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Home , Ashutosh Mukherjee, Debendra Mohan Bose, Dinesh Chandra Sen, Jadunath Sarkar, Jnan Chandra Ghosh, Prafulla Chandra Ray

Centenary of Science Departments in Indian Universities : A comprehension$

A K Grover* Chemical Society Seminar$ February 11, 2019, IIT Delhi,

*Honorary Emeritus Professor, Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University), Chandigarh, Chairperson, Research Council, NPL, New Delhi (2017-19), Ex-Vice Chancellor (2012-18), P. U., Chandigarh & Senior Prof. (Retd.), TIFR,Mumbai [email protected]

$This talk is dedicated to Ruchi Ram Sahni, S S Bhatnagar and Homi J Bhabha An extract from the Abstract

Establishment of Hindu College by Raja Ram Mohan Rai in Calcutta in 1817 marks the beginning of secular English education in . The College was taken over by the then government in 1854 and renamed Presidency College.

Calcutta University was set up in 1857 as a merely examining body. Sixty years later (in 1917), its legendary Vice Chancellor (VC) Justice Sir Asutosh (1864-1924) could succeed in nucleating the University Departments for post graduate teaching and research, concurrent with the assumption of Palit Professorship by Sir C V Raman at Indian Association of Cultivation of Science (IACS), and induction of University toppers, like, Megh Nad Saha, , , Sudhangshu Kumar Banerjee, and Jnanendra Nath Mukherjee in the newly created University College of Science as research and teaching faculty.

This success spurred its replication in other Universities of India. Sir CSI, FASB, FRSE, FRAS, MRIA

(29.6.1864-25.5.1924)

• A prolific Bengali educator, jurist, barrister and a Mathematician. • First student to be awarded a dual degree (MA in Mathematics and Physics) from Calcutta University. • Judge of the (1903-1924). • Second Indian Vice-Chancellor of the for four consecutive two-year terms (1906–1914) and a fifth two-year term (1921–23), Mukherjee was responsible for the foundation of the Technical Institute in 1906 and the College of Science of the Calcutta University in 1914. Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee CSI, FASB, FRSE, FRAS, MRIA

• Having served as a Fellow and subsequently as a Vice-President of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (established by Dr Mahendra Lal Sarkar in 1876) since the 1890s, he was elected President of the IACS in 1922. • The Government of India issued a stamp in 1964 to commemorate centenary of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee for his contributions to education. • In 1910, he was appointed the President of the Imperial (now National) Library Council to which he donated his personal collection of 80,000 books. • He was the President of the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress in 1914. • He was thrice elected as the President of ‘’. Sir C V Raman

• Mr C V Raman resigned from his government service in 1917 to accept Palit Professorship of Physics at the University of Calcutta.

• Raman was fascinated with the acoustics of musical instruments. He worked out the theory of transverse vibration of bowed strings, on the basis of superposition of velocities. He was also the first to investigate the harmonic nature of the sound of the Indian drums such as the tabla and the mridangam. He was also interested in the properties of other musical instruments based on forced vibrations such as the violin. He also investigated the propagation of sound in whispering galleries. • He was awarded Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by Calcutta University in 1921 for his research on acoustics, and he was elected FRS in 1924. • On 29 February 1928, C V Raman made public discovery of Raman effect at IACS, for which he received Nobel Prize in 1931.

• Mr C V Raman had association with the from its very inception; he attended the foundation ceremony of BHU in 1916and delivered lectures on "Mathematics" and "Some new paths in physics" during the lecture series organized by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya at BHU from 5 to 8 February 1916. He also held the position of permanent Visiting Professor at BHU. G VENKATRAMAN writes in “ Journey into Light” (published 1988) …Raman never cared to submit a thesis for the doctorate degree of the university.

In 1921, the Senate of the Calcutta decided to confer the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science on C V Raman. In the Senate meeting of December17, 1921, the Vice Chancellor Sir Asutosh Mukherjee remarked :

His striking investigations in various departments of physics, particularly in the ever widening field of theory of vibrations , have attracted respectful attention in the highest scientific circles in Europe and America. But what is still more worthy of congratulation is that a vigorous School of Physics has sprung up for the first time in the history of our university, and students have flocked from all parts of India to his laboratories in the College of Science,… G Venkataraman further states :

….Raman often describes his Calcutta days as (1907-1932) the golden era , and with good reason.

Indeed, one would describe this period in such a fashion even without the Raman Effect, for it is in this period that one sees Raman at his creative best. Starting as a soloist he quickly became a superb conductor of a good orchestra without, at the same time, losing any of his individual virtuosity.

Throughout, vibrations and optics remained the two principal themes of his research but there were many such excursions. Prologue

1817: Raja (1772-1833) founder of , initiated Hindu College which progressed to become Presidency College, Calcutta. More colleges started thereafter in the Calcutta, e.g., Mission College (1818), Scottish Church (1830), etc. However, attempts (in 1845) to create Calcutta University did not fructify .

1849: East India Company annexes Punjab and feels a need to enunciate a system of education from Primary School to University level in India. The offices of DPI (School) commenced in 1856.

1857: Universities of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay started as affiliating and examining bodies. All three Universities commence (College) Entrance Exams.

1876: Dr. Mahendra Lal Sarkar starts Indian Association of Cultivation of Science.

1882: Domain of Calcutta University bifurcated to initiate Panjab University at Lahore.

