Eulogy for Chetan Chauhaan who Fell Victim to Covid.

 Eulogy for Chetan Chauhaan

Cricketer turned cricket administrator and politician - Chetan Chauhan, who besides being elected twice to the Loksabha from UP in 1991 and 98, as a BJP candidate, was also the incumbent Cabinet Minister in the Yogi Government in Uttar Pradesh, most tragically left for his heavenly abode this evening - 16th August, 2020. Chauhan was 73 years and it is rather a divine coincidence that Chauhan died on the same day when his mentor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee has died two years earlier. Chauhaan had joined the BJP enamoured by his political inspiration from Vajpayee. He succumbed to the Covid pandemic, which he had contracted on 11th July. The very next day - on 12th July - Chauhan announced the news of his Covid contraction in his tweet where he also said; ‘ Your prayers will definitely work. I will get back to you healthily soon, all of you take care of your self, thanks a lot’, but then as destiny would have it, no prayers of his well wishers could help him combat Covid 19. 

Chauhan, aged 73 years, had tested Covid positive on the same day when Big B, Amitabh Bachchan had tested positive and therefore news of his testing positive was dimmed by Amitabh Bachchan who had hogged all news headlines. The news of his death has also not been covered in the media as prominently as the news of the retirement of MS Dhoni, who announced his retirement yesterday. After contracting Covid on the 11th of July in Lucknow,  Chauhan was admitted at the Sanjay Gandhi PGI Hospital in Lucknow. Most unfortunately his condition did not improve and subsequently when he developed other complications Chauhan was shifted to the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. He developed further complications when the infection affected his kidneys and blood pressure, leading to multiple organ failure. He was put on life support couple of days but most unfortunately, he could not fight the infection and was declared dead this evening - 16 August at 4.45 PM, by the hospital authorities.

Chetan Chauhan, though not a highly acclaimed international cricket player, will ever be remembered as the test opener who successfully partnered  his illustrious partner the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan scored some 3000+ Test runs as Test opening pair including 10 century opening partnerships and averaged an impressive 53.75 runs for the opening wicket. They remained the highest opening pair for quite a long time until being overtaken by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. In a decade-long Test career, Chauhan played 40 Tests and seven ODIs and scored 2,084 Test runs with 16 half-centuries but missed out on a century with a best of 97. Chauhan also holds the dubious distinction of being the first player in Test history to score 2000+ runs without a century. His last first-class game was the Ranji final against Bombay in 1985. Batting with a fractured finger, he made 98 and 54 in that match. Chauhan made his test debut against the visiting New Zealand team in Mumbai in September 1969. 

India won the Test match by 60 runs and Chauhan scored 18 in first innings and 34 in second innings in a low scoring match, where Prasanna and Bedi excelled taking eight wickets each in the Test match. Chauhan was in and out of the test team during the next couple of seasons until becoming a regular from 1977 onwards when he established a fine partnership with Sunil Gavaskar. 

Chauhan had a distinguished career in local games and he represented two states Delhi and Maharashtra. He scored a lot of runs while representing Delhi from 1967 to 1975 and Maharashtra from 1975 to 1985 in domestic cricket. In 179 First-class matches, he has scored 11143 runs at an impressive average of 40.22, which included 21 centuries and 59 half-centuries. In 1976–77, playing with a fractured jaw, he scored 158 against Haryana. Later that season, he scored 200 against Punjab and 147 versus Karnataka. Another hundred in Duleep Trophy early next season earned him a place in the Indian team going to Australia and then began Chauhan's most impressive period with the bat, as an opening partner to Sunil Gavaskar. 

In his first match of the Australian tour Chauhan made 157 against Victoria. He was selected in the playing eleven for the second Test and made 88 runs in his very first innings at Perth. From there on, he became Gavaskar's regular opening partner and only missed one Test match till the end of his career. Chauhan and Gavaskar's best opening partnership came against England in 1979. Chasing a mammoth target of 438 in the fourth innings of a Test match at the Oval, they added 213 for the opening wicket. The match though ended in a draw as India missed the target by nine runs. 

Chauhan was preview to  two controversial Test matches in Australia both of which were marred by controversy including bad one sided umpiring decisions in which India was at the receiving end on both the occasions. The first instance happened during the 3rd test of the India Tour of Australia in 1981. The test was marred by some bad decisions, which went against India. Sunil Gavaskar was not at his best in the entire series and had mostly failed in the earlier two tests. Coming into the 3rd test match, which began in Melbourne on 7th February, Indian first innings began on a bad note with Chauhan scoring a duck and barring Gundappa Vishwanath who scored a gritty 114, the Indian team folded up for a paltry 237 runs. Australia helped by some bad umpiring decisions, went on to score 419 Runs in their first innings. The second Indian innings began on a good note and for the first time in the series, Gavaskar was in his elements and was playing very well. Chauhan and Gavaskar had added 165 runs for the first wicket, when tragedy struck. Gavaskar was given out lbw, even after indicating to the umpire that he had nicked the ball onto his pads. He was livid yet started hesitantly moving back to the pavilion, when Dennis Lille mocked him. This infuriated Gavaskar, who after walking some 30 metres could not control his anger and returned back to grab his batting partner, Chetan Chauhan and ordered him march in the direction of the players' gate. Chauhan who was playing well and was hoping for his maiden century, which he had missed by just three runs earlier, grudgingly followed a few metres behind Gavaskar, like a crestfallen player not ready to go back to the pavilion. Fortunately India's team manager, Wing Commander Shahid Durrani, met them at the fence and pleaded for calm. Gavaskar, regained his composure and allowed Chauhan to return to the centre wicket with new batsman Dilip Vengsarkar for company. With the wicket of Gavaskar, Lille had equalled Richie Benaud’s Australian records for highest wickets 248. Chauhan could not hold on for long and soon drove Lille straight to Bruce Yardley at cover point thus allowing Lille to break the record of Richie Benaud to become Australia's greatest-ever wicket-taker. Soon thereafter the Indian team do,Dee up leaving Australia to score 142 for a win. It was Kapil’s day and he bowled a miracle spell in the fourth innings and Australia needing just 142 runs to win folded up for a paltry 83 runs handing India a great victory in which Chauhan had played an important role in his second innings.

