The scientist who saw tomorrow

PUBLIC POLICY:Ensuring assured and remunerative prices to farmers by setting up an Agricultural Prices Commission, authorising the Food Corporation of India to purchase all marketable surplus available with farmers at the floor price announced prior to the sowing of the crops.

Jacob Bronowski wrote in his book Science and Human Values over 40 years ago: `Science must encourage the single scientist to be independent and the body of scientists to be tolerant’.

The same is true in the case of Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam as a political leader. He remained refreshingly independent and original in his thought until the very end. Like Jawaharlal Nehru, he too was convinced that a scientific temper must permeate our life and action, if we are to make significant contributions. He shared Bronowski’s view that `men have asked for freedom, justice and respect precisely when the scientific spirit has spread among them’.

It is this independent thinking backed up by a strong analytical and intuitive mind, that, like Martin Luther King, CS remarked when he became Union Minister for Food and Agriculture in 1964 that `we shall overcome’ the problem of food scarcity.

Subramaniam took over this portfolio at a time when India was being described internationally as a country destined to lead a “ship-to-mouth” existence. Paul and William Paddock in their book Famine even went to the extent of stating that the fate of Indians would be the same as sheep going to a slaughter house, implying Indians will have no option except to die of hunger. It was our nation’s fortune that CS accepted the agriculture portfolio under such a climate of despair and pessimism. CS was convinced that through synergy between technology and public policy, seemingly impossible tasks could be achieved.

On the very day he joined as Agriculture Minister, CS convened a meeting of scientists, which I had the good fortune of attending this meeting. He said all countries which had made spectacular progress in agriculture have done so through concurrent attention to mutually reinforcing packages of technology, services and public policies. In all these areas, CS took immediate action on the basis of wide-ranging consultations among scientists, farmers, economists and administrators. Some of his significant policy decisions covered the areas of technology, public policy, and pricin.

It is the first time in Indian agricultural history that such a holistic view of agricultural transformation was taken. CS knew that good ideas need capable and dedicated individuals. to implement them. Thus, he chose Dr. B.P. Pal to head the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, T.A. Pai to head the Food Corporation, Dr. G.V. Chalam to head the National Seeds Corporation and Dr.V. Kurien to head the National Dairy Development Board. He chose outstanding administrators like B. Sivaraman to serve as Agricultural Secretary and S. Venkitaramanan (who later became the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India) and P.B. Krishnaswami as his secretaries. It is this ability to chalk out a well-defined action plan and get the right people to implement it that helped CS to shape the future of Indian agriculture.

Thanks to the steps he initiated, wheat production in India went up from about 10 million tonnes in 1964 to 17 million tonnes in 1968. Considering that wheat cultivation started in India over 4,000 years ago and that as a result of the progress made during all these years, we reached a production level of 6 million tonnes in 1947, the steps CS took helped Indian farmers to achieve in a period of four years the same amount of progress witnessed during the preceding 4,000 years.

Thus, it can be rightly said that his tenure as Union Agriculture Minister was a significant landmark in India’s agricultural destiny. His conviction that `we shall overcome’ came true, and Indira Gandhi released a special stamp titled `Wheat Revolution’ in 1968.

While his contributions as Agriculture Minister were important because of their far-reaching impact, he also paved the way to imparting a long-term vision to Indian agriculture through his chairing the National Commission on Agriculture.

CS’ abiding interest in science led him to organise a Science Summit at Bangalore two years ago on behalf of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and to the end of his life, he was convinced that India needs a National Science Commission to help the nation bridge the growing technological, digital, demographic and economic divides separating nations and communities within nations. His passion to assist the farming community led to his establishing an agricultural foundation last year for the purpose of assisting them to enhance yield and income by identifying the missing nutrients in their soil and by providing the needed micronutrients.

His strength was his childlike curiosity and enthusiasm for good ideas, irrespective of the source — young or old, Indian or foreign. In this respect, I consider him a “scientists’ scientist.” The challenges of this century will require coordinated thinking and action among all those privileged to shape human destiny, in particular, political leaders and scientists. CS has shown the way.

When he was Finance Minister, he introduced, for the first and last time in India’s budget history, a paper on Integrated Rural Development along with other budget papers. This paper is still a classic in rural development literature. By launching India’s agriculture onto a revolutionary pathway, CS stimulated the coining of the immortal phrase `Green Revolution.’ In his life and work, we find the blueprint for providing every child, woman and man opportunities for a productive and healthy life.