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On National Science Day, remembering India's original 'Rocket Boys'
moneycontrol.com – 28 Feb, 2022
National Science Day is observed every year to
mark the birth anniversary of Indian
scientist Dr CV Raman. Dr Raman won the
Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for the discovery
of the theory which explained the scattering of
light, which came to be known as the “Raman
Effect”. In recent days, the phrase “Rocket
Boys” has been synonymous with the mega hit
web series that tells the story of Dr Homi
Jehangir Bhabha, who is deemed the architect
of India’s nuclear energy programme, and Dr
Vikram Sarabhai, who is considered the father
of India’s space programme. The show, many
would say, has contributed to making science a
topic of drawing room conversation.
The two highly respected and self-motivated
men joined forces to formulate India’s space
programme. On National Science Day, here is a
look at the lives of India's original 'Rocket
Boys'. Born into a prominent Parsi family in
Mumbai, Dr Homi J Bhabha is known as the
“Father of India’s Nuclear Science
Programme”. He established the Tata Institute
of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai in
1945. Three years later, he proposed the
forming of the Atomic Energy Commission in
Space @ aglance Library&DocumentationDivision,LPSC
February 28, 2022
India. With a go-ahead from then prime
minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the body was set up
and Dr Bhabha was made chairman. For his
contribution to science and engineering, he
was awarded the country's highest civilian
award, Padma Bhushan, in 1954. He also
presided over the first United Nations
Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic
Energy. He died in an aircrash in Switzerland in
1966.
Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the award-winning
physicist, established Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). The premier instirute was
initially called the Indian National Committee
for Space Research when it was set up in 1962,
and later renamed ISRO. He received immense
help and support from Dr Bhabha in his
endeavours. He helped Sarabhai set up the
country’s first rocket launching station near
Thiruvananthapuram, complete with advanced
infrastructure, skilled staff, and launch pads. Its
first flight took off on November 21, 1963. Dr
Sarabhai born in an affluent family of
industrialists on August 12, 1919, in Gujarat’s
Ahmedabad. He attended Gujarat Arts and
Science College before graduating from
Cambridge University with a doctorate. He was
honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1966. Padma
Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian
award, was conferred on him posthumously in
1972. He died in December 1971 at the age of
52, due to a cardiac arrest.
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