Dr.M.S.Swaminathan- Father Of Green Revolution

Working for Non-Profit organizations and charity organizations are deemed to be a selfless act or a way to fill up their accounts statements. A person who dedicated his life for a social cause right from the academic stage till date is Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan. M.S. Swaminathan stands as Father of the Green Revolution in India.

Contribution to Indian agriculture

Born in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu on May 1925, Swaminathan belonged to a family with medical background. Dr.M.K.Sambasivan was father of Swaminathan who himself believed and practiced contribution for noble causes. Surgeon Sambasivan was an active participant of Swadeshi movement and Indian Independence movement in Tamil Nadu. Thus social welfare was an inherent quality in M.S.Swaminathan's blood genetically.

He chose agriculture over medical as his field of studies after witnessing the Great Bengal Famine in 1943. He was 18 years old when he decided to serve for the nation by saving agricultural industry. He completed his Bachelors of Science in Zoology (UG degree) at Maharaja's College in Trivandrum and enrolled himself in Madras Agriculture College to obtain a Bachelors of Science in Agriculture Science.

In 1949 he obtained his PG degree in Cytogenetics. He was then a student at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi. Through UNESCO fellowship he went on to continue his research in an agricultural university in Netherland then to Cambridge School of Agriculture. He earned his PhD in 1952 for his thesis on "Species Differentiation and the Nature of Polyploidyin certain species of the genus Solanum– section Tuberarium".

During the reign of Indira Gandhi as PM of India, Green Revolution movement was initiated by the government of India in 1960s. Dr.M S Swaminathan and Dr. Norman Borlaug became the key members of the program. Both the scientists worked on increasing the food yield of the nation.

He found the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in 1988 as a not-for-profit trust. He aimed at using modern methods in agriculture to handle current problems faced by farmers.

MSSRF focuses specifically on tribal and rural communities with a pro-poor, pro-women and pro-nature approach. The Foundation applies appropriate science and technology options to address practical problems faced by rural populations in agriculture, food and nutrition

1949-till date he has been presiding in innumerable organizations. Few of those include:

• Director General in ICAR

• Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India

• Independent Chairman in FAO council

• Director General in IRRI

• Chairman in National Commission on Farmers

Dr. Swaminathan has done massive contributions to agricultural science. He has ventured into numerous new strategies and methods for producing high-quality wheat in India. He believes in spreading his agriculture knowledge to various countries and thus became the member of US, China, Italy and few other Agricultural institutions.

Awards and accolades

M.S.Swaminathan has won many prestigious awards worldwide. It includes:

• Padma Shri in 1967

• Padma Bhushan in 1972

• Albert Einstein World Award of Science in 1986

• Padma Vibhushan in 1989

• Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 1991

In addition to above few awards he has won 50 honorary Doctorate degrees from Universities worldwide, 10 general outstanding awards, 22 national awards and 14 international awards and recognitions.

Throughout his career he has contributed a lot to build a sustainable environment. M.S. Swaminathan's main aim is to solve current famine and think beyond present for conservation of natural resources. He profoundly worked towards his mission to eradicate hunger and poverty from a rural level.

Dr.M.S.Swaminatha's endowment to the society is indelible !