Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Sarabhai | |
---|---|
Sarabhai in 1971 | |
Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation | |
In office 1969–1971 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | M. G. K. Menon |
Chairman of the Indian National Committee for Space Research | |
In office 1963–1969 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Chairperson of the Atomic Energy Commission of India | |
In office 1966–1971 | |
Preceded by | Homi J. Bhabha |
Succeeded by | H.N. Sethna |
Personal details | |
Born | Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (1919-08-12)12 August 1919[1] Ahmedabad, Bombay Presidency, British India (now in Gujarat, India) |
Died | 30 December 1971(1971-12-30) (aged 52) Halcyon Castle, Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala, India |
Spouse | Mrinalini Sarabhai (m.1942; died.2016) |
Children | Mallika Sarabhai (daughter) Kartikeya Sarabhai (son) |
Parent(s) | Ambalal Sarabhai (father) |
Alma mater | University of Cambridge (BA, PhD) |
Known for | Indian space program Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad |
Awards | Padma Bhushan (1966) Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) (1972) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physics |
Institutions | Indian Space Research Organisation Physical Research Laboratory |
Doctoral advisor | C. V. Raman |
Doctoral students | Udupi Ramachandra Rao |
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped to develop nuclear power in India. Often regarded as the "Father of Indian space program",[2] Sarabhai was honored with Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) in 1972.
Personal life
Vikram Sarabhai was born on 12 August 1919 in a Gujarati Jain family, in Ahmedabad, India.[3][4] His father was Ambalal Sarabhai a major industrialist committed to the Indian independence movement.[5][1] Vikram Sarabhai married the classical dancer Mrinalini in 1942. The couple had two children. His daughter Mallika gained prominence as an actress and activist, and his son Kartikeya too became an active person in science. He attended Gujarat College, Ahmedabad, but later moved to the University of Cambridge, England, where he took his tripos in natural sciences in 1940.[6] In 1945 he returned to Cambridge to pursue his PhD and wrote a thesis, "Cosmic Ray Investigations in Tropical Latitudes", in 1947.[6]
Professional life
Known as the cradle of space sciences in India, the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) was founded in 1947 by Vikram Sarabhai.[7] PRL had a modest beginning at his residence, the "RETREAT", with research on cosmic rays.
The institute was formally established at the M.G. Science Institute, Ahmedabad, on 11 November 1947[8] with support from the Karmkshetra Educational Foundation and the Ahmedabad Education Society. Kalpathi Ramakrishna Ramanathan was the first Director of the institute. The initial focus was research on cosmic rays and the properties of the upper atmosphere. Research areas were expanded to include theoretical physics and radio physics later with grants from the Atomic Energy Commission. He led the Sarabhai family-owned business conglomerate.
His interests varied from science to sports to statistics. He set up the Operations Research Group (ORG), the first market research organization in the country. Most notable among the many institutes he helped set up are the Nehru Foundation for Development in Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), and the Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA). Along with his wife Mrinalini Sarabhai, he founded the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts. Other projects and institutions initiated or established by him include the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) in Kalpakkam, Variable Energy Cyclotron Project in Calcutta, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in Hyderabad and Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in Jaduguda, Jharkhand. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian cosmodrome.[7] He was the founder of Indian Space Research Organisation.
Death
On 30 December 1971, Sarabhai was to review the SLV design before his departure for Bombay the same night. He had spoken to A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on the telephone. Within an hour into the conversation, Sarabhai died of cardiac arrest at the age of 52 in Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram). His body was cremated in Ahmedabad.
Distinguished positions
- President of the Physics section,Indian Science Congress (1962)
- President of the General Conference of the I.A.E.A., Vienna (1970)
- Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (1966–1971)[9][10]
- Vice-president, Fourth UN Conference on 'Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy' (1971)
- Founder and Chairman (1963–1971), Space Applications Centre[11]
Legacy
- The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC), which is the Indian Space Research Organization's lead facility for launch vehicle development located in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, is named in his memory.
