Latvian Academy of Sciences head explains why he backed citizenship for India's Divya Vishwanath

Ivars Kalviņš, president of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (LZA), has published an open letter explaining why he recommended Latvian citizenship for Indian national Divya Vishwanath to a Saeima (parliament) committee. The Saeima granted citizenship on 15 October, but later revoked the decision after doubts arose about her education and publications.

Basis for the recommendation

Kalviņš says the recommendation relied on information from an LZA partner, the company LZA Economics Institute. It cited a copy of a doctoral diploma in computer science from an Indian university with an apostille, a list of ten scientific publications, and confirmation of her participation in a research programme at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business. She and her family also invested in Latvia: an artificial intelligence laboratory opened in Riga, and research and pharmaceutical production infrastructure is being developed in Salaspils. He also mentions her participation in economic forums organised by LZA and the institute.

Doubts and an admitted error

According to Kalviņš, colleagues from academia told him only on 21 October that an analysis of publications on Vishwanath's website gave grounds to question their content and authorship. He stresses that he intended the recommendation as his personal opinion, but due to a misunderstanding with the electronic signature, the unedited letter was sent as an LZA document. Kalviņš accepts responsibility, apologises and is considering resigning as president, though he will act in line with the decision of the LZA General Assembly.

Earlier developments

The Saeima committee's annotation described Vishwanath as a computer science doctorate working in artificial intelligence and pharmaceutical research, who has headed the AI laboratory at the company Dr. Vishys since 2024. The company is owned by Kanan Vishwanath, who received citizenship in 2023; firmas.lv data show it operates with no turnover and losses of over 200,000 euros. President Edgars Rinkēvičs urged the Saeima to address the doubts. Vishwanath has rejected the accusations, saying her documents are genuine and verified.