1887: Allahabad University initiated as a Unitary University for the City. Prologue (continued)

1904: Indian Universities Act brought in by Lord Curzon to govern all the five then Universities of India. The Universities were asked to appoint University Teachers, organize University Departments and focus on research. However, no funds were provided by the British Government in India.

1907: C. V. Raman arrives in Calcutta as Assistant Accountant General in Finance Department and per chance locates IACS and its Vijiyanagram Laboratory near his residence.

1909: Indian Institute of Science is established at Bangalore as a Post Graduate institution to promote research in Science and Technology from an endowment left by Mr Jamshed N Tata.

1916: Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya in association with Ms Annie Besant initiates Benares Hindu University (BHU) as the first comprehensive Research University in India. This is followed by initiation of Universities at (1916), (1917), Osmania (1918), AMU (1920), Rangoon (1920), Dacca and Lucknow (1921), Delhi ( 1922), Nagpur & Andhra at Waltair (1923), Agra (1925), Annamalai (1929), Utkal (1943), Sagar (1946) & Jaipur (1947), etc. Physics Teachers for 1917-19 batch at Calcutta • P. N. Ghosh (First class first in Phys), Geometrical Optics and Theory of Optical Instruments • J. C. Mukherjee (First class first in Phys), Theory of Vibrations and Acoustics • S.K. Banerjee (First class Second in Appl Maths), General Physics; Electromagnetic Waves, Infinitesimal Calculus and Differential Equations • S.K. Mitra (First class First in Phys), Physical Optics and Spectroscopy • S. K. Acharya (First class Second in Phys), Magnetism, Applied electricity and Theory of heat • S. N. Bose (First class First in Appl Maths), Elasticity, Molecular Physics and Theory of Relativity • M. N. Saha ((First class Second in Appl Maths), Thermodynamics and Quantum Theory • A. Saha (First class First in Phys), Electromagnetism and X rays Palit Research Professor of Physics @ IACS : C V Raman Saha , Bose, Bhatnagar, krishnan and their contemporary pioneers : Nine Jewels (‘Nau ratans’) M. N. Saha S. N. Bose J. C. Ghosh J. N. Mukerjee S. K. Banerjee FRS(1927) FRS(1958)

1893-1956 1894-1974 1894-1959 1893-1983 1893-1966

P. C. Mahalanobis S. K. Mitra S. S. Bhatnagar K. S. Krishnan FRS(1945) FRS(1958) FRS(1943) FRS(1940)

1893-1972 1890-1963 1894-1955 1898-1961 From Archieves of SNBNCBS, (~1930s)

Seated (L to R): , , Jnan Chandra Ghosh. Standing (L to R): Snehamoy Dutt, Satyendranath Bose, Debendra Mohan Bose, N R Sen, Jnanendra Nath Mukherjee, N C Nag Mentors

J.C. Bose P.C. Ray Asutosh Mukherjee

1858-1937 1861-1944 1864-1924

Physics Chemistry Mathematics

FRS(1920) PRS(1868) Received Patronage from

J. L. Nehru S. C. Bose S. P. Mukherjee

1889-1964 1897-1945 1901-1953 2018-19 is the 125 th Birth year of M N Saha & S N Bose De-facto commemoration of Centenary of : • Assumption of Tarak Nath Palit Research Professorship of Physics by C. V. Raman at at Calcutta University and IACS . • Commencement of new era of PG Physics teaching by faculty members from Presidency College and those from University College of Science initiated by Vice Chancellor Ashutosh Mukherjee in 1914 and combining it with research at IACS. • New topics were selected by the eight Faculty members in the newly collated Department of Physics of Calcutta University, the first of its kind for in India.

A School of Physical Sciences comparable to best globally in postgraduate teaching of physics got created at Calcutta in 1917, as C V Raman assumed Palit Professorship at IACS. Palit Professorships

• The Palit Chair of Physics is a Physics Professorship in the University of Calcutta. • Two Chairs (one in Physics and the other in Chemistry) were named after Sir who donated Rs. 1.5 million and two houses to the university. • C. V. Raman was the first to be appointed (approved by the Senate on January 30,1914) to the Chair of Palit Professor of Physics, joins only in 1917. Present holder of the Physics Chair is Amitava Raychaudhuri

Year appointed Name

1917 C. V. Raman 1932 Debendra Mohan Bose 1938 Meghnad Saha 1953-1959 Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri Premchand Roychand Studentship

• At the University of Calcutta, Premchand Roychand (1831-1906) established the Premchand Roychand Award for competition amongst students who passed the Master of Arts Degree. • In his Convocation address (1863), Claudius Erskine, Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University, made an appeal to the well-meaning wealthy people to contribute to the advancement of education in the country by way of funding scholarships, educational constructions, etc. • Premchand Roychand made a donation of Two lakh rupees to Calcutta University which formed the nucleus of the famous institution of Premchand Roychand Studentship (PRS). PR gave an equal amount to Bombay University to build RAJABAI Tower , in memory of his mother. • This substantial award is still eagerly competed for and is regarded as the highest honour in the Calcutta University. Many recipients of this award put the initials "PRS" after their name. Premchand Roychand Studentship

Many of the Premchand Roychand scholars eventually became national celebrities. Among them are Sir Asutosh Mookerjee (1886), Ramendrasundar Trivedi (1888), (1897), Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (1912), Surendranath Sen (1917), Meghnad Saha (1919), (1936), Srimati Bibha Sengupta (1937), Asima Mukhopadhyay (1942) and Brajendra Kishore Bandyopadhyay (1947). Dr Meghnad Saha : Theoretical Physicist (October 6,1893 - Feb. 16, 1956)

• Born in District to a poor lower caste parents having small shop, whose other 4 siblings did not do well in school, however he topped middle school in Dacca Division, stands first in East Bengal in Entrance Exam of Calcutta University and gets third rank of C.U. in 12th (S N Bose had stood first). Moves to Presidency College, Calcutta, where S N Bose was his classmate, P C Mahalanobis was his senior and Subash Chandra Bose his junior by one year each. Gets BSc.(1913), MSc. (1915) and DSc.(1919).