Chauhan was also witness to another controversial Test match against Australia, which also had some embarrassing moments. This time however, Chauhan was not playing the match but was involved as the manager of the Indian cricket team, which was touring Australia in 2008. It was the second Test that was played at the SCH Sydney in January 2008. This match came to be known for the Bhajji - Symonds verbal duel, infamously called the Monkey gate scandal. In this match too India was at the receiving end of some atrocious umpiring decisions, each of which went in favour of Australia and Bhajji was not spared and handed a three test ban by Mike Procter. All this ugly incident was played out in front of Chauhan who was the manager of the team. India lost the Test. The ban on Harbhajan Singh, for alleged racist remarks to Andrew Symonds in the Sydney Test almost led to an India boycott of the series. Fortunately the tour continued after India’s appeal was upheld by the ICC adjudicator, who turned the ban to heavy fine for use of abusive language. India went on to win the Perth Test.

Born in UP’s Bareilly, UP, on 21st July 1947, Chauhan grew up in Pune where his father, who was in the army, was posted. Thus he took early steps in Pune cricket and went on to play for Maharashtra before moving to Delhi. 

.Chauhan has also served the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) in various capacities - president, vice-president, secretary and chief selector - apart from being manager of the Indian Team during their tour of Australia. Chauhan was twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, in 1991 and 1998 but also contested unsuccessfully in 1996, 1999 and 2004. In 2017 he was elected to Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha from Naugawan Sadat Assemby  Constituency and was made a minister in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government. He was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1981. Though not a flamboyant player, Chauhan has left behind a legacy both as a player and administrator before succumbing to the Covid 19 on the very day 16th August, when his political mentor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee died. He died in Gurugram, Haryana, at the  age of 73 Years. He is survived by wife Sangeeta and son Vinayak. Rest in Peace Chetan Chauhan.

74th Indian Independence Day, Sangolli Rayanna & his Tryst with Indian Destiny.

 Indian Independence Day, Sangolli Rayanna & his Tryst with Indian Destiny.

Wishing  you a very happy 74th Independence Day and May this auspicious day be the beginning of the end of global Covid pandemic. I would like to take this opportunity to repeat a post which I had posted during the previous Independence Day as well, with some modification for it warrants a repeat posting. This year I shared the honour of the flag hoisting with my colleague Mr Patankar, who was admitted in the Hospital with Covid 19 and has recovered and reported back to duty. 

“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world was asleep, India woke to life and freedom” on this historic day in 1947. This historic moment was commemorated with the immemorial ‘tryst with destiny’ speech by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. He said “A moment comes, which comes  but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance ...,’. Today - 15th August 2020, when we celebrate our 74th Indian Independence Day we must remember those thousands of men and women and innumerable other unsung heroes (both noble men and women) who have sacrificed their life for our independence. Among them there is one hero - mostly an unsung hero  - Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna, who shares a rare and an extraordinary tryst with Indian destiny.

15th August and 26th January, our independence day and the Republic day respectively, are inextricably linked to every Indian. These two days, which are connected with the destiny of our revered nation, are inextricably linked with  Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna who was born on the 15th August 1798 and was martyred on the 26th January, 1838 fighting the British. Krantiveera is an epithet given to Sangolli Rayanna - an army chief of the Kittur Kingdom, which was ruled by Kittura Rani Channamma. The story of Rayanna, often ignored by the Indian historians, is one of adventures, bravery and martyrdom – and therefore it may not be wrong to term him as one of the earliest freedom fighters of India. 

At the stroke of that historic ‘midnight hour’, on the 15th August, 1947, India woke in to freedom and it took another 2 years and few months for ‘We, the people... to adopt, enact and give ourselves the Constitution’, on the 26th of January, 1950. While wishing all fellow Indians a very happy Independence Day, I wish to take this opportunity of using this auspicious occasion to pay my reverence to those millions of Indians - the freedom fighters, our military and para military brethren - particularly our soldiers who have been martyred in the Galwan Valley and others who have made that supreme sacrifice in service of our great motherland. My reverence is also for all the health workers, Doctors, Sisters and all other Covid 19 warriors and innumerable other unsung and face less workers who continue to serve our nation. 

One such valiant hero who made his supreme sacrifice trying to fight the British (East India Company) for their injustice, decades before the beagle of the first battle of independence was blown by the likes of Rani Jhansi and others, was Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna, a general in the Kittur kingdom, down south of India, in the state of Karnataka.  Most unfortunately history writers have been majorly unfair to Sangolli Rayanna and he is one among  those freedom fighter heroes, who have been mostly forgotten or at most find a foot note mention in history books. Fortunately, the state to which Rayanna belongs - Karnataka - has been fair to him and his valour gets echoed in the legendary tales that have transcended generations from the early nineteenth century. Sangolli Rayanna, has a unique honour of sharing his  life and death destiny with our nation. He was born on the 15th August, 1798 and he laid down his life fighting the British on 26th January 1838. Sangolli Rayanna was hanged by the British (East India Company) on 26th January, 1838. 

