• G.D.DAVID

INDIAN NOBEL

LAUREATES

G. D. DAVID.

Principal, St. Mary's High School,

BELGAUM

UDAY PRAKASHAN, CAMP- BELGAUM

I

INDIAN NOBEL LAUREATES

A study of lives of Indian Nobel Laureates. By Shri. G. D. DAVID., B.C. 145, Camp- Belgaum.

Published by Uday Prakashan, Camp- Belgaum-590001.

First Edition : June 2000.

© Author

DTP by Umesh B. Naik.

Printed by Omega Off set Printers, Shetty Galli, Belgaum.

?r

CONTENT^

NAME SUBJECT YEARJPAGEN.

l.Wbindranath Tagore Literature 1913 15

2j Sir. C.V. Raman Physics 1930 31

31 Dr. Hargobind Khjirana Medicine 1968 45

4.\Mother Teresa Peace 1979 51

5 Subramanya

Chandrashekhar Physics 1983 61

6 A.martya Sen Economic! 1998 7-]

in

A W O p FROM THE AUTHOR "CONCEALED TALENT BRINGS NO REPUTATION,"

ERASMUS »

I have worked for thirtyseven years among students, doing my bit in the development of the personality of hundreds of youngsters and nurturing in them significant values of life and giving them sound basis in our culture, traditions and customs . As Indians we have many things of which we can truly be proud of, such as rich natural resources, great literature, art, philosophy , beauty and brains.

Abroad, India is still considered to be a land of snake charmers, Taj Mahal and women carrying earthen water pots on their heads. This concept is changing as India has given to the world both beauty and brains.

If Aishwarya Rai, (Miss World 1994), Sushmita Sen, (Miss Universe 1994), Diana Hayden and Yukta Mookheya have won awards for beauty, Satyajit Ray won award for his talent as a film maker ,Arundhati /oy and Salman Rushdie have won coveted prizes as Literatlbrs. Vishwa Mohan Bhat has won the Grammy Award. Rabindranath Tagore, C.V.Raman ,Hargobind Kh^rana , Mother Theresa,1

S.Chandrashekar and Amartya Sen have won Nobel Prizes and have shown to the world that we can reach intellectual heights.

INDIAN N O B E L L A U R E A T E S I V 2

An attempt is made in this small work to tell the story of lives of Indian Nobel Laureates, so that they would inspire our youngsters to achieve heights of excellence. A study of the lives of these persons shows us that if one dedicates oneself to a subject of his natural liking (without considering financial gains) he or she can excel . I have known my students who after M. Tech and working for fifteen years as Chemical Engineers, change over to software engineering. Is it not a waste of time? Time is life. It is important for one to discover his or her talents and vocation early in life so that precious life is not wasted in experimenting. I shall feel my object is achieved even if a few of those who are in the age group of 10 to 16 years find this book helpful. Any suggestions for the improvement of this work are most welcome.

INDIAN N O B E L L A U R E A T E S V 2

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T

I am thankful to my brother Dr. M.D. David, Emeritus Professor of History, University Grants Commission, University of Mumbai who helped me in giving a shape to this book and to my another brother S. David ,who is in U.K. for his help. I also want to thank Dr. R. J. Galagali former Professor of Chemistry, Banaras Hindu University, for his help and guidance, and to my past and present students from whom I received inspiration and to Mr. Sudarshan Billur whose support I value. I am also thankful to my friends specially Sri. S. M. Aralimatti who kept on reminding me that I have to complete this work. Also I thank my other friends Messrs S. M. Kulkarni, C.V. Kittur, M. K. Jainapur, Rev. Fr. Robert Fernade^, R.D. Shanbhag, Maj. J. Gaikwad and Mr. J.P. Edwin for their support. I express my sincere thanks to Sri. S. S. Pujari, M.L.C., Sri. G.L. Hegde, Joint Director of Public Instruction, and Sri. S. Ramachandra Rao Dy.D.P.I., Belgaum.

26-1-2000 G. D. David.

V I

ALFRED NOBEL

INDIAN NOBEl. LAUREATES 9

ALFRED NOBEL

2

LIFE AND W O R K OF ALFRED NOBEL

Stockholm, Sweden, was the son of Immanuel and Andritte. He had two elder brothers- Robert and Ludring . His father was an Executor and it was in his laboratory that Alfred received training as a Chemist.

Alfred, as a child, was weak and frail but his mother took good care of him and left a lasting impact on him. Nobel's formal schooling lasted only for a few years before his family moved to St. Petersburg in Russia, where he was tutored by Swedish and Russian masters.

He was educated in a number of countries and was proficient in five European languages viz. Swedish. Russian, English, French and German. He always wrote to his mother in Swedish and also wrote his will in it. Besides, he wrote perfectly in French and English .

Despite his poor health he was a voracious reader and read books in various languages known to him including English.

It was Professor Zinin Who taught him Chemistry and got him interested in a new substance called Nitroglycerine . He pursued this interest throughout his life. In 1862, his father demonstrated the commercial use of Nitroglycerine. INDIAN N O M . I . I \ l Rl M l S J

Alfred Nobel,born on 21s1 October

After he returned to Sweden to assist his father, he devoted his time to make dangerous nitroglycerine into a safe and useful explosive.

It was Prof. Zinin who first invented Nitroglycerine as an explosive. He continued to carry on his experiments and on an occasion in an explosion in their workshop, the younger brother of Nobel was killed. Nobel himself became pn expert in controlling explosions and had developed a Detonator Cap which made the principle of initial detonator possible.

"Explosive Oil" as it was called, became the empire of Nobel industries, with Alfred Noble as its managing director. Later he called it " Dynamite". Dynamite was a safe product with three parts nitroglycerine and one part fossil meal. Nobel shifted to Paris and took more interest in the commercial side of his business. Though he built a successful business empire he never had a separate business office as he functioned from his laboratories.

Shy by nature, he was so completely involved in his work and business that he had no time for marriage.

He founded " Branobel" a Company with his two elder brothers. His industries spread across Europe, Russia, and Jhe USA. His ill health caused him

INDIAN NOBEl. LAUREATES 4

further miseries. Nobel died on 10"' December 1896 at San Rome. Italy ,in his own home where he lived alone.

Alfred Nobel made a fortune by his inventions. At the time of his death in 1896 he held 355 patents and had companies in ninety countries, which bear his name even today. His wealth came mainly from his industries in France, Sweden, Great Britain, Germany and Russia.

Nobel bequeathed his vast fortune to be invested so that the annual interest accrued be distributed into five parts given away as awards.

The initial capital was 31.3 million Kronors. Its market value in the year 1985 was 711 million kronors. And income for 1985 ammounted to 36 million kronor.

INDIAN N O B E L L A U R E A T E S 5

THE NOBEL FOUNDATION

The Nobel Foundation was established under the terms of the Will of ALFRED BERNHARD NOBEL, Ph.D. H. C.jrf November, 22 1895.

Nobel had nominated a 26 year old Ragnar Sohlman as the Executor and Trustee of the Will. He was a Chemical Engineer and an employee of Nobel since 1893. Sohlman had to fight against Nobel's relatives and persuade the nominated prize givers to accept the undertaking and convert Nobel's assets and put them in fund and above all interpret the will that was extremely vague. Rudolf Liljeqvist was the Associate Executor. Carl Lindhagan was the lawyer. Sohlman performed his duties as Executor of the Will of Nobel efficiently. Emmanuel Nobel, a loyal nephew, stood by Sohlman's side throughout the difficult time. In Russian language an executor of the will is known as " Soul's messenger".