• Mathematically inclined, he wrote his first paper in 1917 and propounded ‘Theory of High Thermal Ionisation’ in Stars like Sun (1919).

• ‘Saha Ionisation Equation’ gave him instant international recognition, he travelled to UK and Europe on Premchand Roychand Fellowship of C.U. and met Einstein and . Meghnad Saha’s Research Papers (1917-19)

• “On Maxwell’s Stresses” (Philosophical Magazine, 1917), this paper was based on his studies of the electromagnetic theory of radiation; • “On the Limit of Interference in the Fabry-Perot Interferometer” ( Physical Review, 1917), • “On a New Theorem in Elasticity” ( Journal of the Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1918), • “On the Dynamics of the Electron” ( Phil. Mag. 1918) • “On the Pressure of Light” ( Journal of the Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1928) • “On the Influence of Finite Volume of Molecules on the Equation of State” ( Phil. Mag , 1918). This paper was jointly written with S.N. Bose.

• “On the Mechanical and Electro-dynamical Properties of the Electron” ( Physical Review, 1919) • “On the Radiation Pressure and the Quantum Theory” ( Astrophysical Journal, 1919) • “On the Fundamental Law of Electrical Action” ( Phil. Mag. 1919). Prof. Meghnad Saha, FRS (1927) ‘The Invincible’

Meghnad Saha in Berlin (1923) Elected FRS in 1927 Prof. Meghnad Saha, FRS ‘

• VC Asutosh Mookherjee invited him as Khaira Professor of Physics in 1923, but he moved to Allahabad University soon after, where he stayed till 1938; established its Physics Dept as Centre of Research. His contemporary Prof. S S Bhatnagar (b:1894) created Chemistry Dept. of PU, Lahore as a Centre of Excellence in Chemical Sciences as a counterpart to him.

• After returning to Calcutta in 1938 as Palit Professor, when Shyama Prasad Mookherjee was VC, he obtained a grant of Rs 60 thousand from Tata Trusts to build a Cyclotron to initiate research in .

• After independence, he established in 1950 (Saha) Institute of Nuclear Physics, whose foundation stone was laid by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee as Minister for Civil Supplies and Industry in Nehru’s national cabinet. Meghnad Saha : A Titan

# Influenced Jawahar Lal Nehru and Subash Chandra Bose to start National Planning Committee of (1939).

# Successfully contested election to the first Lok Sabha as an independent candidate (1952), had participated in the creation of Damodar Valley Corporation for control of annual floods in Bengal.

# His students include D S Kothari, R C Mazumdar, P K Kitchlew, F C Auluck, B D Nag Chaudhuri

# Died suddenly of Heart attack on Feb. 16, 1956, as he was on a visit to attend Planning Commission Meeting in New Delhi.

# A stamp was released to honour him at his Birth centenary in 1993. “Scientists are often accused of living in the “Ivory Tower” and not troubling their mind with realities and apart from my association with political movements in my juvenile years, I had lived in ivory tower up to 1930. But science and technology are as important for administration now-a-days as law and order. I have gradually glided into politics because I wanted to be of some use to the country in my own humble way.” Satyendra Nath Bose, FRS (1958)

He was best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, providing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate. A Fellow of the Royal Society, he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 in the inaugural year by the Government of India

Born 1 January 1894 Calcutta, , India Died 4 February 1974 (aged 80) Calcutta, India

He was the only son, with six sisters after him. His ancestral home was in the village Bara Jagulia, in the district of Nadia, in the state of . Satyendra Nath Bose

He passed his entrance examination (matriculation) in 1909 and stood fifth in the order of merit. He next joined the intermediate science course at the Presidency College, Calcutta, where his teachers included Jagadish Chandra Bose, Sarada Prasanna Das, and . Naman Sharma and Meghnad Saha, from Dacca (Dhaka), joined the same college two years later. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and Sisir Kumar Mitra were a few years senior to Bose. Bose chose mixed (applied) mathematics for his BSc and passed the examinations standing first in 1913 and again stood first in the MSc mixed mathematics exam in 1915. It is said that his marks in the MSc examination created a new record in the annals of the University of Calcutta, which is yet to be surpassed.