Decades before the bugle of revolt and the first war of Indian Independence, which was led among others by  Rani Jhansi in 11857 against the British, down south in Karnataka, the forgotten queen, Veer Rani Channamma had raised the first flag of defiance against the British, who deceitfully had introduced the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ policy in 1824 to illegally usurp the kingdom of Kittur and accede it to the East India Company (British). Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna was Rani Channamma’s Commander in Chief and a warrior par excellence. This tribute to the great Sangolli Rayanna is also a tribute to those hundreds of millions of other unsung freedom fighters without whose sacrifice Mahatma Gandhi - the father of our nation - and an apostle of peace, whose sesquicentennial birth anniversary we are celebrating, may not have been successful in getting us our freedom with his non violent, peaceful and non cooperation movement against the oppressive British rulers. It is so painful that even after seven decades of our Independence and Republic, most Indians, except those from the state of Karnataka, hardly have heard the name of Sangolli Rayanna. Not just Sangolli Rayanna, history writers have mostly been unfair to several such freedom fighters particularly from the areas south of the Vindhyas. Not just the freedom fighters the history writers have also not been fair even to the South Indian kingdoms and their great rulers that include among others the Cholas, Vijaynagar, Hoysalas, Rashtrakutas, Pallavas, etc and  to some extent even the Chalukyan kingdom and their contributions have mostly been overlooked by the historians. Therefore it is no wonder that for most Indians, particularly young students, the name of Sangolli Rayanna might sound like a stranger. Rayanna is regarded as one of the most valiant warriors in Karnataka, who fought till death against the villainy British East India Company.

Rayanna was born on 15 August 1798, in a nondescript village, Sangolli in Karnataka. He became a prominent warrior at a very young age and raised to the significant position of the Army Chief of the Kingdom of Kittur, which was ruled at the time by Queen Rani Chennamma, who was one of the first female rulers to rebel against the British rule. Incidentally it was this very town Kittur, which was chosen by the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT), for creating another tryst with destiny for a digital India, when the first ever Rural Automatic Exchange (RAX), indigenously designed and developed by CDOT, was commissioned in this city on 21st July, 1986, which kick started the start of India’s telecom revolution. Incidentally the Internet saga, which is now omnipresent, started in India 25 years ago on 14th August 1995. 

The story of Sangolli Rayanna has been ignored by the historians and there is little that one gets to read in the history books (outside Karnataka) about the adventures, bravery and martyrdom of Sangolli Rayanna, who can also be rightfully referred to as one of the earliest freedom fighters of our country. Sangoli Rayanna’s struggle against the British began during the famous Kittur rebellion in 1824, regarded by many as the first ever rebellion for freedom of India. It was the year when the British East India Company first announced the idea of the infamous Doctrine of Lapse – a law in favor of unrighteous empowerment of the British Empire that worked by annexing the princely states that was left with no natural heir to the throne. Rani Chennamma did not have her biological son and had decided to adopt a son, Shivalingappa, to succeed her in ruling her kingdom. The British did not agree for the adopted son to rule Kittur and instead ordered for Kittur to secede to the British East India Company. Rani Channamma refused this illegal demand and thus had to fight the British (1824), she fought bravely and her campaign was led by Sangolli Rayanna. Although this battle ended with the unfortunate death of the Queen Channamma, Sangoli Rayanna’s struggle against the overpowering British Empire did not end. Sangolli Rayanna remained adamant and decided to fight for crowning the adopted son of Rani Channamma - Shivalingappa, as the ruler of Kittur. His valour during the battle against the mighty British East India Company is now a folklore legend in Karnataka and this has been immortalised through the Kannada celluloid film ‘Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna’, which hit the screens in 2012 and became a box office hit, breaking several records.

Sangolli Rayanna and Rani Channamma fought valiantly against a highly superior British East India Company, whose war arsenal was tens of times superior to what the Kittur army possessed. The battle may have ended in a loss to Kittur Rani Channamma, but her champion Commander Sangolli Rayanna fought like a tiger leading from the front and facing the mighty enemy with an unprecedented valour, which finds a parallel in the charge of the Light Brigade of the British soldiers in the Crimean war. Sangolli Rayanna was arrested by the British and was released much later after Kittur was acceded to the British. Rayanna could not digest the injustice meted out by the British and on his release from the prison he set out to mobilise men and materials and began a deadly guerrilla war against the British. He shifted his army from one place to another and often bled the British very badly in the deadliest of guerrilla attacks on the enemy. His army burnt government offices, waylaid British troops and plundered their treasuries and so also those other landlords who sided with the British.

Alas, like all the stories of valiant soldiers and rulers fighting against the British (East India Company), Rayanna also became the target of deceit and treachery. As a result of this, one of the first ever precursor of the Indian freedom movement ended abruptly with the arrest of Rayanna. The British brain washed the landlords into influencing one of the confidant of Rayanna to cheat him. Legend has it that when Rayanna was having a bath in a stream near Dori Benachi, the British soldiers attacked and at that moment Rayanna's sword, which it is said was blessed to him by a divine power of Shakti, was in the hands of his confidant who had cheated on him. When Rayanna asked for his sword, Laxman, his confidant, gave his divine sword to the British soldiers. Unarmed and surrounded by deceit, Rayanna was overpowered and captured. Rayanna was then tried in the British kangaroo court and sentenced to death. Sangolli Rayanna was executed by hanging him from a Banyan tree about 4 kilometers from a village called Nandagad in the modern day Belagavi district in Karnataka, on 26 January 1831. The folklore story says that at the time of hanging, Rayanna is believed to have said “My last wish is to be born again in this land to fight against the British and drive them away from our sacred soil". It is also believed by the local people that a close associate of Rayanna planted a Banyan sapling on his grave at the very place where he was hanged. The sapling has now grown to a massive banyan tree, which stands to this day and serves as a befitting memorial to Sangolli Rayanna. A modest memorial has been built at this site, which continues to be revered by scores of visitors who throng this place for paying their respects to this greatest of the warrior, one of the foremost soldier, who waged the first war of the freedom struggle against the mighty and treacherous British. 