THE W I L L O F N O B E L C R E A T I N G T H E N O B E L PRIZES

The will stated : " The Whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way: the capital, invested in safe securities by my Executors, shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall

6 I W Mini.1,1 \ I KI \ I I s

have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: One part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of Physics: one part to the persons who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the important discovery within the domain of Physiology or Medicine: one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding promotion of peace congresses. The prizes for physics and Chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiological or Medical works by the Caroline Institute in Stockholm that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm, and that for champions of peace by a committee of five oersons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It's my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be Scandinavian or not".

INDIAN NOBKI . I . A l ' R I i A T K S 7

T H E NOBEL PRIZE

The Nobel prize is the highest and most prestigious International Award given to persons for making extraordinary contributions in different fields for the benefit of mankind. Persons from more than 40 nations have received this prize. Nobel prize is mostly given for discoveries in fundamental sciences rather than in technological inventions.

The Universities of Harvard and Washington have dominated the awards in life science, Columbia in Physics and Berkeley in Chemistry. Mathematics, Architecture, Music and Social sciences are not included in the award list. The youngest to win the Nobel Prize was W.L. Bragg from UK for physics in 1915. He was only 25.

There are some cases when persons who apparently seemed to deserve the award such as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, O.T. Avery and M.L. Ban-but failed to get it for whatever reason. This seems to puzzle the world.

Nobel Prize has stood as the symbol of excellence and remains the most coveted highest civic honor in the world.

The candidates do not apply for the prize but are nominated by eminent scholars, former Nobel Prize

8 INDIAN NOHH LAl'K! \ IÏ-.S

T H E N O B E L M E D A L IN L A T I N A L F R E D N O B E L

B I R T H : 1 8 3 3 , D E A T H : 1 8 9 6

9

The Medal for Literature

The Mécfai for Physics and Chemistry

The Medal for Physiology or Medicine 10

The Medal for Peace

The Medal for Economic Sciences 11

The Medal for Physics and Chemistry

winners and outstanding scientists. Awardees are chosen by specially constituted committees whose members are selected by the Swedish Academy and Institute and the Norwegian Parliament.

The Prize is given annually in five areas viz. Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, literature and peace. The sixth prizeifor Economics was instituted in 1968 by Swedish Central Bank and this was awarded for the first time in 1969. Now six Nobel Prizes are awarded on 10"' December every year. At a ceremony held at Stockholm, Sweden. Peace prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway, being Alfred Nobel's death anniversary.

Each awardee is presented with a gold Medal , a certificate and cash award. (The value of the prize has varied between $30,000 to $ 700,000 over the years)

SUBJECTS BODIES RESPONSIBLE FOR AWARDING PRIZES

N U M B E R OF PRIZE WINNERS

Chemistry The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 132 Physiology / Medicine

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolineka Institute

169

Physics The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

158

Literature The Swedish Academy 96 Peace The Norwegian Nobel Committee 106 Economics The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 42

INDIAN NOHfcL I AI RI A I > S

INDIAN CITY OF NOBEL LAUREATES

Calcutta has produced five Nobel laureates. A British Surgeon Major Ren^ld Ross discovered the malerial parasite and its carrier the Anopheles mosquito in a small room at the presidency Hospital, Calcutta, inl888. For this he was awarded Nobel Prize for medicine in 1902. Now, the Presidency Hospital is known as S.S.K.M. Hospital. Rabindranath Tagore, Who received Nobel Prize for literature also came from the same city.

Chandrashekhar Venkata Raman did his pioneering work at the Indian Association for cultivating science and as a professor of Physics at the university of Calcutta. He conducted his experiments at the Science college of Calcutta

'-University which/leadjto the discovery of "Raman Effect" for which he received the Nobel prize.

Mother Teresa who was the first to serve to save the dying destitutes in Calcutta was awarded Nobel Peace prize in the year 1973, and Amarthy Sen (also from ^alcutta) who received Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998 brought glory to Calcutta.

The two other Indian Nobel laureates who have had no connection with Calcutta,were Hargobind KhjArana (Medicine-1968) and Subramanya Chandrashekhar (Physics-1983).

INDIAN N O B E l . L A U R E A T E S 1 3

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

INDIAN N O B E l . L A U R E A T E S 23

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

1 6

0

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Rabindranath Tagore, one of the builders of modern India, has made contribution mainly in the field of literature.spirituality, culture and art. He was a creative writer and artist. He developed his own school of music Known as Rabindra Sangeet. He also revived and developed a new school of dancing and was a creative painter as well.

As an Educationist he was innovative and introduced new ideas and carried on different experiments and built up a unique educational institution viz., VISWA BHARATHI. He introduced the Rakhibandhan ceremony and composed patriotic songs including the national anthem.

EARLY LIFE:

Rabindranath was born on May 7th 1861 to his parents Sarada Devi and Devendranath and was the last child of his parents. Tagore's mother could not pay any personal attention to him. But she had a very soft corner for him as he was the youngest child. During his infancy he was under the care of a nurse maid and when he grew up he was taken care of by

INDIAN N O B E l . L A U R E A T E S 17

servants. They looked after him and nurtured him and were the only persons around him.

One of the servants named Shyam was assigned the specific duty of looking after Rabindranath. Shyam in order to prevent him from straying away drew a circle on the floor of a room with a chalk and threatened the child with dire consequences if he crossed the circle. So, Rabindranath had no option but to suffer detention within the circle for the entire day. However, there was a relieving feature. There was a window within his reach and he could see the entire land scape covered with the coconut palm and an old Banyan tree that stood alone in a corner near the pond. He watched people who came to bathe and wash in their own different ways in the pond.

An aunt of his who lived in the house was a good story teller and so Rabindranath insisted on her telling him tales. But his mother also wanted the aunt with whom she played cards. However, out of her love for Rabindra she would give up her game of cards so that her son could have the indulgence of listening to fairy tales.

Rabindranath's father used to be away in North- West of India on his work. His mother was always anxious to write a letter to her husband asking him to come home but she could not write. Rabindranath, though did not know to write at that

I S INDIAN N O B h t X A U R H A T L S

age, managed to get such letters written by the munshi who looked after their office and managed the family property. His father did not fail to reply.

When the women in the family gathered together and gossiped Rabindranath enjoyed a free entry to this gatherring. Whatever new things he learnt in the school, he would recite before the gathering making his mother happy and proud of her son. But his mother died early when Rabindranath was only fourteen.

EDUCATION: Tagore's household provided for an elaborate

all round training of both mind and body, which besides reading lessons and wrestling included music. Because of wrestling Tagore enjoyed a robust health till his very old age. At the stroke of 7 in the morning a tutor came to teach him mathematics, Bengali and science which continued through the morning. At times when lessons proved to be boring he chose the first opportunity to escape. He used to play trick by pretending to suffer from stomachjache and pleaded with his mother for exemption from taking lessons and she would freely grant him his desire because of her great affection for him.

There were lessons in music as well that helped Rabindranth to develop a grounding in music early in life. Somendranath, the elder brother, took INDIAN N O B E L L A U R E A T E S 1 9

great delight and pride in showing Rabindranath' s poems to his friends. Soon his reputation as a poet spread. A Zamindar of Raipur named Sri. Krishna Sinha became a most sympathetic listener of his poems.