After completing his MSc, Bose joined the University of Calcutta as a research scholar in 1916 and started his studies in the Theory of Relativity. Satyendra Nath Bose

• From 1916 to 1921, he was a lecturer in the Physics Department of the University of Calcutta. • Satyendra Nath Bose, along with Saha, presented several papers in theoretical physics and pure mathematics from 1918 onwards. • Along with Saha, Bose prepared the first book in English based on German and French translations of original papers on Einstein's special and general relativity in 1919. • In 1921, he joined as Reader of the Department of Physics of the recently founded . Bose set up whole new departments, including laboratories, to teach advanced courses for MSc and BSc Honours and taught thermodynamics as well as Maxwell's theory of Electromagnetism. Satyendra Nath Bose In 1937, dedicated his only book on science, Visva–Parichay, to Satyendra Nath Bose. Bose was honored with title Padma Vibhushan by the Indian Government in 1954, the inaugural year in which C V Raman was chosen for Bharat Ratna. He returned to Calcutta in 1947 and was given the Khaira Professorship. In 1959, he was appointed as the National Professor, the highest honour in the country for a scholar, a position that he held for 15 years. He also served as VC of Vishwa Bharati University ( 1956-58). In 1986, the S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences was established by an act of Parliament. He was the President of Indian Physical Society and the National Institute of Science. He was elected General President of the Indian Science Congress. He was the Vice-President and then the President of Indian Statistical Institute. In 1958, he was elected as FRS. He was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha. Dr P C Mahalanobis: Statistical Wizard FRS (1945) • Trained as Physicist (1912), however, assumed key role in the development of statistical infrastructure. Co-founder of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) within Presidency College initially in 1932.

• Had an abiding interest in cultural pursuits and served as secretary to Rabindra Nath Tagore, particularly during the latter's foreign travels

• Awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his contribution to science and services

• Was Secretary and Director of the Indian Statistical Institute and the Statistical Advisor to the Government of India

• Government decided in 2006 to celebrate his birthday as National Statistical Day Dr P C Mahalanobis: Statistical Wizard (June 29, 1893,- June 28, 1972) • During his stay at Cambridge, he became friendly with .

• In the summer of 1913 Mahalanobis went to England where his intention was to study for B.Sc. at the University of . While in London, waiting for courses to start, he made a trip to Cambridge where he was stunned by the chapel of King's College.

• By chance he missed the train back to London and stayed the night with a friend, studying at King's College and, hearing that Mahalanobis found the chapel so attractive, suggested he apply to study there. Dr P C Mahalanobis: Statistical Wizard (June 29, 1893,- June 28, 1972)

• Mahalanobis devised a measure of comparison between two data sets that is now known as the Mahalanobis distance.

• He introduced innovative techniques for conducting large-scale sample surveys and calculated acreages and crop yields through random sampling

• With the objective of providing comprehensive socioeconomic statistics, Mahalanobis established the National Sample Survey in 1950 and also set up the Central Statistical Organization to coordinate statistical activities in India.

‘Statistics must have a clearly defined purpose, one aspect of which is scientific advance and other human welfare and national development’ : PCM Dr P C Mahalanobis: Statistical Wizard (June 29, 1893,- June 28, 1972)

• Member of the Planning Commission of India from 1955 to 1967.

• The Planning Commission’s Second Five-Year Plan encouraged the development of heavy industry in India and relied on Mahalanobis’s mathematical description of the Indian economy, which later became known as the Mahalanobis model.

• He started the Journal “SANKHYA” Sisir Kumar Mitra MBE, FNA, FRS

He was the third son of Joykrishna Mitra, who was a school teacher at the time of Mitra's birth, and Sarat Kumari, a medical student whose family came from Midnapore

24 October 1890 Born Konnagar, , Bengal Presidency, British India (now in West Bengal, India) Died 13 August 1963 (aged 72) Ballygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

While Mitra's paternal family were orthodox Hindus, his mother's family were adherents of the progressive Brahmo Samaj, and were noted in Midnapore for their advanced outlook. Sisir Kumar Mitra • After passing his examinations from the Bhagalpore Zilla school in 1906 , Mitra was admitted to the FA (intermediate-level) program at the T.N.J. College; his father Joykrishna died shortly after. In 1908, After passing his FA examinations Mitra was admitted as a student in Presidency College of the University of Calcutta where he earned a B.Sc. • He continued to develop a passion for physics and scientific research, and was accepted by Jagadish Bose as a research scholar upon completing his master's degree in 1912 with the highest honors. • He worked under Professor J C Bose for a few months before being forced to end his studies due to his family's financial difficulties To support his family, after leaving the University of Calcutta, Mitra secured an appointment as a lecturer at his former college, T. N. J. College. He was invited to join back ithe University College of Science in 1916 by VC Asutosh Mukherjee. He obtained his DSc. in 1919 from CU on the thesis titled ‘The interference and Diffraction of Light’. M N Saha had also obtained his DSc. From CU in 1919. Sisir Kumar Mitra

Soon thereafter he proceeded abroad for advanced research. He first worked under Charles Fabry at the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 1923 he obtained a second D.Sc degree. Later, he joined Madame Curie at the Institute of Radium. For a while he worked at the Institute of Physics, University of Nancy under Gutton. Made aware of continual developments in the new science of radio communications, Mitra went to the University of Nancy and joined the laboratory of Camille Gutton. Under Gutton, Mitra conducted research on radio valve circuitry before returning to India in late 1923.

He was appointed the Khaira Professor of Physics on return to India. This marked the beginning of radio electronics in India-Teaching, research, setting up an experimental lab began in earnest. Soon the Calcutta University had a world class school of radio research, now known as the Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics. He did excellent mapping of the ionosphere using very simple equipment. The ionospheric chemistry was then, still in its infancy.

Mitra wrote a masterpiece book on the Ionosphere -The Upper Atmosphere. Foreign publishers were reluctant to publish the book as they thought it would compete with established foreign books! Published eventually in 1947 by the Asiatic Society, 2000 copies were sold out within three years. Sisir Kumar Mitra The book titled ‘The Upper Atmosphere’

J. A. Rattclife in Memoirs of Fellows of Royal Society : Mitra’s reputation in international circles rests on the writing of his book . The range of the book is so wide, and an understanding of the subject depends upon so many of the fundamental principles of physics, that its writing required an author with an unusually sound knowledge of physics. There have been other books on the subject, but no other one person has attempted to cover such a wide range.

