Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, popularly known as M.S. Swaminathan, the legendary agricultural scientist and a key architect of the country’s ‘Green Revolution,’ passed away at his residence in Chennai on September 28, 2023 at 11.20 am. He was 98.
He is survived by three daughters – Soumya Swaminathan, Madhura Swaminathan and Nitya Rao. His wife Mina Swaminathan predeceased him.
Born in Kumbakonam on August 7, 1925 to M.K. Sambasivan, a surgeon, and Parvati Thangammal, Swaminathan had his schooling there. His keen interest in agricultural science coupled with his father’s participation in the freedom movement and Mahatma Gandhi’s influence inspired him to pursue higher studies in the subject. Otherwise, he would have become a police officer, for which he got qualified in the late 1940s. By then, he got two undergraduate degrees, including one from the Agricultural College, Coimbatore (now, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University).
Dr. Swaminathan worked closely with two Union Agriculture Ministers, C. Subramaniam (1964-67) and Jagjivan Ram (1967-70 & 1974-77) for the success of the ‘Green Revolution,’ a programme that paved the way for quantum jump in productivity and production of wheat and rice through adaptation of chemical-biological technology. The discovery of Norman Bourlag, a celebrated American farm scientist and 1970 Nobel Laureate, on wheat had played a huge role in this regard.
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