What an honour it is for this great warrior, Rayanna that he shares his birth date with the Indian Independence Day and his death date with the Indian Republic Day.  On this momentous occasion of the 74 Independence Day I join billion plus IndianS in paying my respect  to Sangolli Rayanna and those of his kind and pray that their sacrifice is never ever forgotten by our countrymen.

Jai Hind.

 Tribute to  Dr. Vikram Sarabhai : The Father of Indian Space Program

Images - courtesy Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai.

Every year 12th of August is celebrated as International Youth Day, which for India is quite special for it also happens to be the birth anniversary of one of the visionary scientists of India - Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Space programmes in India and the scientist who established the Indian Space Research Organisation - ISRO, an acronym, which has now become a household name in India. While wishing everyone, particularly the youths, a very happy International Youth Day, I wish to take this opportunity to recall a tribute, which I had paid to one of India’s greatest of Sons - Dr Vikram Sarabhai, who has made profound contributions for India. Dr Sarabhai, while  establishing ISRO charted out a special path, which was almost impossible to dream of. What is even more special is that he founded the famous Physical Research Lab - PRL, in 1947 when he was a youth, at a very young age of just 26 years and it is this institution, which has played pivotal role in the shaping of space programs in India. Dr Sarabhai invited the Nobelist scientist and his guide and mentor, Prof C V Raman for laying the foundation stone of PRL. 

Fast forward to 2021 and it is the youth of India who have brought smiles on 1.3 plus billion Indians by winning the highest number of medals for the country, including an elusive Gold in the track and field events, in the recently concluded Tokyo, 2020 Olympics. The spectacular Olympics performance of our athletes was witnessed by many people live on TV, courtesy the Indian Space program. Just a couple of days ago, the whole of India erupted in joyous celebration watching live the Gold medal winning performance of Neeraj Chopra in the Javelin throw competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This is the first ever Gold medal for India in the track and field events at the Olympics. While Neeraj and his compatriots are rightfully basking in the glory and love and affection of their countrymen, for their extraordinary achievement, it is time for us to remember how youths can inspire India. Today, when we are celebrating the International Youth Day, we must also remember Dr Vikram Sarabhai, who was born on this day in 1919. It is his creation, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which ushered in that extraordinary revolution in communication that enabled the whole of the nation to watch live the unforgettable gold winning performance of Neeraj Chopra and so also that of other Indian athletes who participated and won glory for India in Tokyo. Neeraj Chopra’s performance, which was beamed live from Tokyo, will remain etched in the hearts and minds of people for generations to come. I earnestly hope that this performance will inspire millions of other youths of our nation to tread the path of Neeraj and his compatriots. 

On this international youth Day, I also earnestly hope that millions of Indian youths will be inspired by Dr Vikram Sarabhai who founded the PRL when he was a youth. The PRL became a crucible for churning out the space programmes and space scientists for India. India now needs many more youths who must go on to be the next generations of Dr Sarabhai’s and Neeraj Chopra’s. The significance of Sarabhai’s contributions to the development of India can be appreciated by looking at the role that PRL, an institution that Dr Sarabhai founded when he was a youth, has played in shaping the destiny of India.

PRL is a premier research institution of our country, which is devoted to the scientific research in space, planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics.  It has played a seminal role in initiating space science activity in the country and has produced highly motivated cadre of space scientists and technologists of highest international calibre. Many of the scientists who started their career in PRL have made important contributions in space sciences and cosmic rays in India and have gone on to holding important positions in ISRO and other organisations in many parts of the world. The revolutionary benefits of telecommunications, which we are now witnessing in India owe their genesis to the Indian space Program that was founded by Dr Sarabhai, and that too when he was a youth. 

Dr Sarabhai most unfortunately, like his fellow compatriot scientist - Dr Homi Bhabha, died at a very young age - 52 years. But then his vision and aspirations for harvesting the applications of space technology for the larger benefits for Indians have been fructified by generation of space scientists in India and his creation ISRO continues to benefit not just Indians but also the whole of human society. 

Once again wishing you all a very happy International Youth Day and hoping and praying that India produces many many more youths who will go on to become the future Sarabhai’s and Neeraj Chopra’s of the country.

Here is the tribute that I had paid to Dr Sarabhai last year on his birthday.

The year long birth centenary celebrations of the father of the Indian Space programme and the architect of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) - Dr Vikram Sarabhai (12th Aug, 2019 - 12th August, 2020), which had kick started with the inaugural function of this event last year on 12th August, 2019 - the birth centenary year of Dr Sarabhai - at Gujarat University Convention Centre, Ahmadabad, comes to a close today, without much fanfare owing to the Covid pandemic.

The opening program of the birth centenary celebration of Dr Sarabhai - organised  on 12th August,2019 - was tele addressed by the Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, to an August gathering of scientists from DAE, ISRO, PRL and students and heads of institution. During the year long Sarabhai centenary celebrations, several programmes were organised across the country and one of the significant program - one day Vikram Sarabhai Centenary conference - was organised by the Nehru Science Centre in collaboration with the National Centre for Science Communicators, at the Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai. Leading scientists from ISRO, DAE and other key policy makers from other  organisations - Dr R Chidambaram, Dr AS Kiran Kumar, Dr S Banerjee, Prof Chitre, Dr Mallika Sarabhai, Dr Kiran Karnik, Shri Ashok Dalwai and Dr AP Jayaraman spoke on the occasion. During the concluding program of this conference, on behalf of the organisers of the conference, I had announced to the audience that the Nehru Science Centre will dedicate an exhibition - Hall of Aerospace- to Dr Sarabhai and this new exhibition will be launched on his 101st birthday. Most unfortunately due to the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, we are unable to open this exhibition today, as promised. However, the Hall of Aerospace Exhibition, which is supported by the Airports Authority of India, is nearing completion and it will be opened as soon as the Covid situation improves and we are permitted to open our science centre for public. We are certain that the Hall of Aerospace exhibition will be a befitting tribute to Dr Vikram Sarabhai. 

