BENGALURU: The life’s work of prolific scientist Prof MS Swaminathan, regarded as the father of Green Revolution, including his unpublished writings and administrative notes, have been made public at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS). His works spanning over 80 years comprise 48,000 archival papers, will be available for public research at the NCBS archives.
The gigantic task of organising the archives was led by archivist Venkat Srinivasan. The papers include the works of Swaminathan while he was attached with various institutions and committees, as well as correspondences, research notes, media clippings, photographs and published works. Some of the material dates back to the 1930s.
“Swaminathan, unlike many others before him, was able to link science to society. I laud the dedication for the launch of a comprehensive collection of archival materials over eight decades of his life,” said Dr Vijay Raghavan, former Principal Scientific Advisor to the Central government.
Dr Ashok Kumar Singh, Director of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), said that the Green Revolution has had an impact on people’s access to food and public policy, as well as changed the name of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, adding that it played a significant role in the enactment of the National Food Security Act.
Srinivasan credited MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) for the launch of the papers.
“Dr Parasuraman of MSSRF is to be credited for his painstaking efforts undertaken to preserve this material for future generations. Many archivists and student interns have worked over the last two years to catalogue and prepare the material,” he said. The papers had been donated to the archive from MSSRF trustees.