In 1955 his book was translated in Russian. At the time of launching Sputnik-in 1957, the Russian space scientists found that the only reasonable atmospheric models they could use for predicting the lifetime of the satellite were those given in the book ‘The Upper atmosphere’. Sisir Kumar Mitra

• In 1955, he retired from the university, becoming Emeritus Professor. He was specially given charge of the West Bengal Secondary Education Board by the then famous CM of West Bengal Dr B C Roy (honoured with Bharat Ratna) , and he spent six years organizing and resurrecting this administrative body. Sisir Kumar Mitra , FRS

Awards and Honors

• Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), 1938 • Fellowship of the Royal Society, 1958 • Fellow of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (FASB) • Fellow of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (FIAS; 1943) • Presidency of The Asiatic Society, 1951-53. • Presidency of the Indian National Science Academy, 1959-60. • National Professorship, 1962. • , 1962 • S. K. Mitra Center for Research in Space Environment of the University of Calcutta is named for him. • The crater Mitra on the Moon is named after him. Jnan Chandra Ghosh

• Son of Ram Chandra Ghosh had his initial schooling at High School, where he stood first in the 1909 College Entrance Exam of CU in the Chotnagpur Division and enrolled in the Presidency College, Kolkata. • At Presidency College, he was among finest students who would later become famous scientists. In the 1911, Jnan Chandra Ghosh got fourth position in Intermediate examination, while his other famous classmate Satyendranath Bose topped the list and Meghnad Saha got the third position.

Born 14 September 1894 Giridih, Purulia District, British India Died 21 January 1959 (aged 64) Calcutta, India Jnan Chandra Ghosh • He topped both in B.Sc. and M. Sc. in Chemistry and came under the inspiring influence of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray. • After his M.Sc,. he was appointed as a lecturer in Department of Chemistry. • Sir Tarak Nath Palit Scholarship and Premchand Raychand student of the year award enabled J C Ghosh to travel to England for his doctoral degree at University College of Science in London in 1919 under F G Donnon, FRS, where he met Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, who had arrived from Lahore • J C Ghosh returned to India and joined the newly established Dacca University as Head of the Department of Chemistry. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Sciences in 1924 and Provost of the Dacca University Hall from 1925 to 1939. • In 1939, he was summoned to succeed C V Raman as the Director of IISc. at Bangalore. J C Ghosh developed IISc further by introducing engineering studies such as Aeronautical Engineering, Internal Combustion Engineering, Metallurgy and Power and High Voltage Engineering. In 1943, he was Knighted while still at IISc. Jnan Chandra Ghosh

• He was member of Niranjan Sarkar Committee, along with Dr SS Bhatnagar, which gave a plan for starting World class Technical institutions in post war India. He served as DG of Industry and Supply from 1947-50, under Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Thereafter, he became founder Director of IIT Kharagpur . • In 1954, he left IIT Kgp for Calcutta to become Vice Chancellor Calcutta University. where he started focusing on the improvements of living conditions of the students. In 1954, the Government of India awarded Padma Bhushan on him in recognition of his ability and service to the country, along with SS Bhatnagar, K S Krishnan and Homi Bhabha. • As Dr. SS Bhatnagar passed away in 1955, he was inducted into the Planning Commission and was placed in charge of Education, Scientific Research and Health. He took part in all the stages of the preparation of the Second Five Year Plan. and had a large share in working out proposals for the expansion of technical education. Prof. Sir K. S. Krishnan, FRS

His father was a scholar teacher deeply versed in Tamil and literature

He had his early schooling in Hindu Higher Secondary school, Watrap in his native village, after which he attended the American College in Madurai (1914-16) and the Christian College, Madras for his degree in Physics.

He served as a Demonstrator in Chemistry in the same college after his M.Sc. He used to organize lunch time discussion, where students were free to discus any query in Physical Chemistry and Mathematics.

Born 4 December 1898 Watrap, Tamil Nadu, India Died 14 June 1961 (aged 62) K. S. Krishnan , FRS • In 1920, Krishnan went to work with C.V. Raman at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science.. • In October 1928, Prof. A. Sommerfield from Germany visited Calcutta University to deliver lectures in Quantum Mechanics. Krishnan compiled those lecture notes and Sommerfield offered him the co-authorship of lecture notes, which K. S. Krishnan declined. • In 1928 itself, he moved to the Dacca University as the Reader in the Physics Department where he studied magnetic properties of crystals in relation to their structure. • Krishnan, along with other rising scientists such as Santilal (S.) Banerjee, B.C. Guha, etc. developed an elegant and precise experimental technique to measure the magnetic anisotropy of dia and paramagnetic crystals. Their findings were published by the Royal Society of London in 1933 under the title, Investigations on Magne- Crystallic Action. K. S. Krishnan In 1933, he returned to Kolkata to take up the post of Mahendralal Sircar Professor of Physics in IACS, where he continued to collaborate fruitfully with Dr. Santilal Banerjee to elaborate on the magnetic properties of crystals in relation to their structure. Their joint papers and communications (published in Nature, Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity, and by the Royal Society), remain to this day, aside from a number of other path breaking contributions they also published in various Physics journals, the most definitive scientific studies on the structure and tendencies of small crystals.