- Along with other Ahmedabad-based industrialists, he played a major role in setting up of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
- Indian Postal Department released a commemorative Postal Stamp On his first death anniversary (30 December 1972)
- In 1973, the International Astronomical Union decided that a lunar crater, Bessel A, in the Sea of Serenity will be known as the Sarabhai crater.[12][13]
- The lander on India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-2 which was to land near the South Pole of the Moon on Sep 20, 2019 was named Vikram in his honour.
- Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC) located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat is named after him. Vikram Sarabhai established this institute around the 1960s.
- Former World Quiz Champion Vikram Joshi was named after him.
- A Space Museum was dedicated to him at B M Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad on 26 July 2019. The museum was curated by Pranav Sharma.[14][15]
- ISRO's Vikas (rocket engine) is named after him.
- On his 100th birthday on 12 August 2019, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced an award in the name of Vikram Sarabhai. The Vikram Sarabhai Journalism award in Space Science Technology and Research will be given to those journalists who have contributed to the fields of space science, applications, and research.[16]
In popular culture
On 12 August 2019, Google's Doodle for India commemorated Sarabhai's 100th birth anniversary.[17] On 30 September 2020, ACK Media along with ISRO released a book namely, Vikram Sarabhai: Pioneering India's Space Programme. It was released in Amar Chitra Katha's digital platform and merchandise, ACK Comics.[citation needed]
A 2022 web-series Rocket Boys was based on the fictionalized lives of Sarabhai and Homi J. Bhabha, played by Ishwak Singh and Jim Sarbh respectively
In the 2022 film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect based on Nambi Narayanan's life, Sarabhai was played by Rajit Kapur in the Hindi version and by Ravi Raghavendra in the Tamil version.[18][19][20][21]
References
- ^ a b Shah, Amrita (2007). Amrita Shah - Vikram Sarabhai - A Life. Penguin. p. 97. ISBN 9780670999514.
- ^ "Dr. Vikram Sarabhai". Master Control facility - Department Of Space - Government Of India. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "formerchairman". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Jains steal the show with 7 Padmas". The Times of India. 9 April 2015. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Entrepreneurship and Industry in India, 1800-1947. Oxford University Press. 1992. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-19-562806-7.
The Sarabhais and the Lalbhais, the town's two most prominent entrepreneurial families, were Banias prominent as shroffs.
- ^ a b Goyal, Shikha (12 August 2019). "Vikram Sarabhai founder of ISRO 100th Birthday: All you need to know". Jagran Josh. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ a b R., Parthasarathy (3 April 2003). "Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971): Architect of Indian space programme". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 May 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "BRIEF HISTORY". Physical Research Laboratory, Department of Space, Government of India. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ "From the Archives (May 23, 1969): Sarabhai assails faltering nuclear policy". The Hindu. 23 May 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Former Chairmen of Atomic Energy Commission" (PDF). Government of India Department of Atomic Energy. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Space Applications Centre". www.sac.gov.in. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ Antonín Rükl: Atlas Měsíce, Aventinum (Praha 1991), chapter Bessel, page 74, ISBN 80-85277-10-7 (in Czech)
- ^ Sarabhai (crater) – "Planetary Names: Sarabhai on Moon;". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, IAU, USGS, NASA. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ "Space Museum opened at Hyderabad with ISRO Collaboration - ISRO". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Birla Science Centre's Pranav Sharma gets REX Karmaveer Award". The Hindu. 6 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "ISRO announces Vikram Sarabhai awards for journalism in the fields of space science, applications, and research". Firstpost. 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Vikram Sarabhai's 100th Birthday".
