A ‘Padma Vibhushan’ for GNR…
Professor GN Ramachandran [GNR] is a tall figure in the world of structural biology. In the year when India is commemorating her 75th year independence the author refers to the phenomenal contribution of GNR and suggests conferring the Padma Vibhushan posthumously on this renowned deprived genius.
Some of us who were associated with the AC College of Technology during 1950-70s, in the then Madras metro, are fortunate to have been impacted by the inspirational value of an intellectual giant.
HIS THREE REMARKABLE DISCOVERIES…
While many great thinkers in science would be happy even with one remarkable scientific discovery that impacted the world. Prof GNR had three. The Madras Triple Helical structure of collagen proposed by him with limited tools and equipment early as in 1954 remains basically the frame work even 68 years after its discovery, speaks volume of his intellectual stature. When there was criticism from his peers about the possibility of some details of the Madras Triple Helical structure could be in error, he developed the famous Ramachandran plot which has now reached a bible like stature in the world of protein conformation. It is a citation classic. It has proved the test of time and could also be considered to have opened the field of bioinformatics. His work on image reconstruction and use anomalous dispersion to solve crystal structure are all forerunners in the knowledge domain.
Prof GNR belongs to the genre of scientists that Acharya JC Bose would have groped as those who led to the Advancement of World’s science. Certain branches of GNR’s work as those whose ‘Foundation of the branch of knowledge: owed their birth to India.’ Such was the intellectual excellence of GNR’s work that it drew the attention of the world of science in his own time and has proved its validity in the universality of time.
| Three major discoveries 1. In 1954, he along with Gopinath Kartha proposed the ‘Triple helical structure of collagen’ using X-ray diffraction. 2. Ramachandran and his colleagues, V Sasisekharan and C Ramakrishnan, introduced a two-dimensional map that is today known as the “Ramachandran phi -psi diagram” or simply “Ramachandran plot,” which has become a standard description of protein structures. 3. Ramachandran along with A.V. Lakshminarayanan established a three-dimensional image reconstruction in 1971. This has been greatly adopted for developing Computer Assisted Tomography [CTScan]. |
A DEPRIVED GENIUS…
An eminent scientist, Dr D Balasubramaniam, with exceptional ability in science communication, wrote a feature article in The Hindu several years ago and lamented that Prof GNR was not decorated the Nobel Prize and most appropriately he chose to term ‘the Prize that missed the master.’ My friend Dr SK Das of
IIT Madras, in an article on the birth centenary of GNR, terms GNR as a deprived genius. This year being the birth centenary year of Prof GNR, many organisations are organising commemorative events and scientific discourses. Even after a lapse of 21 years since his death, Prof GNR evokes respect among a large number of scientists in the world including Nobel Laurettes.
Nobel Prize might have missed the master. Should Padma awards as civilian honours miss and belong to the same category? In the year when India is commemorating her 75th-year independence, decision-makers can correct an inadvertent error and confer the Padma Vibhushan posthumously on Prof GNR and respect the genius who helped India earn her place in the federation of science as Sir C Bose would have wished!
The posthumous recognition will do no honour to the honoured but save the honour of those engaged in honouring. This is an appeal to my government to make the genius not remain deprived.
Dr T Ramasami is a former Secretary to the Government of India,
Ministry of Science and Technology & Distinguished Professor (Hony),
Anna University, Chennai.