Krishnan was elected FRS in 1940. Homi Bhabha and S S Bhatnagar followed him in 1941 and 1943. In 1942, he moved to Allahabad University as Professor and Head of the Department of Physics. He was Knighted in the 1946. Dr Bhatnagar invited him to be the founder Director of NPL in 1947. He was member of three member AEC, along with SSB and Homi Bhabha immediately after independence. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1954, the first year of Padma awards He was the first recipient of the prestigious S.S. Bhatnagar Award of CSIR in 1958. 1904 : Scene at University of Panjab at Lahore

• 1912: Astronomical Observatory set up at Lahore

• 1916: M.Sc. Degree instituted

• 1919: Honours Schools (Integrated BSc/BA. & MSc/MA) started in Oriental Languages, History, Mathematics, Chemistry, Botany & Zoology.

• 1920s: Faculty of Commerce also instituted.

• Dr. S S Bhatnagar appointed founder Director of University Chemical Laboratories in 1924 & assumed charge in 1925. Was Research Professor at BHU from 1921-24, like, C V Raman at Calcutta University.

• The Physics Honours School was the last to be started at Lahore in 1934 as it required more money than other departments. Dr P K Kitchlew, a student of Prof. Meghnd Saha, was the Head at Physics Honours School @ PU, Lahore. Professor Ruchi Ram Sahni ( 1863 – 1948 ) Mentor of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar

Contemporary of Asutosh Mookherjee at Presidency College in1885 Stamp released to honour on RRS on October 24, 2013 Dr. Birbal Sahni, FRS (1936) & Dr. SS Bhatnagar, FRS (1943) , FRS (1943)

His father, Parmeshwari Sahai Bhatnagar, died when he was eight months old, and he spent his childhood in the house of his maternal grandfather, an engineer, who helped him develop a liking for science and engineering. He enjoyed building mechanical toys, electronic batteries, and string telephones. From his maternal family he also inherited a gift of poetry.

Born 21 February 1894 , Shahpur District (now in ), British India Died 1 January 1955 (aged 60) Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar • He completed his elementary education from the DAV High School, Sikandrabad (Bulandshahr) • In 1911 he joined the newly established Dayal Singh College, Lahore, where he became an active member of the Saraswati Stage Society and earned a good reputation as an actor, playing role of female characters • He wrote an one-act play called Karamati (Wonder worker), the English translation of which earned him the Saraswati Stage Society prize and medal for the best play of the year in 1912. Bhatnagar passed the Intermediate Examination of the Punjab University in 1913 in first class and joined the () to do degree in Chemistry, but had to be content with a BSc. Honours in Physics in 1916, and a MSc in Chemistry in 1919. • He had two scientific publications in college days, in one of them he proposed that heating molasses under the pressure could give carbon needed for electrodes of Batteries. He also provided an import substitution for Printing presses at Lahore for which he received Rs. 150 as an undergraduate student. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar

• At the initiative of Professor Ruchi Ram Sahni, Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar was awarded a scholarship by the Dyal Singh College Trust to study abroad. He joined the University College London under the Chemistry Professor Frederick G. Donnan, FRS. He earned his Doctorate in Science in 1921, his viva voce examiner was Sir William Bragg. • While in London, he was supported by the British Department of Scientific and Industrial Research with a fellowship of £250 a year. • In August 1921, he returned to join the newly established Banaras Hindu University(BHU) as a Research Professor of Chemistry, where he remained for three years. He wrote the ‘Kulgeet’ of BHU.

• In 1925, he moved to Lahore as a Professor of Physical Chemistry and the founder Director of University Chemical Laboratories. (1919-21) Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Research papers published in 1926 by Dr. S.S. Bhatnagar and his students from Panjab Univ. Chemical Laboratories, Lahore

23.Effect of Polarised Light on Bacterial growth (Nature, 117, 302, 1926)

24.Effect of Polarised Radiations on Animal Metabolism (Nature, 118, II, 1926)

25.Conductivity and Surface Tension of Univalent Salts of Higher Fatty Acids in the Molten State (Kolloid Zeit., 38, 218, 1926).

26.Concentric Coloured Rings or the Beet-root and the Liese-gang Phenomenon (Kolloid Zeit., 39, 264, 1926).

27. Rates of Evaporation of Water absorbed on Metals and their Oxides (Jour. Chem. Phys. 25, 545, 1926).

28. Relations between the chemical Constitution of Organic Liquids and the Translucsence of Paper dipped in them (Zeit. Phys. Chem., 122, 88, 1926). Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar • In 1928, he and K.N. Mathur jointly developed the Bhatnagar-Mathur Magnetic Interference Balance, which was one of the most sensitive instruments at the time for measuring magnetic properties. It was exhibited at the Royal Society Soiree in 1931 and it was marketed by Messers Adam Hilger and Co, London

• Bhatnagar's first industrial problem was developing the process for converting bagasse (peelings of sugarcane) into food-cake for cattle. This was done for Sir Ganga Ram, the Grand Old Man of Punjab. He also solved industrial problems for Delhi Cloth & General Mills, J.K. Mills Ltd. of Kanpur, Ganesh Flour Mills Ltd. of Layallapur, Tata Oil Mills Ltd. of Bombay, and Steel Brothers & Co. Ltd. of London. Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar as an Innovator

The steel company gave Dr S S Bhatnagar 1,50,000 rupees for providing solution to the breaking of drill bits used for exploration of oil by its subsidiary Attock Oil company in North West India.