Dr. Sarabhai died at a very young age of just 52 years at Kovalam, Kerala on December 30, 1971. Most shockingly and in a very rare coincidence Dr. Sarabhai’s predecessor Chairman of DAE, Dr Homi Bhabha  too has died at a very young age in an air crash in 1966. Just before his untimely death Sarabhai had witnessed firing of a Russian rocket at Thumba and had inaugurated the Thumba railway station before retiring for the night, which most tragically was to be his last. There are several controversies doing the rounds regarding his tragic and untimely death, which compare his death in sleep to that of Lal Bahadur Shastri ji. However, I shall not delve into this emotive issue. 

Unity in Diversity - the often used phrase for India that all of us have grown up living with - is one of the greatest attributes of our country, which is inseparable to this great nation, notwithstanding the unending differences and diversity that exist in our country that gets played out during the heated debates on the news channels. Unity in Diversity, an unique attribute  of India - the worlds largest democracy - is vividly visible and is exemplified through the medium of Cinema, Cricket and Chilly, which connects we Indians, without exception, to one common Indian nationhood. The efforts Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of the Indian space program and creator of ISRO, has now resulted in the fourth common connecting chord for all of us to rejoice - achievements of ISRO. The evidence of this was vividly seen when the entire nation was seen united in hailing the successful launch of the Chandrayaan 2, by ISRO. On-board this historic mission was the Vikram Lander, named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai. Most unfortunately the mission came very close to achieving its unique and highly complex objective of landing the Vikram Lander on the southern pole of Moon and manoeuvring the Pragyan rower on the surface of the moon. The Vikram lander would have been extraordinary centenary tribute to Dr Sarabhai, the celebrations of which had kick started from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad.

The PRL was kind of a crucible for the foundation of ISRO and it was in the backyard of Sarabhai house in Shahibagh, Ahmedabad that PRL was founded on 11th November 1947, before moving to the MG Science College and finally to its current location of Navrangpura campus where ISRO was conceived on third floor of the PRL building. PRL started functioning immediately, in two small rooms in the nearby M G College of Science pending the construction of its own building and facilities on a neighbouring plot of land provided by the Ahmedabad Education Society. After collecting enough funds, Sarabhai requested C V Raman to lay the foundation stone of the PRL building in 1952, which was done in the presence of Homi Bhaba, S S Bhatnagar and many other luminaries in the field of science. All the research activities in M G Science College were subsequently shifted to the new PRL campus in 1954, after it was declared open by none other than the Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

The initial focus of research at PRL was on cosmic rays, which gradually spread over to atmospheric science, theoretical physics, radio physics etc. PRL churned out the idea for the Space programme for India and was also the place where prominent ISRO scientists, Sarabhai, U R Rao,  Kasturirangan, Prof Yashpal and others were groomed and what is now described as ISRO culture was cultivated at the PRL. It was Vikram Sarabhai who put Ahmedabad on the world map of scientific and industrial research by establishing several institutes and organisations in various fields, notable among them include the PRL, Ahmedabad Textile Industries Research Association (ATIRA), Indian Institute of Management, National Institute of Design (NID), and Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VSCSC). The Community Science Center ( currently the VSCSC) set up in Ahmedabad is an important centre for educating children and general public about various branches of science. It has played an important role in ‘Science Teacher’ education. Interestingly the foundation stone of Community Science Center was laid by Sir C. V. Raman, who also delivered his famous lecture; ‘Why the sky is blue’. Darpan Art and culture centre were also started by the family (Mrinalini Sarabhai). The famed Space Application Centre (SAC/ ISRO) was set up at Ahmedabad courtesy Sarabhai and PRL, which acted as an intellectual springboard for ISRO. Incidentally most of the museum professionals and archeologists will recognise PRL for the Carbon 14 dating of their antiquity objects, which most often were carried out at the PRL. Today when we remember Dr. Sarabhai, we don’t remember him only as a scientist but we also remember him as a person with varied interests.

Vikram Sarabhai - visionary, businessman, scientist and also an art connoisseur - the sixth child among the eight children of Ambalal and Sarladevi Sarabhai, was born on the 12th, August 1919 in Ahmedabad into an illustrious Gujarati Jain business family. He had a privileged childhood and grew up in ‘The Retreat’ a colonial style mansion in which the Sarabhais lived. Among the decorated luminaries who visited the Sarabhais at the Retreat included Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Bhulabhai Desai, Rukmini Arundale, J Krishnamurthi, Prithviraj Kapoor and several others. It is therefore no wonder that Vikram Sarabhai had great vision for his country, the seeds of which were sown early on in life by the visits of such great nationalist stalwarts to his house. Nehru and Indira Gandhi also visited the Sarabhai mansion as guests. 

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore who, having spotted the spark of genius in the young Sarabhai, aged 16 years, wrote a letter of recommendation to the authorities of Cambridge University, for enrolment of Sarabhai into St Johns College, Cambridge, which he joined in 1936 and completed his natural science tripos in 1939. Tagore letter of recommendation for Sarabhai dated 01 November 1935 read ; “It is with great pleasure that I recommend the application for admission of Mr. Vikram Sarabhai. He is a young boy with a keen interest in Science and I am sure a course of study in Cambridge will be of immense value to him. I know him personally and his people. He comes from a wealthy and cultured family in the Bombay Presidency and he has a brother and a sister studying at Oxford at the moment. In my judgement, he is a fit and proper person for admission to the University” - Rabindranath Tagore.