- ^ "'Rocket Boys' gets Vikram Sarabhai wrong". The Indian Express. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Why Rocket Boys didn't need to take so many creative liberties". Mintlounge. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "As a Historian of the Nuclear Program, I Can Only Laugh at the Howlers in Rocket Boys". The Wire. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "'Rocket Boys' Begins Well, Then Turns Into Hagiography With a Blatantly Communal Touch". The Wire. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
External links
- Interview with biographer Amrita Shah recorded in August 2013
- Great Scientists at freeindia.org
Government offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Position created | ISRO Chairman 1963–1971 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- Ebrahim Alkazi
- Kishori Amonkar
- Prabha Atre
- Amitabh Bachchan
- Teejan Bai
- M. Balamuralikrishna
- T. Balasaraswati
- S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
- Asha Bhosle
- Nandalal Bose
- Hariprasad Chaurasia
- Chiranjeevi
- Girija Devi
- Kumar Gandharva
- Adoor Gopalakrishnan
- Satish Gujral
- Gangubai Hangal
- Bhupen Hazarika
- M. F. Husain
- Zakir Hussain
- Ilaiyaraaja
- Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
- Bhimsen Joshi
- Ali Akbar Khan
- Amjad Ali Khan
- Allauddin Khan
- Bismillah Khan
- Ghulam Mustafa Khan
- Yamini Krishnamurthy
- Dilip Kumar
- R. K. Laxman
- Birju Maharaj
- Kishan Maharaj
- Lata Mangeshkar
- Sonal Mansingh
- Mallikarjun Mansur
- Zubin Mehta
- Mario Miranda
- Chhannulal Mishra
- Kelucharan Mohapatra
- Raghunath Mohapatra
- Jasraj Motiram
- Benode Behari Mukherjee
- Hrishikesh Mukherjee
- Rajinikanth
- Ram Narayan
- D. K. Pattammal
- K. Shankar Pillai
- Balwant Moreshwar Purandare
- Akkineni Nageswara Rao
- Kaloji Narayana Rao
- Satyajit Ray
- S. H. Raza
- Zohra Sehgal
- Uday Shankar
- Ravi Shankar
- V. Shantaram
- Shivkumar Sharma
- Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman
- M. S. Subbulakshmi
- K. G. Subramanyan
- Kapila Vatsyayan
- Homai Vyarawalla
- K. J. Yesudas
- Bimala Prasad Chaliha
- Naresh Chandra
- T. N. Chaturvedi
- Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri
- Suranjan Das
- Rajeshwar Dayal
- Basanti Devi
- P. N. Dhar
- Jyotindra Nath Dixit
- M. S. Gill
- Hafiz Mohamad Ibrahim
- H. V. R. Iyengar
- Bhola Nath Jha
- Dattatraya Shridhar Joshi
- Ajudhiya Nath Khosla
- Rai Krishnadasa
- V. Krishnamurthy
- P. Prabhakar Kumaramangalam
- Pratap Chandra Lal
- K. B. Lall
- Sam Manekshaw
- Om Prakash Mehra
- Mohan Sinha Mehta
- M. G. K. Menon
- Brajesh Mishra
- Sumati Morarjee
- A. Ramasamy Mudaliar
- Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda
- Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan
- Braj Kumar Nehru
- Bhairab Dutt Pande
- Ghananand Pande
- Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
- T. V. Rajeswar
- C. R. Krishnaswamy Rao
- Pattadakal Venkanna R. Rao
- V. K. R. V. Rao
- Bipin Rawat
- Khusro Faramurz Rustamji
- Harish Chandra Sarin
- Binay Ranjan Sen
- Homi Sethna
- Arjan Singh
- Harbaksh Singh
- Kirpal Singh
- Manmohan Singh
- Tarlok Singh
- Lallan Prasad Singh
- Balaram Sivaraman
- Chandrika Prasad Srivastava
- T. Swaminathan
- Arun Shridhar Vaidya
- Dharma Vira
- Narinder Nath Vohra
education
- V. S. R. Arunachalam
- Jagdish Bhagwati
- Satyendra Nath Bose
- Tara Chand
- Suniti Kumar Chatterji
