Trail Blazers - Essays II Sem

JAGADISH CHANDRA BOSE

What happens if you take a rich magistrate's son and make him learn in a village school sitting besides the sons of servants and fishermen? He'll hear tales of birds and animals that make him curious about Nature. And that makes him one of India's first scientists - Jagdish Chandra Bose.

Botanist and physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose was born in Mymensingh, India (now in Bangladesh) on November 30, 1858. He was educated first at the village school in Faridpur, where his father was a magistrate, Bhagwan Chandra Bose. Later he migrated to St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta at the age of thirteen. There he met Father Eugene Lafont, who was very interested in promoting modern science in India. He later went to the UK, where he got degrees from the universities of Cambridge and London. He also met Prafulla Chandra Ray, another pioneer of Indian science.

He came back and was made a Professor of Physics at Presidency College on the Viceroy's recommendation. However, the principal and other faculty, who were White, were very racially biased against him and gave only an acting appointment. He was offered one-third the salary of the school's white professors, and in protest at this slight he took no salary at all for several years. They denied him any laboratory facilities, but he carried on his research work, buying equipment with his own salary.

He remained at Presidency for his entire career, where he assembled the first modern scientific research facilities in Indian academia. He conducted landmark research of the response of plant and animal life to stimuli including electricity, light, sound, and touch, and showed how water and sap in plants and trees is elevated from roots due to capillary action. He invented the crescograph, an early oscillating recorder using clockwork gears to measure the growth and movements of plants in increments as small as 1/100,000 of an inch. His 1902 paper "Responses in the Living and Non-living" showed that plant and animal tissues share a similar electric-impulse response to all forms of stimulation, a finding which challenged conventional science of the time, and also showed that even inanimate objects — certain rocks and metals — have similar responses. In a 1907 paper Bose established the electro transmission of excitation in plant and animal tissues, and showed that plants respond to sound, by growing more quickly in an environment of gentle speech or soft music, and growing more poorly when subjected to harsh speech or loud music.

Prior to his plant and animal experiments, Bose spent several years experimenting with electromagnetic waves, and conducted successful wireless signaling experiments in Calcutta in 1895. The invention of radio is usually credited to G. Marconi, but a comparison of their records suggests that at certain points of Bose's radio research, he was about a year ahead of the Italian scientist. In Marconi's first wireless trans-oceanic transmission in 1901 a mercury auto coherer was a key component of the receiving device, and while Marconi made no acknowledgment of Bose at the time, subsequent research has shown that Marconi's auto coherer was a near-exact replica of a mechanism invented by Bose, who explained it in detail in a demonstration at the Royal Society of London two years earlier.

Bose was the first Indian scientist to be widely respected as an equal in the halls of western science. When he demonstrated his mechanisms for generating and detecting radio waves in a January 1897 lecture before the Royal Institution in London, it was the first such lecture given by an Indian. He was elevated to knighthood in 1917, and in 1920 he became the first Indian elected to membership in the prestigious Royal Society. Bose, who came from a fairly affluent family, had no particular interest in the profit potential of his work, and refused to file patent claims. A patent was filed by friends in Bose's name for his 1901 invention of a solid-state diode detector to detect electromagnetic waves.

He founded the Bose Research Institute in Calcutta in 1917, which continues to conduct scientific research. He was a contemporary and friend of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. In 1937, Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose breathed his last. In the pages of history are recorded the glorious achievements of many great men whom the world recognises, loves and respects. Such men prove to be a true asset not only to their own countries but also to the world. Their lives become a message and a source of inspiration for generations to come.

Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose was one such personality who became immortal in the field of science. He was not only a scientist par excellence, but also a warm human being and a modest personality. Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose was worthy and illustrious son of our motherland whom the nation feels proud of. He brought various laurels to our country. Immense hard working capacity, patience and simplicity were hall­marks of his personality. Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose was a creative and imaginative scientist, a connoisseur of literature and a great lover of nature.

