Agricultural Scientist M S Swaminathan Passes Away: Know All About Father of India's Green Revolution

Father of India's Green Revolution M S Swaminathan passed away Thursday. He was aged 98.

He is survived by his wife Mina, and three daughters Soumya Swaminathan, Madhura Swaminathan, and Nitya Swaminathan.

According to reports, he breathed his last at his residence in Chennai around 11.45 am. The celebrated agriculture icon was being treated for age-related illness for quite some time, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation sources said.

Who Was He?

Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, who was an agronomist, agricultural scientist, plant geneticist, administrator, and humanitarian, held a distinguished position as a global leader of the green revolution.

Swaminathan had played a pivotal role in the introduction and advancement of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice in India.

Swaminathan made significant contributions to fundamental research on potato, wheat, and rice, focusing on areas like cytogenetics, ionizing radiation, and radiosensitivity. Additionally, he has held the position of President at both the Pugwash Conferences and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In 1999, TIME magazine recognized him as one of the '20 Most Influential Asian People of the 20th Century', joining the ranks of Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. This esteemed list also featured influential figures like Eiji Toyoda, Dalai Lama, and Mao Zedong from India and other parts of Asia.

His collaborative scientific endeavors, particularly with Norman Borlaug, involved spearheading a mass movement engaging farmers and fellow scientists, reinforced by supportive public policies. This collective effort proved instrumental in averting famine-like conditions in India and Pakistan during the 1960s.

Swaminathan's leadership as the Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines led to his deserving recognition with the inaugural World Food Prize in 1987, a prestigious accolade often regarded as the Nobel Prize of the agricultural domain.

The United Nations Environment Programme has aptly dubbed him 'the Father of Economic Ecology'.

He had numerous awards and recognitions, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award, and the Albert Einstein World Science Award.

In 2004, MSS chaired the National Commission on Farmers (NCF), offering far-reaching recommendations to enhance India's farming system.

As the founder of a research foundation named after him, he coined the term 'Evergreen Revolution' in 1990 to embody his vision of "productivity in perpetuity without associated ecological harm".

He was nominated for Rajya Sabha for a single term from 2007 to 2013. During his tenure, he presented a bill advocating for the recognition of women farmers in India; however, it ultimately lapsed.