The onset of World War II forced him to return to India. After coming back to India from Cambridge he joined the Tata Institute (now Indian Institute of Science) Bangalore to carry out research on time variation of cosmic Rays, the subject that was assigned to him by his illustrious teacher, Nobel Laureate, Sir C V Raman. The TAta institute provided a highly encouraging atmosphere for researchers, which was created by C V Raman and also Homi Bhaba, who too was at the institute where he was working on theories of mesons and cosmic ray showers. Raman was known for building low cost apparatus for experimentation and his discovery of nobel winning Raman effect ( Raman scattering of light) was the result of a low cost Raman Spectroscope, measuring instrument, which he had developed with his students at the Indian Association of Cultivation of Science, Calcutta. Sarabhai, with help from his guide Raman, built an experimental set-up with Geiger Muller counters' to carry out continuous measurements of cosmic ray intensity at Bangalore and subsequently at very high altitude at Apharwat (about 4 km above sea level) in Kashmir. Sarabhai published first scientific paper 'Time distribution of cosmic rays' in the Proceedings of the Indian Academy ofSciences in 1942. Sarabhai met his would be wife, Mrinalini Swaminathan in Bangalore. As soon as the World War II ended, Sarabhai returned back to Cambridge to finish his doctoral dissertation. In 1947, he received a doctorate from Cambridge with a thesis on "Cosmic Ray Investigation in Tropical Latitudes", the study which he had started at the Tata Institute under the supervision of Raman. Immediately after receiving his PhD, Sarabhai returned back to India. By then India was an independent nation. Sarabhai, like Bhabha, was from an aristocratic family with sound business and he too set out to carve his own ‘space’ for the development of the nation using the applications of science and technology. Sarabhai was able to persuade charitable trusts controlled by his family and friends to fund a research institution near home in Ahmedabad and the result was the formation of the Physical Research Laboratory. Thus began Sarabhai’s journey to transform India and its space aspirations.  True to his prophetic aspiration and vision, PRL played a pivotal role in the early days of the formation of ISRO.

Dr. Sarabhai had a conviction on the importance of applications of Space Technology in improving day today lives of people India. Subsequent to the successful launch of Sputnik by the Russians on the 4th of October 1957, the first man made artificial satellite to orbit the Earth in low orbit, there was a flurry of activities on space research by the Russians and Americans. And in the early years of the sixties (1962 to 1964) it had become very clear that Satellite based Meteorological Earth Observations and Space Communications will be immensely helpful for not only developed nations but also for the developing countries. Therefore Dr. Sarabhai envisaged harvesting the applications of space technology for the societal benefit of Indians. He had a vision that India should develop indigenous technology for building of satellites and launch vehicles. However, not many people in India believed that India should venture in to Space Technology primarily because both Russia and America were competing with each other in this field and spending unprecedented time and money. Against many odds Sarabhai managed to carry forward the Indian space program by convincing people at the highest echelons, including Pandit Nehru, of the possible benefit that space applications could bring to the people of India. 

In the early 1960s there were many studies which had confirmed that the equatorial region, particularly the magnetic equator is highly significant in the investigation of the Earth's magnetic field and the ionosphere, and therefore the region is most suitable for for meteorology. Considering that the magnetic equator passes over South India and that this region has tremendous influence on the dynamics of the equatorial ionosphere, Sarabhai decided to establish ‘The Equatorial Rocket Launching Station’ (TERLS) at Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram for carrying out aeronomy and astronomy experiments. By the time TERLS was established in 1968, Sarabhai had been appointed as the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, the position which was held by his illustrious colleague Dr Homi Bhabha, in May 1966 under most tragic circumstances. Dr Bhabha, the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, was travelling by AI - 101 Boeing 707 flight - Kanchenjunga, which was flying from Mumbai to NewYork with 117 passengers and crew onboard including Dr Bhabha, who was travelling to Vienna (via Geneva) where he was scheduled to attend a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Commission. In one of the worst air disasters, Air India flight, AI 101, crashed as it was preparing to land at Geneva airport in Switzerland, while flying over Alps near Mont Blanc, on 24th January 1996. All 106 passengers including Dr Bhabha and 11 crew members were killed in this accident.

Sarabhai, knowing the importance of the TERLS project,  fast tracked the project and the project was completed in 1968. In his inaugural speech delivered during the opening of TERLS, Sarabhai elaborated his vision for harvesting the space technology. He said “ There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the ex- plorations of the moon or the planets or manned space flight. But we are convinced that if we are to playa meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society, which we find in our country". His vision on the development of space technology and its extensive application for the betterment of society continues to be the guiding light for Indian space programme even today. 

Sarabhai envisaged harnessing the power of space science to find solutions to the problems India was facing in the field  of communication, meteorology, and education. Sarabhai thus conceived the establishment of a dedicated institute ‘Indian Space Research Organization’ for achieving this. ISRO was formed on 15th August 1969 and it was placed under the Department of Atomic Energy. Sarabhai used his scientific stature to connect with NASA, leader in space science, to  start the first experiment of commencing TV programs in rural villages in India with an objective of using TV as a medium of education for the Indian villages and the result was a successful Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) program, which received global recognition. SITE was one of the largest sociological experiments conducted anywhere in the world involving educational television broadcasting via the US satellite, ATS-6, to rural masses spread over six states and covering 2,500 villages. The SITE program was launched in 1975-76 after the death of Dr Sarabhai, and it became the first  major India-US partnership in space. This partnership has grown from strength to strength, notwithstanding the cold era period and the sanctions that India endured during this period. SITE was India’s first  attempt to use technology for education through TV broadcasts. Courtesy the success of the SITE program, India began launch of communication satellites beginning with the INSAT 1 and also brought about a revolution in establishing Low Power Transmitting TV stations from 1982, which helped India in taking giant leaps in the field of mass communication, particularly the TV transmission. Today when we see hundreds of TV channels beaming non stop content to every home, we must remember and credit and pay our homage to Dr Sarabhai who made this possible. 