Homi Jehangir Bhabha

Homi Jehangir Bhabha was a multifaceted personality - scientist, visionary and institution builder.  He was born on October 30, 1909 in an illustrious family with a long tradition of learning and service to the country. Bhabha was exposed to fine arts, music and painting, which moulded his artistic traits.

Bhabha was intelligent, hard working and sincere student. After finishing schooling, Bhabha’s parents sent him to Cambridge University, UK for higher education in mechanical engineering. After completing his degree in 1932, Bhabha continued his research at Cambridge University. His first paper appeared in 1934, based on theoretical explanation of shower production in cosmic rays. His name is associated with Bhabha scattering, which involves relativistic exchange scattering of electrons and Bhabha-Heitler theory, dealing with production of electron and positron showers in cosmic rays.  Thus, it was no surprise that at a young age of 31, he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society, London. Bhabha rubbed shoulders with great physicists like Bohr, Pauli, Dirac, Cockcroft and others, who later became Noble Laureates. This period was crucial for Bhabha for capacity building and leadership qualities.

Bhabha was on vacation during 1939, when  the second world war broke out and he could not go back abroad to continue his research. He then joined Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore as a Reader in Department of Physics, headed by Sir C. V. Raman and set up a cosmic ray research unit.  Raman had great admiration for Bhabha and at Nagpur Indian Academy meeting in 1941, while introducing Bhabha, he said “Bhabha is a great lover of music, a gifted artist, a brilliant engineer and an outstanding scientist. He is the modern equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci”.  It was from Bangalore in 1944, Bhabha wrote his historical letter to the Tata trust for support in setting up a centre for research work in nuclear science, which could play a central role in the development of nuclear energy. There was a clear similarity in vision between the great Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata and Bhabha with respect to the need for education, scientific research and human resource development for economic prosperity. Subsequently, in 1945 Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) was formed and large scale research in physics, chemistry, electronics and mathematics commenced. 

Bhabha was instrumental for the formation of Atomic Energy Commission in 1948 and the Department of Atomic Energy in 1954 and he chalked out a focussed research and minerals exploration programmes for nuclear energy. He was such a visionary that he had realized the importance of nuclear power programme way back in 1950s and enunciated a three stage nuclear programme so as to meet the energy security of the nation.  It consisted of utilization of natural uranium, plutonium and abundant thorium resources in thermal, fast and advanced nuclear reactors with closed fuel cycle.  He also had balanced perspective on the role of other energy resources such as coal, oil and solar. A significant factor that contributed for the growth of nuclear sciences and its applications was Bhabha's rapport with the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who reposed complete confidence in him.  This was possible because Bhabha had the deserving credentials and his passion matched with Nehru’s vision of modern India. There was a great synergy in thinking between Nehru and Bhabha with respect to industrialization and scientific research, evolving hand-in-hand.

Bhabha gave utmost importance to the development of quality human resources. The commencement and continuation of BARC Training School for the scientific manpower over the last 50 years is a real tribute to Bhabha’s foresight on quality manpower. Bhabha, a person of perfection, purpose and excellence, ensured these qualities in all his endeavours viz., research, management, buildings and environment. His total conviction, never-accepting mediocrity, never compromising on excellence, meeting the challenges head-on with confidence made him a unique personality. Bhabha was a great scientific manager and followed the mantra of right man for the right job.

Bhabha had received many prestigious national and international awards and recognitions. In 1954, he was conferred with Padma Bhushan award for outstanding contributions to nuclear science. In 1955, he was elected as the President of the first International Conference on the 'Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy', organized by the UN at Geneva.

At a young age of 56, Bhabha suddenly passed away in 1966 due to a plane crash in Switzerland. A vibrant and robust organization, that he had left behind with many signal achievements in nuclear science and technology as well as a dedicated and talented pool of human resources, bears testimony to the visionary zeal of Bhabha. His life was an example for all of us, which stood for ‘deserve, desire and demonstrate’.