In 1873 when his father Debendranath returned home for a few days, his thread ceremony was performed and Rabindranath was taken to the Himalayas to spend a few days with his father. It was here that Tagore came in close contact with the nature which left a lasting impact on him and proved to be a turning point in his life. Father's saintly character, and listening to lessons read to him by his father widened his outlook and helped him to develop new tastes. His father might have deliberately taken Rabindranath to the hills to develop in him love for nature.

SHANTINIKETAN

On his way to Himalayas ,he stayed for a few days at Shantiniketan where his father spent time in meditation in a garden house he had built. Shantiniketan also left a profound impact in shaping the future course in his life. Here he enjoyed the freedom to roam about in the open country/ side which he enjoyed thoroughly as he had so much of free time to spend in open for the first time.

">0 I M ) I \ S M >BI1 ( Al KJ A l l s

Rabindranath went to London for study for a short time from 1878 to 1880, which helped him to get acquainted with ^estern music. The literary and artistic ethos in his family where poems, music, painting, dramas, religious discourses, patriotic activities abounded helped to stimulate his artistic talents.

Kadambari Devi , wife of Jyothirindranath aunt of Rabindranath came to live with the family when Rabindranath was seven . She gave him love and affection of a mother. She loved literature and took keen interest in poetry and appreciated and promoted Rabindranath's poetic and artistic abilities.

He was so influenced by her that while dedicating two of his books Saisau Sangeet and Bhanu Sinha Thakur Padavali to her, he wrote " You had requested me to publish the collection of poems written under the pseudonym Bhanu Sinha. I did not comply with your request then. I have published it today, but you are not here to see it".

Romesh Chunder Dutt, a great literary personality, had invited Bankim Chandra Chattarjee and Rabindranath Tagore to attend his daughter's marriage. It so happened that both of them arrived simultaneously. Romesh Chunder welcoming the great literary figure garlanded him while Rabindranath looked on. Bankim Chandra removed INDIAN N O H E L L A U R E A T E S 2 1

the garland and placing it around Rabindranath's neck said : "This garland should go to Rabindranath. Romesh , have you read his Sandhya Sangeet ?"

Rabindranath wrotel22 books in Bengali and 15 books in English including translations of his own works. The following are some of his well known works:

Chelebela, Rajashi, Smaran, Choker Bali, Serada Mangal, Saisab Sangeet, Bhanu Sinh Thakurer Padavali, Sandhya Sangeet, Prabhat Sangeet, Kori-o-kamal, Rudra Chandra, Valmiki, Citinitya, Visarjan, Bowthakuramir hat, Chokher Bali, Gitanjali, Ananda Bioday, Chutrangada, Sonar Teri, Chitra, Galpa Guchha, Post Master, Kabuliwala, Kshudhita, Atithi, Chaitali.

Tagore was married to Bhabatarini Devi on December 9th, 1883 who was later called Mrinalini Devi. He loved his wife so much that when he was on his visit to the United Kingdom in 1890, he cut short his stay and returned home within two months. Mrinalini Devi fell ill and passed away on November 23. 1902. It was a great shock to Rabindranath. But her memory inspired him to write poems that became his book Smaran.

His wife Mrinalini Devi died leaving five children Madhurilata. Rathindranath, Renuka. Meera.

2 2 INDIAN NOBfcl . L.AI 'Rl.A I I S

Somondra. The next year his father who was 87 then fell ill and died (1905). His youngest son Somindra was attacked by Cholera and died in 1907. Thus, within a span of five years Rabindranath suffered bereavement losing his nearest and dearest ones. After the bereavement he went to Shantiniketan and stayed there for few months and started his normal life.

Temperamentally Rabindranath was religious. His interests mainly revolved round literature and religion. Having failed to find full satisfaction in meditation, he turned to humanitarian and welfare service.

He loved nature and wanted to convert India into a Tapovan. He thought of starting a new educational institution in which there was provision for building up of moral character along with formal education. He thought of Gurukula method of education where pupils stayed with the teacher till they complete their education and he thought of establishing residential type of schools. He believed that modern schools were unconcerned about values of life and dealt only with economic advantage which promoted material culture and hampered spiritual growth.

For the purpose he set up Shantiniketan on December 22. 1901 with five students (one of them

I N ' D K N M IBM I \ ! Ri A l l s 2 3

was his own son) where he introduced a system of education that encouraged love of nature and promoted spiritual and simple life. The first teachers were Rewachand and Sibdan Vidyarnab. Later Brahmabandhav Upadhyay (his orginal name was Bhabami Charan Banarjee) ran shantiniketan. He addressed Rabindranath Tagore/1' Gurudev'".

This was the time of great change in India as Indians intensified their freedom struggle. Many outstanding Bengalis like Iswar Chandra Vidysagar Ram Mohan Roy, Bankim Chandra Chatterji Vivekanand, Surendranath Bannerji took active part in promoting nationalist aspirations and also in retaining basic tenets of Indian culture and values despite Vnojfdejnisation.^ The partition of Bengal in 1905 lea to intensification of nationalist struggle and a powerful movement for reunion of Bengal was launched. Tagore threw himself in this movement. His interest was to promote emotional integration of Bengalis. He wrote a large number of poems in Bengali. Mahatma Gandhi also started singing his poems in his daily meetings. Rabindranath Tagore declared that the day of partition of Bengal should be

2 4 1 M U W \ O I ) [ - . t [ A I R t \ n ^

T A G O R E W I T H G A N D H I J I

observed as a day of mourning by Bengalis and no cooking was done in houses. He invented the idea of tying silk band (Rakhi) on the wrist of fellow-Bengalis signifying that all Bengalis are brothers and sisters. To counteract this movement the Government issued an order prohibiting participation of students in the movement. The nationalists countered it by establishing the National school. Donations were received from many people and National schools came into existence on 15!h August 1906. Sri. Aurobindo became the first Principal. This institution later grew into Jadhavpur University after independence. Tagore was associated with this institution all along. After some time Rabindranath broke away from political movement and concentrated on literacy activities and the development of Shantiniketan.

Tagore renounced his Knighthood conferred on him in 1916 by the British empire to register his protest against the killing of hundreds of Indians at Jallianwalla Bagh in Amrits^r.

He was a spiritual being as well and promoted cultivation of spiritual power through art and education. His ideas of God were practical. He said: "Our rights are satisfied to the full extent possible only when our faculty of knowledge, love and work can give expression to all our latent powers. That is

2 6 J NI >1 AN" NOB!.! . l .AWRFA [>.S

why there is no other way to enforce our right to establish contact with God simultaneously through [knowledge (jirna) love (Bakti) and Service (Karma) except through humanity".

NOBEL PRIZE

It was his book of poems Gitanjali (song offerings)that introduced Tagore to the world. William Rothenstain,a famous artist who enjoyed high status in the British society recognised and published Tagore's talents and achievements in England.

Rothenstein invited Tagore and few literary friends from Britain such as W.B. Yeats, Henry Weinson, Ezra Pound, May Sinclair and C.F. Andrews to his home.On 7th july 1912 and read poems from Gitanjali. They appreciated Tagore's poems and accorded their recognition to him as one of the greatest poets.

