M S Swaminathan (7 August 1925 – 28 September 2023) was an Indian agricultural scientist who is best known for his efforts in the Green Revolution in India. He worked his life to eradicate hunger and help poor farmers. He breathed his last at the age of 98 on 28 September 2023 in Chennai due to age-related issues.
Wiki/Biography
M. S. Swaminathan was born on Friday, 7 August 1925 (age 98 years; at the time of death) in Kumbakonam, Madras Presidency, British India (now in the Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India). His zodiac sign was Leo. He grew up in Kumbakonam. M. S. Swaminathan’s parents wanted him to become a surgeon like his father, but he was inclined towards Zoology. His father passed away when Swaminathan was 11 years old following which he was brought up by his paternal uncle. After witnessing the shortage of food during World War 2 and the Bengal Famine in 1943, he devoted his life to making India’s farming method better and eradicating world hunger. After finishing his undergraduate degree in Zoology at Maharaja’s College in Trivandrum, Kerala (now known as University College, Thiruvananthapuram at the University of Kerala), he pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Science from 1940 to 1944, where he was taught by many prominent agronomists including Cotah Ramaswami. In 1947, he moved to New Delhi, where he studied genetics and plant breeding at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). In 1949, he graduated with a post-graduate degree with high distinction in cytogenetics from IARI. In 1952, he earned a PhD degree from the Plant Breeding Institute of the University of Cambridge School of Agriculture, where his doctoral advisor was H. W. Howard; his thesis was titled “Species Differentiation, and the Nature of Polyploidy in certain species of the genus Solanum–section Tuberarium.” In the 1960s,’ he saved India and Pakistan from famine-like conditions while working along with Norman Bourlog, and by the mass movement with farmers and other scientists supported by public policies.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 11″
Weight (approx.): 75 kg
Hair Colour: Grey
Eye Colour: Black
Family & Caste
Swaminathan belonged to the Tamil Brahmin community.
Parents & Siblings
M S Swaminathan’s father’s name was M K Sambasivan (a general surgeon), and his mother’s name was Parvati Thangammal. M K Sambasivan participated in the freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Swaminathan had two brothers and a sister; he was the second son of his parents.
Wife & Children
While studying at Cambridge, he met Mina Boothalingam in 1951, and they got married on 11 April 1955. Swaminathan’s wife, Mina Swaminathan, passed away in 2022. The couple had three daughters, Madhura Swaminathan, a professor of economics at the Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, Soumya Swaminathan, a paediatrician, and Nitya Rao, a professor of gender and development at the University of East Anglia.
Swaminathan with his wife (sitting 2nd from right) and daughters
Religion
M S Swaminathan followed Hinduism.
Signature
Swaminathan’s signature
Career
Fellowships and research-related studies
Netherlands and Germany
In the Netherlands at the Wageningen Agricultural University’s Institute of Genetics, Swaminathan was a UNESCO fellow for eight months. During the Second World War, there was a demand for potatoes due to which there were alterations in age-old crops. In specific areas, there were golden nematode infestations in specific areas like reclaimed land. Swaminathan’s research for adapting genes to provide resilience against golden nematode parasites and cold was a success. The university greatly influenced his later scientific research in India. After the Second World War, he visited Germany, where he interacted with many scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. After a decade, when he again visited Germany, he was inspired by the transformations in the country, both infrastructurally and energetically.
Post-doctoral research
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Research on Potato
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Research on Wheat
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Research on Rice
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Research on Radiation Botany
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Research studies in India and collaboration with Norman Borlaug
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Contributions as an administrator and educator
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Establishment of research-related institutions
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M S Swaminathan, as the father of the Green Revolution, played an important role in transforming India from a famine-hit country to one that started exporting grains to the rest of the world. He also made women an important part of the community by involving them in agriculture. ((Deccan Herald)) Swaminathan’s Green Revolution helped increase the production of food as he developed and recommended high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat and to use of machines for agriculture and also persuaded farmers to utilize chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Swaminathan researching in the fields
This made India one of the top countries in agriculture which started in 1967 and lasted till 1978. During the next 20 years, he grasped several research and administrative positions mainly in civil service. Mexican semidwarf wheat plants were made known to Indian farmers by Swaminathan during his work in civil service and helped introduce the importance of modern farming. During 1960- 1970, a huge rise in the production of rice and wheat productions was possible through Swaminathan’s hard work. He was appointed as the director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and a secretary to the Government of India During 1981-1985, Swaminathan, as an Independent Chairman of the Food and Agricultural Organization Council, played an important role in guiding world agricultural policies and strategies. From 1982–88, he acted as Director General of the International Rice Research Institute ( IRRI).In 1984 he became the President and Vice-president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and World Wildlife Fund respectively. Later in 1988, he became the President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award was the first national award Swaminathan earned in 1961.
- He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1967, Padma Bhushan in 1972, and Padma Vibushan in 1989.
- He received the Planet and Humanity Medal of the International Geographical Union.
- He received the Albert Einstein World Award of Science in 1986.
- M S Swaminathan received the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award in 2006 from President Pratibha Patil.
M S Swaminathan received the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award in 2006 by President Pratibha Patil
- Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences awarded Swaminathan the Mendel Memorial Medal in 1965.
- In 1984 he became the President and Vice-president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and World Wildlife Fund respectively.
- Kalinga Institution of Technology (KIIT) honoured Prof. M S Swaminathan with a Degree of Doctor of Science for offering help to farmers and tribes in outposts of India and developing sustainable agriculture through his scientific research.
Assets
Swaminathan’s family owned 2000 acres of land out of which they donated one-third of the land to Vinoba Bhave’s cause.
Net Worth
As per the reports, his total net worth was estimated at around $10 million.
Death
Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan died on 28 September 2023 at his residence in Chennai at 11:20 am, at the age of 98 due to some ongoing old age issues. ((The Hindu))
Facts/Trivia
- M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) established in 1988 is a not-for-profit trust. MSSRF was envisioned and founded by Professor M S Swaminathan, an agriculture scientist with proceeds from the First World Food Prize that he received in 1987.
Swaminathan receiving the World Food Prize award in 1987
- He stated on the concept of the ‘Evergreen Revolution’,
What nations with small farms and resource-poor farmers need is the enhancement of productivity in perpetuity, without associated ecological or social harm. The green revolution should become an ever-green revolution rooted in the principles of ecology, economics, and social and gender equity.” ((The Hindu))
- He was practising a profession in the fields of UNESCO’s programme at Wageningen University & Research Institute of Genetics in the Netherlands for eight months.
- At the age of nine years, he met Mahatma Gandhi for the first time.
- His lucky number was 5.
- In April 2007, A.P.J Abdul Kalam elected Swaminathan to the Rajya Sabha.
- M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) is a non-profit trust.
- His life was inspired by Gandhi and Ramana Maharishi.
- He earned a total of 80 honourary Doctorate degrees.
- Erdelyi Andreas, a Hungarian writer called M S Swaminathan ‘a modern Gandhi’.
- He was honoured as one of the most inspiring Asians of the 20th century by Time Magazine.