Message for youth

Bhabha’s life is an example of pursuing individual passion with a national perspective and purpose. If he chose, he could have gone abroad after the Second World War and pursued his scientific research and perhaps, could have even won Noble prize in physics. But, he chose to stay back to serve the country. He channelized all his scientific pursuits to develop scientific institutes with an aim to serve the society. He blended his individual vision and passion with that of the Country.  Today, we have world class institutes and the Departments like Atomic Energy and Space, thanks to Bhabha’s foresight and vision.  Thus, his life message to all of us is ‘do pursue the passion of your life but with a vector or direction of serving the country and making it proud with your contributions’.      

VIKRAM SARABHAI

Vikram Sarabhai was one of the greatest scientists of India. He is considered as the Father of the Indian space program. Apart from being a scientist, he was a rare combination of an innovator, industrialist and visionary. 

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was born on August 12, 1919 at Ahmedabad in an affluent family of progressive industrialists. He was one of eight children of Ambalal and Sarla Devi. He had his early education in a private school. Some of the great men of India such as Rabindranath Tagore,  Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Maulana Azad, C. F. Andrews,  Sir C. V. Raman used to stay with the Sarabhai family when they visited Ahmedabad. Mahatma Gandhi also once stayed at their house while recovering from an illness. Visits by such great men greatly influenced Vikram Sarabhai.

After his matriculation, Vikram Sarabhai proceeded to Cambridge for his college education and took the tripos in Natural Sciences from St. John's college in 1940. When World War II began, he returned home and joined as a research scholar under Sir C. V. Raman at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His interest in solar physics and cosmic ray led him to set up many observation stations around the country. He built the necessary equipment with which he took measurements at Bangalore, Poona and the Himalayas. He returned to Cambridge in 1945 and completed his Ph.D in 1947. 

Vikram Sarabhai was instrumental in establishing the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad in November 1947. The laboratory was established in a few rooms in M.G. Science Institute of the Ahmedabad Education Society, which was founded by his parents. Subsequently, it got support from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Atomic Energy.

Vikram Sarabhai did research on the time variations of cosmic rays and concluded that meteorological effects could not entirely affect the observed daily variations of cosmic rays; further, the residual variations were wide and global and these were related to variations in solar activity. Vikram Sarabhai visualized a new field of research opening up in solar and interplanetary Physics.

The year 1957-1958 was designated as International Geo-physical year (IGY). The Indian program for the IGY had been one of the most significant ventures of Sarabhai. It exposed him to the new vistas of space science with the launching in 1957 of Sputnik-I. Subsequently, the Indian National Committee for Space Research was created, of which Vikram Sarabhai became Chairman.

With active support from Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, set up the first Rocket Launching station (TERLS) in the country at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the Arabian Coast, as Thumba is very close to the Equator. The first rocket with sodium vapour payload was launched on November 21, 1963.

As a result of Dr. Sarabhai's dialogue with NASA in 1966, the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was launched during July 1975 – July 1976 (when Dr. Sarabhai was no more). Dr. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian Cosmodrome.

After the sudden death of Homi Bhabha in an air crash, Vikram Sarabhai was appointed Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission in May 1966. He wanted the practical application of science to reach the common man. He decided to acquire competence in advance technology for the solution of country’s problems based on technical and economic evaluation of its real resources. He initiated India’s space programme, which today is renowned all over the world. 

To train efficient managers of factories, he started the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Ahmedabad. Of all the institutions, he established the most important were the ‘Indian Space Research Organization’ with Centers at Thumba, Ahmedabad, Shriharikota and Arvi. He established Rocket Launching Stations at Thumba and Shrihatikota. Along with his work on the science front, he took utmost interest and managed family business of Textiles and Pharmaceuticals. He died suddenly in 1971, aged fifty-two, at the height of his creative career.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was awarded with Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Medal in 1962 and Padma Bhushan in 1966. Vikram Sarabhai passed away in his sleep on December 31,1971.