Ruchi Ram Sahni to Homi Bhabha via Birbal Sahni and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar: A perspective

The Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) are my alma maters. I had the good fortune to contribute to the nucleation of the commemoration of Birth Centenary of Homi Bhabha at TIFR a few years ago. Destiny has now provided me an opportunity to learn and spread awareness about the rich heritage of the icons of PU via the 150th Birth Year Commemoration of Ruchi Ram Sahni (1863-1948), a persona with many lives.

Prof. Ruchi Ram Sahni (RRS), amongst other dimensions, is better known nationally via his son Dr. Birbal Sahni (1891-1949), FRS and for his mentoring of Dr. S.S. Bhatnagar (1894-1955), FRS, who were the first Botanist and the first Chemist, respectively, from India to be elected Fellows of the Royal Society, London. The Government of India has accepted to release a commemorative stamp on RRS in October, 2013 and the Films Division is working on a documentary on RRS and 150 years of higher education in Punjab, in association with the PU, as the Government College, Lahore (now a Deemed University), the nucleus of the University of Punjab at Lahore in pre-independent India (established, October 14, 1882), was initiated in January, 1864. Birbal Sahni, SS Bhatnagar (SSB) and Homi J. Bhabha (HJB) had not only supported each other, but were independently close to Pandit Nehru as well.

I propose to enumerate inspiring facts and interesting connections between SSB and HJB during the formative years of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and TIFR, whose importance, I became conscious of since my movement to the PU Campus about a year ago.

*On leave of absence from DCMP&MS, TIFR, Mumbai.