Dr. M.S. Swaminathan
“The word ‘impossible’ exists mainly in our minds and that given the requisite will and effort, great tasks can be accomplished.”
M.S Swaminathan, we are well known with the name, the father of Indian green revolution. Let’s have a look towards life of this great personality.
CHILDHOOD
His full name is Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan. He was born in Kumbakonam,Tamilnadu on 7 August 1925. His father was a surgeon Dr. M.K. Sambasivan and mother Parvathi Thangammal Sambasivan. He was the second son of them. At the age of 11 he lost his father. He was looked after by his uncle M.K. Naraynswami who was a radiologist.
EDUCATION
He attended the local high school and later the Catholic Little Flower High School in Kumbakonam, from which he matriculated at age 15. Coming from the family of doctors He took the admission in medical field.But, when he witnessed the Great Bengal famine of 1943, he decided to devote his life to getting rid of hunger from India. He was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi while he took this decision. He simply switched from the medical field to the agricultural field. He then went on to finish his undergraduate degree in Biology at Maharaja’s College in Trivandrum, Kerala (now known as University College, Thiruvananthapuram). He studied there from 1940–44 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology. Swaminathan then decided to pursue a career in agricultural sciences. He took the admission in Madras Agricultural College (now the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University) where he graduated as valedictorian with another Bachelor of Science degree, this time in Agricultural Science.
MEDICAL FIELD TO AGRICULTURAL FIELD
He explained this career decision thus: “My motivation started with the great Bengal famine of 1943 when I was a student at the University of Kerala. There was an acute rice shortage, and in Bengal, about 3 million people died from starvation. All of our young people, myself included, were involved in the freedom struggle, which Gandhi had intensified, and I decided I should take to agricultural research to help farmers produce more."
MARRIAGE
M.S. Swaminathan is married to Mina Swaminathan, whom he met in 1951 while they were both studying at Cambridge.
ACHIEVEMENTS
M.S Swaminathan, known for his role in India’s Green Revolution, a program under which high-yield varieties of wheat and rice were planted. He has played many role other than being the father of green revolution, he was scientist, he was also the ex. member of planning commission.
- He was also the Ex. President of national commission on farmers of india.
- From 1972 to 1979 he was director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
- He was Principal Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture from 1979 to 1980.
- He served as Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (1982–88) and became president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1988.
- In 1999, he was one of 3 Indians on Time’s list of the 20 most influential Asian people of the 20th century.
AWARDS
- Padma Shri(1967)
- The Borlaug Award in 1971 for his pioneering work in wheat.
- He also received Padma Bhushan (1973)
- Krishi Ratna Award in 1986.
- He also won the “world food prize” in 1987 given by FAO.
- Padma Vibhushan in 1989.
- He was also honored with “Millennium prize” by former prime minister A.B. Vajpai in 88th national science congress held on 3-7 jan,2001 at IARI, New Delhi.
- Other than this he has received many national and international awards.
SWAMINATHAN AS A AUTHOR
- He also wrote the book “Wheat revolution”in 1993.
- Other than this the wrote some more books such as “Farmers’ Rights and Plant Genetic Resources: A dialogue” in 1995 ,
- “A evergreen revolution” in 2006 and some more.
BIOGRAPHY OF SWAMINATHAN
- His biography “M.S. Swaminathan – One Man’s Quest for a Hunger-Free World” was written in 2002 by Gita Gopalakrishnan.
- “Scientist and Humanist: M.S. Swaminathan” by R.D. Iyer.
RECENT WORKS
- He was the Member of Indian Parliament(Rajya sabha)
- Currently Dr M.S. Swaminathan holds the UNESCO Chair in Eco-technology.
- Chairman of the Dr M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai.
- He is the chairman of the National Commission on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security of India (National Commission on Farmers).
- He is currently spearheading a movement to bridge the Digital divide called, “Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre”
- By:- Aishwarya Pradip Awasarmol