After three days his new friends gave him a reception in Tracadero Restaurant, with few more literacy figures. After this meeting at Tracadero Restaurent, Tagore's friends decided to publish the book themselves^ Yeats wrote the introduction.After this he toured the United States of America and visited New York. Chicago. Rochester, Boston and ! ïhana.

!M)I \ \ NPBH I At R! \ ! I S 2 7

His Gitanjali in English was first published in 1912. People of the^es t received it with warmth and appreciation. In November , 1913, for his work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He was invited by many countries and was honoured for his literacy talents and Tagore became a world figure'.

Realising that service to humanity is the basis of all religions and also having great admiration for Indian culture he established a new University called ''Visva- Bharati" on December 22, 1921. AThis University was developed in such a way that people from all over the world were attracted to come for exchange of spiritual wealth. Tagore, after some years found it difficult to find resources to run it. To raise the funds he went on tour from place to place performing dance- drama. Later, because of age Tagore could not travel and the University was in difficulty. After independence, Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime minister, took interest and the Parliament passed an act and made " Visva- Bharati" one of the Central Universities funded by the government of India.

During the Second world war when Subhash Chandra Bose founded the free India- League in Berlin, Jana- Gana- Mana, the patriotic song composed by Tagore on India, was played on INDIAN NOBF.i . L A U R E A T E S

2 8

orchestra for the first time in a ceremony in Hamburg in 1942. Tagore's song became free India's national anthem set to music by the great poet himself.

Oxford University honoured him with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Literature in the year 1940. Tagore's health did not permit him to travel to England and therefore it was handed over to him at Shantiniketan by Chief Justice of India at a simple Ceremony.

He died on 7lh August 1941. Thus ended an eventful and fascinating life of modern India's greatest poet and the first Nobel Laureate.

LUCK

He worked by da 1 And toiled by night He gave up play And some delight. Dry books he read, New things to learn. And forged ahead Success to earn. He plodded on with Faith and pluck: And when he won Men called it luck.

- tnonymous.

INDIAN N O B HI. I . A I i R E A l F S 29

SIR. C. V. RAMAN

INDIAN N O B R 1 , L A U R E A T E S 31

SIR. C. V. RAMAN

3 2

S I R . C . V . R A M A N

The Indian scientist who worked by using instruments made in India in Indian laboratory and worked independently without the guidance of any professor and won the Nobel Prize in 1930 was Sir. Chandrashekhar Venkat Raman Born to R. Chandrashekhar Iyer and Parvati Animal, Raman was the second child of his parents. His elder brother Subramanian was known as C.S. Iyer. C.S. Iyer's son also became world famous ^fstro- physicist and won the Nobel prize. Though he was an Indian by birth he had settled in the U.S.A., when he received the Nobel prize.

Raman w<js a brilliant student and read voraciouslj/f^rh his father's collection of books|)tfe^ three books'inspired him most were: 1. The light of Asia written by ' Edwin

Arnold. 2. The Elements of Euclkt-3. The Sensations of Tone by Helmholtz.

After completing his school careei at the age of eleven, he studied for two years in Mrs. A.V. Narasimha Rao College, Vishakapatnam . where his

INDIAN NOBR1, L A U R E A T E S 33

father was a lecturer in physics, mathematics and physical geography.

At thirteen when he joined the Presidency) College, Madras, he was the youngest in the College.' Raman showed great proficiency in physics and English.

When Raman stood first in B.A. he won allj prizes. All his teachers suggested to him to go to England to appear for the Indian Civil Service (ICS) Examination. It was very prestigious in those days for an Indian to join the ICS. Medical examination was a must for any one wanting to visit England.1

When he appeared for the medical test, the Madras^ Civil Surgeon failed him. Raman remained grateful toj the Civil Surgeon through out his life.

Since he could not go to England, Raman joined for M.A. in Physics in the same College. Prof. Jones, Professor of physics, gave Raman full academic freedom which he fully used in performing novel experiments that were not mentioned in text books. He got his findings published in the prestigious British journal the Philosophical Magazine - the firsl article to be published from Presidency College, Madras. He passed his M.A. in 1907, standing firsl and again winning all prizes. Having passed Financial Civil Service (FCS) examinat ion, he was posted to Calcutta as Assistant Accountant General. Before he

; 4

joined this service he was married to Lokasundari from Madurai.

Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science was founded in 1933 by Mahendralal Sircar/a staunch nationalist. He founded the centre on the model of Royal Institute at London for carrying on scientific research in India. Famous scientists like Michael Faraday and Sir. James Dewar had done research at the Royal Institute. Mahendralal Sircar dreamt that some day his Association would rise to that status.

At Calcutta, travelling from home to his office in a tram Raman noticed the board " Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science" On his return journey he got down and went to the institute and knocked. The door was opened by Ashutosh Dey who later became his right hand man for the next twentyfive years.

Raman met Amritlal Sircar, nephew of late Mahendra Lai Sircar, who was the secretary of the Institute. When Raman explained that he was interested in doing research in physics he was given the keys of the room immediately and Raman took full advantage of the offer.

During office hours Raman was an efficient finance officer and in the rest of the time he was a research physicist. He published his findings in

I N i H . W N O B K I . l . A U R I A T I - S 35

Nature and the Philosophical Magazine of England and in Physical Review of America.

In 1916, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the Calcutta University. He had worked with Mahendra Lai Sircar in founding the Indian Association for the Cultivation of science. Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee invited Raman to give up Government service and join the University as Professor of Physics. In 1917, he resigned from the government service and joined as Professor of Physics at Calcutta University. Raman carried on his research in vibrations and acoustics. Raman had given up a job that earned Rs. 1,200/- per month and had joined as professor of Physics on half the salary of Rs.600/- pm. mainly because of his love for research and teaching physics. Raman attracted research students from Calcutta, Madras, Thiruvant^puram and other places. He became the Honorary Secretary of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science when Amritlal Sircar passed away.

In 1921, Calcutta University conferred on him Honorary Doctorate degree. During the year he went abroad to attend the University Congress at Oxford. He met many eminent physicists and had a chance to do research in England.

36 INDIAN N O B h T LAURKA I h S

The Royal Institute in London had arranged a lecture by Lord Rutherford. Raman was late to the lecture and slowly slipped into one of the back seats. Lord Rutherford noticed him and called "Professor Raman why are you sitting alone. Come up here to the front". Raman went and sat in the front. After the lecture Raman asked Lord Rutherford how he recognized him? Lord Rutherford replied "Well I have read your papers and when I saw a person in the audience wearing a Madrasi turban, I knew it must be you"

In 1924, Raman was elected a Fellow of Royal society. After his return there was a party to felicitate Raman during which sir Ashutosh asked " What next Raman ?" Raman replied " Why Sir, the Nobel Prize of course".

Between 1924 and 1925 he went to different countries. After this for several years he concentrated intensely on research. It is during this period that the Raman effect was discovered. In 1930, Raman was awarded the Nobel prize for. the discovery of the Raman effect and he was also conferred the Knighthood by the British Government and became Sir. C.V.Raman .

In those days, the heads of important institutes were always a British. When Sir Rutherford was approached for the position of Director for Indian

INDIAN N O B R 1 , L A U R E A T E S 3 7

Institute of Science, Bangalore, he wrote: " Why are you looking for a Director from England when you have an excellent person like Raman in India".

In 1930, Raman was appointed as a member oi the Governing Council of the Indian Institute oi Science in Bangalore and in 1933 he became its firsl Indian Director.