Indian Space programme has now come a long way from the humble beginning of launch of our first launch vehicle - SLV- and the satellite Aryabhatta, to the current era in which ISRO is able to create, build and launch gigantic rockets, including the most successful PSLV - the work horse- and the GSLV, which carry Indian and international payloads, satellites, and complex spacecraft not just for our country but also for several other countries. Projects like the Chandrayaan, Mars Orbit Mission, built at frugal costs, not only exemplify Indian excellence in Space but also kindle an outstanding sense of Indianness among the people, particularly the children. Today, courtesy Sarabhai’s vision the Indian Space programme can rightfully claim to be in the elite club of nations. Sarabhai had a deep belief in India and her people. He was inspired by India’s yearning to be self reliant and not dependent on other nations for our every need. He did not want India to be vulnerable to pressures that would make us take decisions that would harm the nation or our people. He had a great belief in India and people in ISRO have proved him right and continue to behold a sense of needing to contribute for the nation.

Sarabhai was a doting and hands-on father to Kartikeya and Mallika, who followed their parents footsteps to become India’s celebrated luminaries in their own ways.  Mallika Sarabhai, the eminent daughter of Vikram and Mrinalini Sarabhai, during her Sarabhai Centenary conference address at the nehru Science Centre, Mumbai said that her father used to attend most of the parents meeting.  Dr Sarabhai’s wife, the noted Bharatnatyam dancer, Mrinalini Sarabhai, travelled extensively performing all across the world and it was left to Vikram Sarabhai to attend most of the parents meeting. The fatherly love and affection of Sarabhai can be seen in the way he guided his children, which Mallika emphatically stated in her address “I grew up as papa’s daughter, not as Dr Vikram Sarabhai’s. He was papa. With little time but loads of love and fun. He would whistle ‘Bridge On The River Kwai’ and have me marching around the carpet”.  The lessons that he taught to his children to think independently is something which holds value even today.  Sarabhai too was fallible and human and this could seen in his relationship with Kamla Chaudhury, who became the first Research Director of IIM Ahmedabad, which was established by Dr Sarabhai.

Dr Sarabhai received innumerable recognition and awards including the Padma Bhushan award which he received in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan award which was awarded to him posthumously in 1972. On this 101st birthday - 12th August 2020, I join a billion plus countrymen in paying my reverence and rich tribute to this great visionary, who died so early at the age of 52 leaving behind so much of his unfinished vision for the nation. I truly believe he could have contributed much more to the nation and influenced our path as a nation differently had he been alive a little longer.  

Fortunately the organisation he built - ISRao - and the people who he mentored have left no stone unturned to live up to his expectations in contributing to the nation. May ISRO, the living embodiment of Dr Sarabhai continue to liveup to the ideals of this great Visionary for eternity. 

Long live Sarabhai and the institution he built - ISRO - in the hearts and minds of Indians.

—————————————————————————————————————

Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Never Again

This date seventy five years ago - 6th August1945 - will ever remain

etched in the annals of human history.  It was on this date and month that the “Little Boy” and the “Fat Man”, two nuclear bombs were detonated on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6th and 9th August, 1945 respectively by the Americans, which ultimately led to the end of World War II.  As we commemorate the 75th Anniversary of this unprecedented human tragedy of the nuclear holocaust of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing, it is hearting to note that the lessons learnt from the disaster that the atom bomb can create on humanity, have helped the world leaders to see to it that this dastardly act will never ever be repeated and that whatever nuclear arsenals that nuclear weapon countries have, including India, will only continue to serve as a deterrent against nuclear adventurism.

This occasion reminds me of an exhibition ‘Hiroshima-Nagasaki Never Again’ which I coordinated and this exhibition was organised at the National Science Centre in 1998. To commemorate the golden jubilee of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Mayor of the city of Hiroshima, with support from the Government of Japan, had decided to showcase an exhibition ‘Hiroshima-Nagasaki Never Again', in different countries and this exhibition came to India in 1998 after travelling to many other countries starting in August 1995. I had the honour to be the coordinator for this exhibition, while I was the curator at the National Science Centre, Delhi. The exhibition contained fifty six exhibitions panels and original artefacts from the bombing sites in Hiroshima, which depicted the horrors of a nuclear holocaust. The exhibition with rare photographs, original objects and antiquities, was expected to create an awareness on the dangers of nuclear weapons. An NGO from Delhi, Centre for Science and Industrial Policy Research, were the partners for the exhibition. I was responsible for communicating and collaborating with Hiroshima authorities to present this exhibition in National Science Centre, Delhi.  

I vividly remember one of the major problem that I faced during this exhibition, which I thought I must share. India was not a signatory to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. (CTBT and NPT) and therefore the Japanese were critical of our stand. One part of the exhibition, dealt with CTBT and NPT and the information contained in the section was critical,of Indians stand on NPT and CTBT and the panel portrayed as if India is against world peace and it also highlighted that it was unfair on the part of India not to be the signatories to CTBT and NPT and the information was also critical of the Government of India stand on this issue.  Coming from the background of Sainik School, Bijapur with that indomitable patriotic feeling embedded in the heart and mind, the fauji in me over came the Curator that I was and I decided to consult the DAE on the matter before permitting these panels to be displayed. The DAE too  thought that it will not be wise to display five of the panels and accordingly I prevailed over the Japanese team and the five panels which were critical of the stand of India on matters pertaining to NPT and CTBT were not included in the exhibition. 