- D. P. Chattopadhyaya
- Bhabatosh Datta
- Avinash Dixit
- Mahasweta Devi
- John Kenneth Galbraith
- Sarvepalli Gopal
- Lakshman Shastri Joshi
- Kaka Kalelkar
- Dhondo Keshav Karve
- Gopinath Kaviraj
- Radheshyam Khemka
- Kuvempu
- O. N. V. Kurup
- Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
- Sitakant Mahapatra
- John Mathai
- Kotha Satchidananda Murthy
- Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir
- Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri
- Bal Ram Nanda
- R. K. Narayan
- P. Parameswaran
- Amrita Pritam
- K. N. Raj
- C. Rangarajan
- Raja Rao
- Ramoji Rao
- Hormasji Maneckji Seervai
- Rajaram Shastri
- Kalu Lal Shrimali
- Govindbhai Shroff
- Khushwant Singh
- Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh
- Premlila Vithaldas Thackersey
- Mahadevi Varma
- Bashir Hussain Zaidi
- L. K. Advani
- Montek Singh Ahluwalia
- Aruna Asaf Ali
- Fazal Ali
- Adarsh Sein Anand
- Madhav Shrihari Aney
- Parkash Singh Badal
- Sikander Bakht
- Milon K. Banerji
- Mirza Hameedullah Beg
- P. N. Bhagwati
- Raja Chelliah
- Chandra Kisan Daphtary
- Niren De
- C. D. Deshmukh
- Anthony Lancelot Dias
- Uma Shankar Dikshit
- Kazi Lhendup Dorjee
- George Fernandes
- P. B. Gajendragadkar
- Benjamin Gilman
- Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
- Zakir Husain
- V. R. Krishna Iyer
- Jagmohan
- Lakshmi Chand Jain
- Arun Jaitley
- Aditya Nath Jha
- Murli Manohar Joshi
- Anerood Jugnauth
- Mehdi Nawaz Jung
- Ali Yavar Jung
- Vijay Kelkar
- Hans Raj Khanna
- V. N. Khare
- Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher
- Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai
- Jivraj Narayan Mehta
- V. K. Krishna Menon
- Hirendranath Mukherjee
- Ajoy Mukherjee
- Pranab Mukherjee
- Padmaja Naidu
- Venkaiah Naidu
- Gulzarilal Nanda
- Govind Narain
- Fali Sam Nariman
- Hosei Norota
- Nanabhoy Palkhivala
- K. Parasaran
- Hari Vinayak Pataskar
- Sunder Lal Patwa
- Sharad Pawar
- Naryana Raghvan Pillai
- Sri Prakasa
- N. G. Ranga
- Ravi Narayana Reddy
- Y. Venugopal Reddy
- Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq
- Lakshmi Sahgal
- P. A. Sangma
- M. C. Setalvad
- Kalyan Singh
- Karan Singh
- Nagendra Singh
- Swaran Singh
- Walter Sisulu
- Soli Sorabjee
- Kalyan Sundaram
- Sushma Swaraj
- Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee
- M. N. Venkatachaliah
- Kottayan Katankot Venugopal
- Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
- S. M. Krishna
- Mulayam Singh Yadav
engineering
- V. K. Aatre
- Salim Ali
- Norman Borlaug
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
- Rajagopala Chidambaram
- Charles Correa
- Satish Dhawan
- Anil Kakodkar
- A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
- Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan
- Har Gobind Khorana
- Daulat Singh Kothari
- Verghese Kurien
- Raghunath Anant Mashelkar
- G. Madhavan Nair
- Roddam Narasimha
- Jayant Narlikar
- Rajendra K. Pachauri
- Benjamin Peary Pal
- Yash Pal
- I. G. Patel
- Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
- K. R. Ramanathan
- Raja Ramanna
- C. R. Rao
- C. N. R. Rao
- Palle Rama Rao
- Udupi Ramachandra Rao
- Vikram Sarabhai
- Man Mohan Sharma
- Obaid Siddiqi
- E. Sreedharan
- M. R. Srinivasan
- George Sudarshan
- M. S. Swaminathan
- Narinder Singh Kapany
- S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan
- Portal
- Category
- WikiProject