38 INI >1 W N I I H I I I M R ) A l l <•

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

Who does not know the name of Jamshedji Tata. Knowing that factories and power plants alone will help India to make progress, he emphasized the study of seience and technology which alone would solve India's problems. His thoughts were similar to those of Mahendra Lai Sircar, who started Indian Association for Cultivation of science. The Indian Institute of science was started by Jamashedji Tata in 1911 as a centgf j for Applied Sciences in Chemistry and Electrical Engineering.

Sir. C.V. Raman was given the job of Directorship of Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, and he joined it in April 1933 as the first Indian as a Director. Raman stayed at the institute from 1933 to 1948. After working for five years Raman faced some problems and stepped down from the Directors post and stayed on as a Professor of Physics at a lesser salary. But he did not make an attempt to go abroad with the Nobel Prize in his pocket.

I N D I A N Ni >H| I I \ i R i A 11 S 39

RAMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE: 1948

The instituteurs situated a kilometer away from Indian Institute of Science on a land gifted by

Maharaja of Mysore. Raman raised his own funds from philanthropists, princes and industrialists. He started small scale industries with the help of his former students. Since he fell short of funds he sold some of his property to raise money. The money he received as the winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from ;

the Soviet Union was also used for the Institute.' Raman who loved nature developed the campus of the Institute covered with trees, flowers and rose garden.

Raman collected cry stals, gems, minerals, rock specimens, shells, stuffed birds, butterflies. He also collected diamonds and used them for spectroscopic studies. All these specimens were arranged in glass shelves and Raman liked taking visitors and talking to them about science and showing them the museum and the garden.

After he retired, many high positions were offered to him including that of the Vice- President of India. Throughout his life he served the cause of science with devotion and made Bangalore a city of scientific excellence.

4 0 !M) | -<A M i H I 1 l A t Kl M I S

In one of his speeches Raman said: " I would like to tell the young men and women

before me not to lose hope and courage. Success can only come to you by courageous devotion to the task in front of you and there is nothing worth in this world that can come without the sweat of our brow. I can assert without fear of contradiction that the quality of the Indian mind is equal to the quality of any Teutonic, Nordic or Anglo- Saxon mind. What we lack is perhaps courage, what we lack is perhaps driving force which takes one anywhere.... We need a spirit of victory, a spirit that would carry us to our rightful place under the sun. a spirit which will recognise that we. as inheritors of a proud civilization are entitled to a rightful place on this planet".

He breathed his last on 21st November 1970.

NDIAN NOBtl LAURKATF.S

R A M A N ' S W O R K

W h y Sea is b l u e ? Raman showed that the sea is blue because the

molecules of water scatter light just the same way molecules of air do.

Light from the sun is white. Why is the sky blue?

Since the blue light has a much higher frequency than red, it is scattered much more efficiently, therefore sky appears blue . If one goes into space where there is no atmosphere there the sky appears black even if the sun is shining.

Why the railways use red light for stop? It is because red light can travel long distance without getting scattered. Engine driver can see the signal from long distance and apply the necessary brakes.

Raman performed many experiments and proved that

1. Light can be scattered by molecules of water just as it can be by the molecules of air.

2. The blue colour of the sea is due to such molecular scattering just as the blue of the sky is.

He wrote an essay on the molecular diffraction of light in the year 1922.

42 \ M IB! I ! M 'Kt \ I 1 S

NOBEL P R I Z E W I N N I N G R A M A N E F F E C T (1928)

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Light is a form of energy. It travels with a velocity of 3X1010 Cm/Se. (approximately).

Sun light (White light ) is a combination of different coloured lights. The different coloured light has different wave length (frequency). The spectrum of light visible to human eye is between 3000 Au to 7000 Au (Au = Angstrom unit. 1 Au= 10"'° cms

Violet Yellow Red.

3000 6000 7000

Human eye is most sensitive to yellow colour light which has a wave length of 6000Au.

When Light passes through transparent solid, liquid or gas, a certain part of light is scattered in all directions. When scattering of light takes place, there is change in frequency of light. Thus the colour of light will change after the scattering of light. Scattering of light with a change in frequency was extensively studied by Raman and he then presented the detailed study under the title " Ram^Effect". The Scattered light is seen to contain besides the incident

IN'niAN N O B E L L A U R E A T E S 43

light, several other frequencies i.e. other lights of low intensity.

In the spectrum of the scattered light a number of new lines were observed on both sides of the main line (Corresponding to incident light). Those on the low frequency side were numerous and more intense than those on high frequency side. These liqes observed in the spectrum are known as " Raman Lines"

Raman used a spectroscope to study the scattering of light through liquids and gases. The Raman effect was discovered on 28,h February 1928. In commemoration of this event and also to serve as an inspiration to our scientists and encourage scientific research, 28th February is celebrated as the National Science Day every year.

44 INDI W NOBE1 l .A l 'RKATF.S

DR. HARGOBIND KHt^RANA

m i b i | i ACRI A I T S 45

DR. HARGOBIND KHORANA

46

P Dr. H A R G O B I N D ^ KHORANA

Hargovind Khorana was born on 9th January, 1922 in Rkipur a small village in West Punjab (now in Pakistan). Raipur had around hundred inhabitants. His was the only literate and educated family in the village. He was the youngest of the four sons and one daughter. His father, an agricultural taxation clerk called "Patwari" under the British government, thoûgh poor, was very particular about educating his children. Hargobind who attended D.A.V. High school in Multanand, came under the influence of his teacher Ratanlal. While completing his M.Sc. at Punjab University, he was fortunate in coming anp&tffrjunder the influence of another good teacher, Mohan Singh. He went to the University of Liverpool (England)on a Government of India Scholarship for his doctoral degree. Once again Hargobind was fortunate to work under a very good teacher Roger •I S. who guided him for his Ph.D. During 1948-49 he did his Post-Doctoral studies with an eminent Professor Viadirir Prelong in Zurich who mcflded Khyiran^ thoughts and outlook towards science and work. He came back to India in 1949, but later returned to Cambridge (England) where he obtained a fellowship to work with Prof. G.W. Kenner and Lord

INDIAN NOBR1, L A U R E A T E S 47

A. R. from 1952 to 1954. This was the place w hei he got interested in Proteins and nucleic acids. <

Dr. Gordon M. Shrun of British Columb took him to Vancouver. Dr. Srun's inspriation ar encouragement and frequent help and scientif counsel from Dr. Jack Campbell a group began ' work in the field of biologically interesting phospha esters and nuclic acids. Dr. Gordon M. Ten contributed to the spiritual and intellectual well-beir of the group.

In the year 1960 Dr. Khorana went to tl /university of Wisconsin Institute of Enzyme Resejrcj Dr. Khorana had married Easter Elizabeth Sibler i Swiss origin in 1952. Easter brought a sense ^ purpose in his life. They have three children. (Jul Elezabeth born on 4"' May 1953, Emily Hune born c 18th October. 1954 and Dene Roy born on 26,h Jul; 1958.)Dr. Hargobind Khorana was awarded tl NOBEL PRIZE for Medicine in 1968.

48 INI>! \ N M >HI 1 I M RI M l

K H O R A N A ' S S Y N T H E S I S O F G E N E S

The word ''gene'" means " to give birth to. Genes are responsible for passing on hereditary characters from parents to their offspring. Therefore children have some characteristics of their parents. Children "inherit" some traits (Characteristics) of their parents. The study of heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics is called genetics. (Greek word Gene- be produced).

