Dr Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (MSS), widely considered to be the father of the Green Revolution in India, is no more.
Industrial Economist had a very close relationship with Dr MSS. He was a regular at our office in Guindy, Chennai for several years – as Chairman of our IE Business Excellence Award, member of the silver jubilee celebrations and participant in several functions over the years – whether related to agriculture or other sectors. His unassuming nature and soft voice masked his drive and intellect and those came out in full force multiple times when he rallied an august group of CEOs and academic heads into decision making mode.
In reminiscing with IE several years ago, he shared the story of his foray into agriculture. His father was a doctor and after completing his bachelors in zoology, he too was all set to pursue medicine and become a doctor. The severe famine in Bengal in 1943 that resulted in the loss of millions of lives and his interest in wanting to specialise in agricultural research, made him rethink career pathways. With another degree from the Madras Agricultural College and Indian Agricultural Research Institute, he started looking at ways to focus on this mission of addressing hunger through improved food production.
His early pivotal work came in the sixties when he worked closely with Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug, the celebrated agricultural scientist, to develop high-yielding varieties of rice that could withstand India’s inconsistent agricultural conditions – be in soil, water or weather. At that time, India imported more than 10 million tonnes in what was referred to as the “ship to mouth” era. Dr MSS’s work on these new varieties, with focused irrigation and fertiliser usages resulted in a massive rise in wheat production and in just 4-5 years, we were self-sufficient in production.
Dr MSS had an amazing blend of knowledge and skills. His success came from agriculture and field work initially and later on using his brand, marketing and PR to raise the awareness of broader issues around agriculture, sustainability and environment – primarily through the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.
He was recognised with the holy trinity of ‘Padmas’ – the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. This, in addition to several global recognitions, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Albert Einstein World Award of Science and the World Food Prize.