As the second World War began, he was moved from Lahore to Calcutta to head the proposed Board of Scientific and Industrial Research ( BSIR) . In 1942, he created CSIR and was appointed its first Director. Magnetometer Designed, Built and Patented (1928) at Lahore and Manufactured & Marketed by Adam Hilger Co. in England

A very small weight of the substance, of the order 0.01 gm., a change in diamagnetic susceptibility of the order of 0.2 per cent or even less can, therefore, be easily detected. Acharya Praful Chandra Ray ( Eminent , teacher of Ruchi Ram Sahni at Calcutta)

.“On turning over the pages of Nature my eyes changed across an advertisement of Macmillan’s in which I find your book* at last advertised. That the book is of a high standard is indicated by the most excellent review in Current Science by Professor Stoner, …

*Physical Principles and Applications of Magneto- Chemistry, by S S Bhatnagar and R N Mathur, Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1935 Prof. Sir C.V. Raman , NL

I very much specially admire your energy and perseverance in having produced such a book …. Your name now stands as one of the very few Indians who have written scientific books claiming the respect and attention of senior workers in every country”. Prof. Meghnad Saha, D.Sc., F.R.S.

.“Congratulations on your noble gift to the Punjab University, you have hereby raised the status of the University teachers in the estimation of the public, not to speak of the benefit conferred on your Alma Mater.

.India does not lack in men earning millions but if a few of these millionaires were guided by the fine examples set up by a comparatively poor teacher like yourself, … Convocation Address of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru at the PU, Lahore 1936 “…I read the other day in the newspapers that Messers Steel Brothers had in recognition of the great work done by Dr. Bhatnagar, made very generous gift of money to him and he had with a singular sense of patriotism and self denial transmitted a considerable part of that gift to the Chemistry Department of your university so as to create an Industrial research Department in which some research scholars could develop new processes for the industrial utilization of Indian raw materials. Extract from ‘Life & Work of Sir S.S. Bhatnagar’ by Norah Richards*, 1948 expedition to Gulmarg : . The Cosmic Ray expedition was planned and financed by the University of the Panjab, members of which, in addition to Prof. Compton, were Prof. Benade, Dr. Bhatnagar and Dr. Nazir Ahmad#. Some science students also accompanied them. . They had taken with them provisions for one month and also the instruments that Dr. Bhatnagar had had made for the experiment. Prof. Compton had with him his own equipment that he had brought from America. •Wife of Mr. Philip Ernest Richards, Professor of English Literature, Dyal Singh College, Lahore # Ph.D. student of Lord Rutherford at Manchester Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar He also served as the first Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Educational Adviser for the government after independence. He played a role both in the constitution and deliberations of the Scientific Manpower Committee Report of 1948.

He played an instrumental role in the establishment of the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) of India, which bridged the gap between research and development.

Bhatnagar was responsible for the initiation of the Industrial Research Association movement in the country. One-man Commission was constituted under him in 1951 to negotiate with oil companies for starting refineries and this ultimately led to the establishment of many oil refineries in different parts of the country.

He took over as the first Chairperson of UGC in November 1953. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Bhatnagar played a significant part along with Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, B P Pal and others in the building of India's post-independence science and technology infrastructure and policies. He established a total of twelve national laboratories such as Central Food Processing Technological Institute, Mysore, National Chemical Laboratory, , the National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, the National Metallurgical Laboratory, , the Central Fuel Institute, , in addition to numerous other laboratories. Sudhangshu Kumar Banerjee

• He was selected to work as a Rash Bihari Ghose Scholar under Dr. Ganesh Prasad at IACS in 1915. • In 1918, He was awarded the Dr. Mahendra lal Sarkar Gold medal for his research on mathematical physics. He worked under C V Raman, who was very appreciative of his potential. • Dr. Banerjee rose to become the Ghose Professor of the Applied Mathematics at CU. • After that he joined the Indian Meteorological Department and eventually emerged as the first Indian Director of the observatories of IMD in 1944. S. K. Banerjee

An appraisal by C. V. Raman

• Four out of the eight lecturers in physics attached to the University College, namely, Mr. S. K. Banerjee, Mr. S. K. Mitra, Mr. M. N. Saha and Mr S. N. Basu, have succeeded in publishing research papers in European journals, and two of the others have investigations in progress which are likely to prove fruitful in the near future.

• Mr. S.K. Banerjee has in particular distinguished himself by his exemplary character and by his remarkable capacity in the fields of mathematical and experimental research. In recognition of this he has been rewarded the Premchand Roychand scholarship, which of late years has grown to be one of the highest distinctions open to an alumnus of the Calcutta University. Mr. S.K. Banerjee’s papers have attracted attention in Europe, and among those who have expressed their interest may be mentioned Prof .E. H. Barton and Prof. J. H. Vincent, both of whom are well known fro their original investigations. S. K. Banerjee An appraisal by C. V. Raman ( continued)

• Prof. Vincent wrote an account of Mr. Banerjee’s work specially for journal ‘knowledge’ and Prof. Barton in reviewing Mr. Banrejee’s work in ‘Science Abstracts’ suggested that the instrument devised by him and used in his work should be given the name of ‘Ballistic Phonometer’.