The exhibition was inaugurated by the mayor of Hiroshima, Takashi Hiraoka, together with the mayor of Delhi, Shakuntata Arya, at the National Science Centre, Delhi in April 1998. The exhibition vividly portrayed the horrors of the atomic bomb, through panels which showed the devastation wrought by the two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While most of the exhibition comprised familiar photographs of the mushroom cloud and the cities before and after that fateful day, it also included such objects as window glass, which had fused, coagulated pieces of mortar, pictures of clocks which had stopped to record the moment of horror, agonising photographs of survivors of the holocaust and detailed descriptions of the effect of radiation on the human body. Unfortunately during the press interaction the Mayor of Hiroshima mentioned about the panels which were not included in the exhibition. 

Next morning there was a shock waiting for us. There was an editorial coverage of this issue with the headline “National Science Centre Censors Hiroshima exhibition’. This editorial news of Hindustan Times, highest circulated news daily in Delhi  then, reached the corridors of power. The Ministry of Culture, under whom the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) functions, was then a department under Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD).  Hon’ble Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi ji was the Minister of HRD.  Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi had directed the then Secretary-Culture Shri R. V. Vaidyanatha Ayyar to enquire into the matter. Although in the history of NCSM, it was for the first time ever that any of the centres under NCSM was  mentioned in an editorial, yet the way we were portrayed as the ones who had censored the Japanese exhibition was not a pleasant experience.

 

Unfortunately, Shri P. K. Bhaumik, the then Director of National Science Centre, Delhi was on leave and the then Director General of NCSM (Mr. I. K Mukherjee) was not in headquarters in Kolkata and was on tour to North East Zone. The Ministry had tried to contact the Director General in Kolkata and in his absence and in the absence of Director of our centre they contacted the Administrative Officer of our centre and informed him that the Director of NSC Delhi must immediately meet the Director and JS Culture in the Ministry to clarify the matter and why we we had made the Japanese to remove five panels.

During those days a peculiar system existed in our centre.  In the absence of the Director the a Ministry always contacted the Administrative Officer and not the Curators.  Although, I was hierarchically No. 2, in our centre and also the curator for the exhibition, yet the Ministry preferred to call Mr. Bandyopadhyay, the then Administrative Officer for the clarification. Mr. Bandyopadhyay, unfortunately was an armchair Administrative Officer and was not knowing anything  about the exhibition and therefore, he had no way but to request me to accompany him to the Ministry.  We first went to the Office of the Under Secretary, who had called our AO, by then, the matter had already heated up and there was commotion and as soon as we reached, the Under Secretary’s office, he immediately took us to the Office of the then Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture.  One of the greatest insult/embarrassment awaited me in the Office of Joint Secretary.  There were three chairs in front of the Joint Secretary. The Director Culture occupied one chair, Under Secretary occupied second and the Under Secretary asked made the Administrative Officer, Mr. Bandyopadhyay to occupy the third chair and I was made to stand behind.  The then Joint Secretary started asking the Administrative Officer regarding the exhibition. She also informed our AO that the matter is very serious and has gone to the notice of Hon’ble Culture Minister and therefore, Secretary wanted a report on this matter urgently. Mr. Bandyopadhyay, was unable to address any of the questions of JS and he was repeatedly looking back towards me whenever he was asked a question by JS. Soon the Joint Secretary noticed this and asked him why is he looking back at me. Mr. Bandyopadhyay answered that I was the curator of the exhibition and that he is not in the know of this matter. She asked Mr. Bandyopadhyay to get up and I was offered that chair. I answered all her questions forthrightly and gave the reasons why we had not included five panels in the exhibition.  It appeared that she was partially convinced and she immediately called the Secretary-Culture and took an appointment to meet him. I was given two hours time to prepare a noting on this for meeting the Secretary-Culture.

 

We immediately rushed back to the Office and I prepared an elaborate note on the circumstances under which I had taken the decision to not to include five panels. With this note, with no lunch, I immediately rushed to the Ministry and with Joint Secretary we met Shri R. V. Vaidyanatha Ayyar, the then Secretary-Culture.  This experience perhaps was one of the best experiences that I have ever had dealing with the top Bureaucrat.  Shri R. V. Vaidyanatha Ayyar, JS and I had long discussions in his office on the matter and the Secretary also read my note and after about 30 minutes of discussion, Shri Ayyar took me to the then Hon’ble Culture Minister.  There again we had discussion on the issue and I clarified the reasons why we did not include five panels in the exhibition. The best outcome of the meeting was that Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi appreciated our stand and even praised me for the stand that I had taken not to include those panels, which were definitely not in the interest of the Government of India. In my 34 years of service in NCSM,  this will be one of the best moment, which I will cherish. My learning from this experience is that, if as a Curator, one has a conviction that the decision he or she takes is in the larger interest of the organisation, irrespective of what difficulty one faces, he/she will ultimately prevail. 

On the occasion of the seventy five years of the Hiroshima bombing I am reminded of the exhibition and those objects which were witness to the deadly nuclear holocaust continue to remain etched in my memory even today. May the world never ever face such a situation again and may the nuclear energy be used only for the good of humanity be it for the purpose of energy or health, which is what we use the nuclear energy for in India. 

In the seventy five years post the bombing, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have completely transformed themselves into modernity yet the scars of the holocaust will continue to live on and remind us of the terrible consequences that the nuclear weapons can cause. May no other cities or place ever face what Hiroshima and Nagasaki encountered on 6th and 9th August 1945.