could it be called academic — let alone polymathic. Hence, I don’t quarrel with the administrator deleting it.

It wasn’t the first time the administrator had done this. One person whose writeups would invariably be deleted is Hemantkumar Shah, a well-known economic commentator who often writes on a range of issues — from poverty in Gujarat to freedom of speech. Whenever his comments were removed, Shah would object, stating that the administrator was suppressing free and frank opinions. Others whose posts were also deleted have called the administrator “dictatorial.”

Prof Joshi’s response has consistently been that his group must not digress from the broad framework he had laid out for posts — underlining that there are other platforms where one is free to post anything, but in the group he heads, guidelines must be followed strictly.

While this rigmarole around the WhatsApp group continued, a top academic — a veteran economist, among the few Gujarat-based scholars known for serious research work both in India and abroad — phoned me asking, “Does Prof Joshi even know what ‘polymath’ means?” I replied, “I myself don’t.”

The academic continued, “I was talking to a friend — a well-known expert based in Delhi — about this WhatsApp group. I mentioned that the Polymath Academy group had more than 100 members. The person smiled and said, ‘Wow! So many polymaths in Gujarat? Unbelievable.’”

After my post was recently deleted, I decided to revisit the group’s guidelines, and I’m tempted to quote them as they appear in the group:

“Polymath is a scholar having knowledge of many disciplines. In fact, an issue never belongs to a single discipline. So, this is a platform for scientists/thinkers in Gujarat to scholarly opine on issues of common concern or put up news/books of common interest or exchange scholarly views across discipline boundaries. Neither pleasantries nor hatred be exchanged on this platform. No advt. Please.”

This prompted me to look deeper into what a polymath actually is. I Googled the term and found this definition:

“A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. The term, derived from the Greek words poly (many) and mathein (to learn), describes individuals with broad and deep knowledge, often excelling in multiple fields.”

Examples given include Leonardo da Vinci — a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, and inventor; Benjamin Franklin — a statesman, inventor, scientist, and writer; Marie Curie — a physicist and chemist who pioneered research in radioactivity; Isaac Newton — mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and theologian; and Elon Musk — described as a modern polymath for excelling in business, engineering, and space exploration.

I then asked Google-powered AI Gemini for examples of Indian polymaths. It offered several from ancient and classical eras:

- Aryabhata (476–550 CE): Pioneering mathematician and astronomer; introduced the concept of zero and proposed Earth's rotation.

- Sushruta (6th century BCE): Father of surgery; authored the Sushruta Samhita detailing complex surgical procedures.

- Chanakya (c. 370–283 BCE): Philosopher, economist, and political strategist; authored Arthashastra.

- Varahamihira (6th century CE): Astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer; wrote Brihat Samhita.

- Bhaskara II (12th century CE): Mathematician and astronomer; significant contributions to calculus and trigonometry.

- Hemchandra (1088–1172): Poet, mathematician, philosopher.

- Nagarjuna (2nd–3rd century CE): Philosopher and alchemist with contributions in metallurgy and medicine.

From the modern era, Gemini listed:

- Rabindranath Tagore: Poet, writer, philosopher, painter, composer, and reformer.

- Swami Vivekananda: Spiritual leader and reformer who introduced Vedanta and Yoga to the West.

- Jagadish Chandra Bose: Physicist and botanist; pioneer in radio and microwave optics.

- Homi J. Bhabha: Physicist and founder of India’s nuclear program.

- APJ Abdul Kalam: Aerospace scientist, educator, and statesman; key figure in India’s space and defense programs.

Gemini concluded: “These individuals demonstrate profound contributions across diverse fields, making them true polymaths from India’s rich intellectual heritage.”

I then asked Gemini to name polymaths from Gujarat. It gave me two:

- Acharya Hemachandra (c. 1088–1172): Scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, historian, grammarian — considered the father of the Gujarati language.

- K.M. Munshi: Freedom fighter, lawyer, prolific writer, historian, educationist, and cultural activist.

While not strictly a Gujarati, Gemini noted Rabindranath Tagore’s six-month stay in Ahmedabad at age 17, which influenced his early writings. It also pointed to his association with Mahatma Gandhi — who himself, despite being a Gujarati, is viewed more as a universal figure than a regional polymath.

Finally, I asked Gemini whether Prof Vidyut Joshi can be called a polymath. The response was:

“Based on available information, Professor Vidyut Joshi has a wide range of academic and professional engagements, but primarily within the field of sociology and social sciences.”

It cited his work on tribal issues, Narmada rehabilitation, ashram schools, bonded labor, and unorganized labor. He has been a consultant to institutions like the ILO, UNESCO, and World Bank, and presented papers internationally. He has also written for prominent newspapers.

Gemini concluded:

“While Professor Joshi’s work is diverse within the social sciences, it does not clearly indicate the breadth of knowledge across truly distinct disciplinary boundaries that would define a polymath in the traditional sense — like Acharya Hemachandra. He is a highly distinguished social scientist and public intellectual with a strong focus on tribal and labor studies, rather than a polymath in the broadest sense of the word.”

The Polymath Academy group includes other Gujarat-based academics such as Indira Hirway, Biswaroop Das, Ghanshyam Shah, ex-IAS officer Sanjay Prasad (who is known to rear cows at home), politician Jay Narayan Vyas, journalists Darshan Desai, Ajay Umat, Dhimant Purohit — and myself. By Gemini’s definition, surely none of us qualifies as a polymath.

Many who felt their viewpoints were being suppressed or found themselves “unfit” for the group have left — including economist Hemantkumar Shah and ex-bureaucrat Dankesh Oza.

Objections from those still in the group range from the need to “retain objectionable or disagreeable posts — however uncouth or irrelevant” to pointing out that the admin is “a bit harsh,” even as adding, the group remains a “beautiful, enlightened platform” — especially in a WhatsApp universe that often throws up mere digital noise.

Of course, one could say, what’s in a name? After all, just because an institute is named after Mahatma Gandhi or BR Ambedkar doesn’t mean everyone associated with it is a Gandhian or an Ambedkarite.