Gregor Mendel, an American monk, first (1860) performed many experiments on pea plants and found that some characteristics occur (from parents to the o^pring) more often than others and called them 'dominant' characteristics. The others he called "recessive".

An organism is composed of various systems. A system is made of many organs performing a particular type of function. An organ is composed of tissues doing a particular type of work. A tissue is composed of cells doing some definite work. Therefore, an organism is made up of many cells. There is a large thick body in the centre of the cell called nucleus. Each nucleus in the cell contains chromosomes. Chromosomes are thin, thread like bodies made up of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) Several genes make a chromosome. The genes are responsible in transmitting characteristics from INDIAN N O B R 1 , L A U R E A T E S 4 9

parents to their offspring^. A pair of genes i| responsible for a character. (DNA looks like twiste<j ladder rope).

Dr. Khorana synthesised nucleotide coenzymes and poly nucleotides. The four bases a Adenine Thiamin, Guanine and Cytosine (A.T.G. and C] present in DNA chains are 'read' sequentially in a group of three Codons. There are 21 known amino acids and 4 bases the coding was to be in the form ol a triplet-43 = 64. Combinations. Khorana synthesize^ all the 64 Codons and his work is a majol achievement in molecular biology. Now it u possible to alter genes in D.N.A. and create new forms to cure genetic diseases by repairing ol replacing genes. Using this knowledge inherited human diseases as well as Cancer and AIDS may be cured.

50 INDIAN N O B R 1 , L A U R E A T E S 50

MOTHER TERESA

INDIAN N O B R 1 , L A U R E A T E S 51

MOTHER TERESA

5 2

Mother Teresa [original name is Agnes Bojaxhiu] was born on 26"' August 1910 in Yugoslovia to her parents Nicolas and Rosa. She had a sister called Agatha and a bother called Lazaras.The Bojaxhiu. an Albanian family had settled in Yogoslovia.Nicolas was a merchant. Alj the three children. Agatha, Lazarus and Agnes attended a local ^Cchool. Agne's father died when she was only eight years old. Her mother took control of the situation and started her own business of selling embroidery and carpets. She often invited the poor for a meal. Religion played anpT important role in almost every aspect of her life. Laza^s left home to join the army in Austria, leaving the family without a man. A priest called Jambrenkoie of the Society of Jesus who joined as the pastor of the local Church became her spiritual guide. At twelve she expressed her desire to become a nun. The priest used to explain to Agnes about work of the Catholic missionaries in ^ e s t Bengal. She told her mother that she would become a nun. Her mother, after prayerful consideration, blessed Agnes and advised her/" Put your hand in

I N D I A N NOHJ-.J. ! M Hi M l S 5 3

His hand and walk all the way with Him" Agnes never forgot this advice.

Agnes/decided to join Loreto nuns who were working in India.came to Darjeeling on 6th January 1929. Agnes took the religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and changed her name to TERESA. She was sent to teach at St. Mary's High School in Entally, Calcutta. She learnt Bengali and Hindi and was fluent in English. She taught

geography and^iistory in schools.

While sister Teresa was travelling in a train from Calcutta to Darjeeling on 10lh September 1946, she heard Jesus tell her. " I want you to serve me among the poorest of the^oor" This voice c / inspired her and changed her life.

1943 proved to be one of the worst years in India when severe famine took away nearly two million people .The Second World War continued to create greater insecurity and hardship to people. Ships previously used to transport rice to India were deployed for war efforts. The Quit India Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 against the British was further intensified despite the arrest of leaders. The intense suffering of millions of Indians in the famine year of 1943 induced mother Teresa to devote the rest of her life to help the dying destitutes.

5 4 INDIAN N O B E L L A U R L A T I S

The Partition of India in 1947, the Hindu Muslim riots and the massive displacement of persons compelled Mother Teresa to work for the displaced destitute persons who thronged Calcutta for a living.

Mother Teresa applied to Rome for the privilege of living out/side the Convent and work for the people. When the Vatican permitted her she went to Patna and took a course in medical aid in a hospital of the American Medical Missionary sisters. When she completed her training and returned to Calcutta, she started her work, helped by Micheal Gomes who gave her a room and later an entire first floor.

She organised the Missioneries of Charity and sent its constitution to Rome for its approval. The Pope was happy to grant appproval on 7th September 1950.

Mother Teresa finding the jpimis^sf provided by Michael Gomes small dicided to move to a larger premises at 54-A, Lower Circular Road, Calcutta. Even today this remains the Mother house of the Missionaries of Charity. From the beginning people from different parts of the world helped the Missionaries of Charity.

Nineteen years later she set up an International Association of Co- workers of Mother Teresa and she prepared a separate constitution which was approved

INDIAN N O B E L I A U R E A T E S 55

by the Pope on March 19"' 1969. It was affiliated to the Society of the Missionaries of Charity at Delhi and Bombay.

Her work spread to other places and countries as well. Australia Melbourne, Jordan, Gaza. North Yemen. Ethiopia, Tanzania, Philippines, New Guinea, Belgium, Germany, Holland, The United States, Columbia, Peru, Fizi, Papua and many other places. At present there are 600 houses in 136 countries.

Mother Teresa wanted to bring young men to join her work who could look after street boys, the orphans without shelter and boys who ran away from school and home. As she was oveij/burdened with her own work, she wanted experienced priests to take up this work.

Father Andrew Travers- Ball, an Australian, later called Brother Andrew decided to assist her and started the Missionaries of Charity Brothers. Many young men came and joined him. He became the General Servant for the new Institute.

Mother Teresa practiced what Jesus taught" \Vhat you do to the least of mine, you do it unto me" Mother Teresa saw Jesus in the poor, destitute and the helpless.

56 ISHi W M IBI i I.M R1 M i s

Mother Teresa personally did not seek recognition. But the media recognised her great work and gave it publicity, and soon she became a media star. This publicity helped her work and people from all over the world gave their financial support, that enabled her to open six hundred houses.

Mother Teresa received many of her national and international awards and prizes for her service to humanity. Magasaysriy Award in Manila, Templeton Prize in England . Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the Bharat Ratna in India and the Kenney Prize in the U.S. She always said " It is for the hon(|r of God and I received this in the name of the Poor and for their benefit".

( 7 The book We Do It For Jesus published in 1977

in London, New York and Calcutta and translated in fourteen languages tells this story. The VIPS who visited Calcutta went to pay respects to this simple, smiling and loving nun.

Mother Teresa was the most travelled religious women leader in history and visited every continent several times. She had the foresight to train her successor. On March 13lh , 1997, sister Nirmal, succeeded her as Mother Superior General. Mother Teresa passed away on 5th September, 1997.

'N IXAN N O B F I . I .AI . IRFATFS 51

UNIQUE THOUHGTS OF MOTHER TERESA.

S "I Convert you to be a better Hindu, a better Muslim, a better Protestant, a better Sikh".