• I venture to think that in Mr. S.K. Banerjee, the Calcutta University possesses a man who can claim to be regarded as arising young researcher of the best type. Mr. S. K. Banerjee has also shown most praiseworthy ability and industry and is a researcher of great promise. Jnanendra Nath Mukherjee

His father had a brilliant academic career and became the Principal of the Raj Chandra College, Barisal. Jnanendra Nath lost his father when he was only twelve years old, and was brought up along with his younger brother 23 April 1893 Born Mahadevpur District, Rajshahi, British India, now in

10 May Died 1983 (aged 90) Calcutta, India School Municipal high School, Burdwan March 1909 Appeared in last Entrance Examination of the Calcutta University and got a District Scholarship 1909–1915 was a student of Presidency College BSc (1913) and MSc (1915)

1915 Based on his thesis for MSc Degree a paper on Electric Synthesis of Colloids was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (1915,39,292) J. N. Mukherjee

School of Colloid Science

In 1919 he and Jnan Chandra Ghosh joined the University College, London to work in the Physical Chemistry Laboratory under the charge of Professor FG Donnan, FRS. Professor Mukherjee continued his research on colloids and his major line of work was to develop his theory of the electro-kinetic double layer and its ionic constitution. JN Mukherjee's work on the electrochemistry of colloids is considered highly significant. He is also well known for the boundary method he developed for determining the cataphoretic speed of colloid particles. He returns to serve as Professor of Chemistry at University College of Science, Calcutta, Director IARI and founder Director Central Building Research Institute.

His interest had shifted to Soil Science on his return from England . J. N. Mukherjee

School of Soil Science In 1942, with N.C. Sen Gupta, he developed a simple rotary viscometer for Agricultural education the study of anomalous viscous properties. Professor Mukherjee proposed the idea of In 1944, he developed the method of making the Indian Agricultural Research differentiation of crude oils based on Institute,(IARI) a regular University. chromatography capillary analysis and In 1958, on the recommendation of the Indo- fluorescence in UV light. American Team on Agricultural Research and Education and with the generous aid of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Post-Graduate School was established at this Institute by the Governmental of India. The Institute now enjoys the status of a University under the University Grants Commission Act of 1956 J. N. Mukherjee Awards

• Padma Bhushan (1964) • Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) (1943 Birthday Honours) • Fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, Indian Chemical Association and Royal Society of Chemistry (London) • Founder Secretary, , President (1935–36), Indian Society of Soil Science • Member, Council (1935–38) and as Vice-President (1941–42) • Foreign Secretary, INSA (1943–44) and (1947–51) • General President, Indian Science Congress Association (1952) • Leftover from the ABSTACT

• Sir B N Seal (1864-1938), a contemporary of Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, served as the first King George-V Chair Professor of Philosphy (1913-21) at Calcutta University, and as VC, University of Mysore (1921-29). He had motivated P C Mahalanobis to Statisical research at Calcutta.

• Dr. S Radhakrishnan moved from College (1909-18) to University of Mysore (1918-21) to University of Calcutta (1921-28) to Oxford University (1929) to Andhra University (as VC from 1931-36) to BHU (as VC from 1939-48).

• Dr. Radhakrishnan inducted Dr S Bhagvantam, the last student of C V Raman at Calcutta, as Faculty at Andhra University, Waltair, who headed its College of Science & Technology, later moved to Osmania as VC and to IISc, Bangalore as its Director; he was asked to shift to Delhi as Director, DRDO to create Defence Laboratories after !962 war with China.

• Dr Radhakrishnan had also inducted at Waltair a contemporary of Dr S Chandrasekhar, Dr Sarvadaman Chowla, from Cambridge, who later moved to PU Lahore and nurtured Abdus Salam and R P Bambah before Indian independence. Dr. Chowla later migrated to USA. • Initiation of TIFR by Dr. Homi Bhabha (1945), formation of Committee for Atomic Research in CSIR by SSB in 1945 , creation of Atomic Energy Commission (1948) with H J Bhabha, FRS, S S Bhatnagar, FRS and K S Krishnan, FRS as members.

• Initiation of Annual Indian Science Congress by Asutosh Mukherjee (1914), establishment of Science Academies by Meghnad Saha at Allahabad (1930) & by C V Raman at Bangalore (1934) and creation of National Institute of Sciences (at Calcutta in 1934), which transforms as INSA, New Delhi after Indian independence.

• Contributions of Dr. B P Pal (Homi Bhabha of Agricultural Research) to Indian Agricultural Research Institute IARI) and creation of ICAR .

• Contributions of Dr. D S Kothari and Dr. Yash Pal as Chairpersons UGC in 1960s and 1980s. THANKS !

Acknowledgement : Shri Aseem Vashisht, Research Fellow, Department of Physics, PU, Chandigarh Acoustical Society of India Founded 1971 @ Andhra University, Waltair Prof. S. Bhagvantam (1909-1889) , President and his protege Prof. B. Ramachandra Rao, Secretary

Dr. S. Bhagvantam (1909-1989) 1928: Enrolled as a student of Palit Professor Sir C. V. Raman, FRS (1924) , Nobel Prize (1930) 1933: Joined Andhra University as Lecturer, Prof. and Head (1938); Principal ,Univ. College of Science & Tech. (1941) 1948: Scientific Advisor, Indian High Commission, London 1949-52: Prof. & Head, Phys Dept, Osmania Univ. 1952-57 : VC, Osmania University, Hyderabad 1957-1962: Director, IISc, Bangalore 1962-1969: Director, DRDO (Est. 1958), New Delhi 1970-76: President , Current Science Association 1971: Biographical memoirs of Fellows of Royal Society : C. V. Raman (1888-1970) , FRS (1924)