Father of the Green Revolution, MS Swaminathan, no more

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, Sept 28

Legendary agricultural scientist Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, whose vision transformed India from an import dependent to a food grain surplus nation almost overnight in late 1960s, breathed his last on Thursday morning. He was 98.

Feted as the Father of the Green Revolution, MS Swaminathan passed away at his Chennai home and had been ailing for a while.

President Dropuadi Murmu led the condolences with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and leading personalities from all walks of life hailing the late plant geneticist's life journey.

Born in Tamil Nadu's Kumbakonam on August 7, 1925 to MK Sambasivan and Parvati Thangammai, MS Swaminathan, popularly called MS, became the first World Food prize Laureate (equivalent of a Nobel) in 1987 for spearheading the introduction of high yielding wheat and rice varieties into India during 1960s.

The country at that time faced prospects of a widespread famine and western economists went as far as to say, "Only an atom bomb can solve the problem." But convinced that Norman Borlaug's newly developed Mexican dwarf wheat varieties could transform India's foodgrain production landscape as against native tall wheat stalks that often fell under their own weight, Swaminathan invited Borlaug to work with him in India.

The Mexican varieties were first tested for yields at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, where Swaminathan worked at the time. The results were dramatic. Soon, field demonstrations across north India’s farms were held and the Green Revolution was born.

In 1968, India’s wheat yield rose from 12 million tonnes to 17 million tonnes with the government issuing a special stamp on the Wheat Revolution. By 1971, India has declared herself self-sufficient in foodgrain production, proving the world wrong.

At the centre of the transformation was the man who had declined many lucrative offers in the past to use agricultural science for ending hunger in India and most of the developing world which began using dwarf high yielding wheat varieties.

After Borlaug received the Nobel peace Prize 1970 for spearheading the Green Revolution, he credited Swaminathan for the success. In a letter to Swaminathan, Borlaug wrote, "A great deal of credit must go to you for first recognizing the value of Mexican dwarfs, Had this not occurred… there would not have been a Green Revolution in Asia."

A little known fact about Swaminathan as recorded by his biographer Gita Gopalkrishnan, is that after his post-graduation from IARI in 1949, he was persuaded by family to take the civil services exam and got selected for the Indian Police Services.

But destiny played its hand and the young scientist received the UNESCO Fellowship to study genetics in The Netherlands when he was just 24.

A nationalist to the core, Swaminathan, instead of taking a large British liner that plied between India and the UK, chose to travel in a small Indian vessel named Jal Azad.

By 1950, he had moved to England to work at the Plant Breeding Institute of Cambridge University's School of Agriculture in Trumpington and even earned a PhD. His publications at Cambridge landed Swaminathan a major break to work at the Department of Genetics in the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he was offered a regular faculty position.

The patriot in him declined the offer saying, “I studied genetics to go back to India and produce enough food for my people.” The University renewed its offer when it learnt in March 1954 that even two months after his return to India Swaminathan was jobless.

But the nationalist in the scientist waited for his chance to transform Indian agriculture.

His break came in October 1954 when he became Assistant Cytogeneticist at IARI's Botany Division. Twelve years later, Swaminathan was IARI Director.

He went on to serve as principal secretary, Agriculture Ministry (the only scientist to hold such a high rank in the government) and a Planning Commission member.

Later he was to bring the minimum support price issue centre stage by recommending as chair of a national commission that for agricultural crops farmers must get an MSP that is 50 pc more than the weighted average cost of production. The MSP issue continues to agitate farmers and the government alike.

A 1982 episode aptly describes Swaminathan's personal and world view.

When he was offered the post of DG, International Rice Research Institute, the first Asian to land the job, Swaminathan visited then PM Indira Gandhi to seek permission to leave the government job. She urged him to stay saying he was indispensable.

"If that is the case Madam, it is time for me to go. I feel one must leave when one is still wanted,” quipped the boy whose early childhood was spent at Monkombu, a small village known as the rice bowl of Kerala.

The paddy fields of Monkombu kindled Swaminathan's early interest in agriculture – a cause he served till his last breath through MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, set up with the cash reward of USD 2,00,000 that came with the World Food Prize in 1987.

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