" Time is most important thing in life, but never think of how much, but how . The quality of time spent is always paramount"

S Every individual is a unique creation. No two individuals are alike. Every one is a unique person, created with purpose. But every one does not know the purpose of his/ her life. They are mostly the victims of circumstances. But there arejvery ^ few who with their dedication search for the work they have to perform in this life. The creator guides them and reveals them the task. They undertake the work with great devotion and achieve the impossible. Sister Teresa had a dream one day. She told her superiors " 1 have three pennies and a dream from God to build an Orphanage^ " Sister Teresa" her superiors chided her " You cannot build an Orphanage with three pennies, with three pennies, you cannot do anythingl " I know/she said smiling, "But with God and three pennies, I can do anything".

58 INDIAN N O B EI L A U R E A T E S

THUS SPOKE M O T H E R TERESA

The fruit of silence is prayer The fruit of prayer is faith The fruit of prayer is Love The fruit of Love is Service The fruit of prayer is pearl. *

I am only a little wire God is the power ^

I am not able to prevent death when it comes But at least I can give the dying the comfort Of knowing that some one cares for them *

I see God in every human being When I clean the lepers' wounds I feel I am Nursing the Lord himself Is it not a beautiful experience. Let every action of mine be something Beautiful for God. •

" Death is going home Yet people are afraid of what will come, So they do not want to die" 4fow can you love God whom you do not see, ^ If you do not love, your neighbors, whom you see.

•

INDIAN N O B E L I A U R E A T E S 67

M O T H E R TERESA

26"' August 1910 .... Born in Skpoje, Yugoslavia

1928 Joined the novices of Loreto, at Dublin Ireland.

1929 Arrives in Calcutta. 1931 Takes her religious vows - Changed her name

to Teresa - starts teaching at St. Mary's School, Calcutta.

1946 Inspired by Jesus to devote her life to the Poor 1948 Begins work in the slums of Calcutta 1950 Missionaries of Charity is formed 1951 Is awarded with Padma Shree 1952 Is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1953 Is awarded the Bharat Ratna

On 13"' March 1997, Sister Nirmal succeeded her as Superior General. On 5"' September 1997, Mother Teresa died in Mother House, Calcutta.

6 0 INDIAN N O B M . I At ' R F A 1 I S

SUBRAMANYA CHANDRASHEKHAR

| s ' !> ! \ N \ O I S I I ! Al ;RI- A IT-S 6 !

SUBRAHMANYA^ CHANDRAS(EKHAR

62

_ _ B _

J SUBRAMANYA C H A N D R A S ^ K H A R

When Chandrashekhar was informed that he had been awarded the Nobel prize, he said that it came to him as his birth day gift.

Subramanya Chandrashekhar was born in Lahore on 19"' October 1910. His father C. Subramanya Iyer, a Government servant used to be transferred from place to place and was in Lahore when Chandrashekhar was born. Sir C.V. Raman who won the Nobel prize in 1930 was his uncle being C.S. Iyer's younger brother.

Chandra's family consisted of three boys and six sisters. Chandrashekhar, though born in Lahore (North India), spent most of his time in Madras (South India). He inherited from his grand father Chandrashekhar Iyer his love of reading and music.

All Iyer children received their early education at home. Chandra who secured admission directly in Hindu High School, Madras, was three years ahead of his class and excelled in studies specially in mathematics.

After completing his School education, Chandra joined Presidency College. Madras, where Sir. C.V. Raman, his uncle, had studied. Chandra like his 'NDlAN N O B E L L A U R E A T E S 6 3

uncle was deeply interes^ in physics. Havinj understood the importance of r^àthematics for thi study of ^physics, he took great pains to maste Mathematics during the fourth year of his honofr class. He went to spend two months at the India] Association for the Cultivation of Science, Calcutta and spent two months at Raman's Laboratory. A Calcutta, Chandra, though still a student, engage» himself in research of his choice and got acquainte< with the latest research in other countries by readinj Nature, Philosophy and other latest scientific journals from abroad.

At the IACS in 1928 Chandra studied som< problems related to the interior of stars. This clearl; showed that his interest was in jistro- physics. Youn Chandra presented his first research paper in 1928 He has written many books and every one of them i a classic.

Chandra passed his B.A. honours in rjrfathematic: and physics and won all prizes in 1930. His fathe C.S. Iyer asked him to join the government servici but J flatly refused stating that he was interested ii ^cience. He received government scholarship to stud] at Cambridge in 1933. He moved to the University o Chicago in 1937 and became a citizen of the U.S.A in 1958. (He had to go to the U.S.A. as he clashe< with Eddington a famous Scientist in ^stronomy an<

6 4 I S D H N NOHfc t I .AI RI A l b

lost the chance of getting a job in England). Chandra worked atleast twelve hours a day beginning at 6 a.m. and worked for seven days a week. This he did for years. He worked on one subject for six years and then wrote a book on it.

Chandrashekhar started working as an Assistant Professor in 1937 and became a Professor of theoretical astrophysics ten years later. In 1952 he became the Morton D. Hull distinguished service professor. The University of Chicago has now a Professorship in honour of Chandrashekhar. He received many awards, first being a Fellow of the Royal Society (London), in 1944, followed by Bruce Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of England in 1952 , Rumford Medal of the America Academy of Arts and Science in 1957, the Srinivasa Ramanujan Medal of the Indian national science in 1962 and the Royal medal of the Royal Society in 1962. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in America. In 1968 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan title by the government of India. The U.S. President also honored him.

When he received Ramford Medal jokingly he said:

There was a military General who has won many medals and he wore all these medals on his uniform as is usually done by military officers. Once i K l U \ N N O B E L L A U R E A T E S 65

a lady came and asked him how he had won all those medals. The General pointed out to the small medal and said, I won this small medal by mistake and after that all other medals followed."

He was interested in literature, music and travelling. He wanted to read all the plays of Shakespeare very carefully line by line, word by word. If I would have done that jhe said he would have been a different person.

He was rewarded with Nobel Prize after more than fifty years of his discovery. But the whole world recognised his discovery and many awards came pouring in.

66 INDIAN NOBEL LAURLATI S

C H A N D R A ' S W O R K

When we see the sky at night we see thousands of stars. Is it possible to count them? When we use telescope we see many more stars all over the sky. How big is the sky? Can you imagine the vastness of it? On the clear night you see Milky way. It is a collection of large number of stars. Sun is a star in the milky way. The Milky way is called Galaxy. There are millions of Galaxies in the sky. Just imagine how big is the universe. What is ay£tar? A star is a big gaseous cloud. It is a mass of burning gas. After telescope was invented astronomers kept on observing the stars and recorded their observations. Scientists say that stars can live for millions of years. It is held in particular place in equilibrium by gravitational pull onj one hand and the gas pressure generated by burning inside the star on the other hand. The burning is due to chemical combustion. Hydrogen combines with oxygen and water vapour is formed releasing much energy.

2H2+02 - / 2 H 2 0 + Energy.

This equation represents chemical reaction. Chemical reaction takes place because of readjustment of electrons in the outer/most shells of atoms. The burning of stars is because of nuclear reactions. Energy released in nuclear reaction is about a million times the energy released in chemical INDIAN NOBEL L A U R E A T E S 6 7

reaction. In the stars, the gas becomes very hot and nuclear reactions take place. This is thermonuclear burning. In this way stars produce heat^energy and

energy because of thermonuclear reactions.

As we know there are billions of stars in the Universe - Big stars, small stars, bright stars, feeble stars, hot stars etc. Scientists have patiently observed all these stars and collected and recorded the data and studied the data and tried to explain different phenomena. They have studied luminosity (brightness) and surface temperature of stars.

At some stage or the other, for some reason or the other, stars may get tired of burning and quit. Then white dwarf is formed. When stars run out of the fuel, they stop burning. Production of heat ceases. So the gas pressure is reduced and stars gain an upper hand. This dead star starts shrinking. In 1927 Chandra explained the phenomenon of white dwarfs. He derived the equation of state of matter under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. What happens if the temperature is raised to a few million degrees and the pressure is also raised to a few million atmospheres? The atoms would all have been crushed and there would be nothing but electrons and nuclei. There would be a very dense cloud of what is the equation of state of matter in this peculiar state? This is exactly what Chandra

6 8 [MM W SOBfc l . LAURI-.A I KS

answered. Chandra added an important chapter to the Physics of matter under extreme conditions. For this Chandra was awarded Nobel Prize in 1982.

KNOW ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY

• Algebra, trignometry and Calculas originated in India. • Chess was invented in India. • Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known. Charaka, the

great physician consolidated Ayurveda. • Sushruta is the father of Surgery. • It is in our country for the first time that Zero was treated as a

number in mathematical operations. • Sanskrit is the most suitable language of Computer software. • Bhaskaracharva calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the

sun. • The earliest reservoir and dam built for irrigation was in Gujarat

(Saurastra)

Try not to be a man of success rather try to be man of value - Albert Einestein.

Associate yourself with people of good quality if you esteem your reputation, for it is better to be alone than to be in bad company. -Oriental Saying.

INDIAN NOBEL I A U R E A T E S 69

AMARTYA SEN

INDIAN N O B E L I A U R E A T E S 71

A M A R T Y A S E N

7 2

AMARTYA SEN

The boy who was named Amartya (immortal) by Rabindranath Tagore in 1933 rose to win the Nobel Prize sixtysix years later. He was bre» on 3rd

November, 1933, to Amita and Asutosh Sen. Rabindranath Tagore while naming him Amartya p i d "' I can see the boy will grow into an outstanding person".

Amartya joined Shantiniketan as a student. In Shantiniketan he dreamt variously of becoming a Sanskrit scholar, mathematician and physicist. He stood first in Intermediate Science (the present XII standard) and entered Presidency College, ^alcutta. Amartya knew that he was meant for economics. He was also interested in philosophy, sanskrit and painting. He started his career as Professor of Economics, Jadhavpur University , Calcutta (1956-58). His Professor Bhabtosh Dutta who taught Amartya, recognised Amartya's abilities. He superseded his teacher Panchanan Chakraborty and became the Head of the Department of Economics at Jadhavpur University at the age of 23, youngest Professor in the country. Amartya went to Cambridge and received first class tripos in

' N I I I A M VOI1FI l A I ' R F A T F S 7 3

economics. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Chambridge, from 1957 to 1963.

During his visits to Shantiniketan every year he goes around on his 50 year old cycle to meet his old friends and drinking tea in a tea shop. He welcomes everybody at home.

He returned after serving as a Fellow of Trinity College (1957-1963) and joined Delhi School of Economics in 1963. He was such a popular Professor, that whenever he lectured the hall in Delhi School of Economics was always packed with students and academicians.

He married thrice. The first marriage was in 1960 with Navneeta Deb Sen, a Professor of literature and noted Bengali Writer. They have two daughters -Antara and Nandana. Antara is a journalist in Delhi. Nandana is making films. Her film Gudia earned fame.

Amartya left Delhi School of Economics in 1971 and joined as Professor at London School of Economics. In 1977, he joined Nuffield College, Oxford.

In 1978 Sen married Eva Coloni, an Italian,who was his student at Delhi School of Economics. They had two children - Indrani and Kabir. Eva died of cancer in 1985. His present wife Emma Rothschild is

7 4 INDIAN N O B E E J . A I i R E A T E S

the Director of the Centre for History and Economics at Kingjs College, Cambridge.

In the year 1980, he left Nuffiek College and joined Oxford University as Drumona Proferssor of Economics and Philosophy. After serving for seven years in the year 1987, he joined Harvard University in the U.S.A.. He returned as Master, Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1998, a prestigious post held for the first time in its history by a person other than the British. The following are some of the views of Amartya Sen on diffirent subjects. He was awarded the Nobel prize for Economics in the year 1998.

D E M O C R A C Y

Amartya Sen believes in democracy. Elections, ' opposition partie^ open debates and media are all

necessary for the proper and better functioning of the Government. He saysj" Famines do not happen in a democratic country". ' Purpose of development is not just material or technical progress but human happiness. He is concerned/the poorest in the society. He is a passionate advocate of democracy. He wants strong Government action to ward off hunger and famine.

P O V E R T Y A N D F A M I N E As a boy of ten years he had seen people dying

on the streets of Calcutta, during the second World War. The poor died like flies. If this happens in a INDIAN N O B E L L A U R E A T E S

democratic Government, the Government would be criticised and the ruling party would lo^se in the nexl election.

Famine was the result of inflation caused by wai time inflation in West Bengal. He studied Bangladesh famine. He said flood have covered vast lands in the country. The laborers were left with no work , and no money to buy footi which was available.

S O C I A L O P P O R T U N I T Y ,

Along with progress in markets, human capabilities should be increased by giving basia education, better health care and by reducing genden inequalities. Inequality in an economy cannot bej measured without a proper yard stick.

W E L F A R E I N D I C E S

Sen devised a new formula for poverty indexation based on income inequality of people below the poverty line. It is called Sen Index, fol calculating Human Development index.

S O C I A L C H O I C E Individuals transact better among themselves

when they are better informed about each other. This is possible only in democracy. Through his lectures and writings he has stressed the importance ol human capital formation . In this direction he stressec the need of universal literacy, primary education

76 INDIAN NOBEL LAURLATI S

with a social goal rather than economic goal. In the 20 point programme of the Indian Government thrust was on liberating bonded labour and waiving the farm loan. Sen's thoughts have always been in terms of people. Sen considered that education should be imparted with social goal rather than economic goal. Conventional belief has been that education is a fall out of growth, that the rich countries become educated after getting rich. But Sen believes that it was the educated who became rich.

Fo l lowing a r e s o m e of t h e b o o k s w r i t t e n by A m a r t y a sen

1. Collective Choice and Social Welfare. 2. India: Economic Development and Social

opportunity. 3. On Economic inequality. 4. On Ethics and Economics 5. Poverty and Famines. 6. Employment Technology 7. Resources. Values and Development. 8. Choice welfare and Measurement 9. An essay on Entitlement and Deprivation 10. Growth and Economics

In all he has written more than 20 books and 400 research articles.

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INDIAN N O B E L I A U R E A T E S 77

ERRATA

PAGE No.

LINE w o r \ > / p h r a s e TO BE READ AS

3 1 1933 \ 1833 6 3 Of \ On 13 2 Renold Rrçss Renald Ross 13 20 calcutta \ Calcutta 24 7 Rabindranath Tagore

"Gurudev" \ Rabindranath Tagore as "Gurudev"

33 15 Three books inspired him. . . \

Three books that inspired him..

40 I was is 43 21 "Rama effect" \ "Raman Effect" 53 12 and \ an 55 18 puneses \ premises 62 S U B R A H M A N Y k N S U B R A H M A N Y A 64 11 Pholosophy , Philosophy 73 3 bron \ born 75 20 He is concerned the

poorest . . . \ He is concerned about the poorest . . .