Raja Ramanna | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Director General ofDefence research and development organisation | |
| In office 1978-1982 | |
| Preceded by | MGK Menon |
| Succeeded by | VSR Arunachalam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1925-01-28)28 January 1925 |
| Died | 24 September 2004(2004-09-24) (aged 79) Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Citizenship | India |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Nuclear Physics |
| Institutions | |
Raja Ramanna (28 January 1925 – 24 September 2004) was an Indiannuclear physicist. He was the director ofIndia's nuclear program in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which culminated inSmiling Buddha, India's first successfulnuclear weapontest on 18 May 1974.
Ramanna obtained his bachelor's degree inPhysics atMadras University andPhD fromKing's College, London. He joined theTata Institute of Fundamental Research and later theBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to work onnuclear physics. Ramanna worked underHomi Jehangir Bhabha, whom he had met earlier in 1944. He joined thenuclear program in 1964, and later became the director of this program in 1967. Ramanna expanded and supervised scientific research on nuclear weapons and was in charge of the team of scientists atBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) that designed and carried out the testing of the first nuclear device in 1974. Ramanna was associated with India's nuclear program for more than four decades, and also facilitated research for theIndian Armed Forces.
He served in various roles such as Secretary for Defence Research,Government of India (1978–81), Scientific Adviser to theMinister of Defence (1978–81), Director-general ofDefence Research and Development Organisation (1978–82), Chairman ofAtomic Energy Commission (1983–87) and Secretary of theDepartment of Atomic Energy (1983–87). He later became theMinister of state for defence in 1990. He served as aMember of Parliament,Rajya Sabha from 1997 to 2003. Towards the later part of his career, he advocated againstnuclear proliferation and testing.
Ramanna was associated with various academic institutions. He was the founder-director ofNational Institute of Advanced Studies and served as the chairman of board of governors atIIT Bombay. He has been awarded multiplehonorary doctorates by various universities. He was awarded thePadma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian decoration, in 1975. Ramanna died inMumbai in 2004 at the age of 79.
Raja Ramanna was born on 28 January 1925 to Rukmini and Ramanna inTiptur,Princely State of Mysore,British India (now inTumkur district,Karnataka, India).[1] His father was working in the judicial department. Ramanna claimed to have been influenced by his mother's sister Rajamma, who was a government teacher. He did his early schooling at Dalvoy School and Good Shepherd Convent inMysore before moving toBishop Cotton Boys' School inBangalore. Ramanna was interested in music from a young age and began takingpiano lessons at the age of six. He auditioned in front of theMaharaja of Mysore at the age of 12.[2]
He later attendedMadras Christian College, where he graduated with aBSc inphysics from theUniversity of Madras in 1945.[3] Ramanna obtained his master's degree fromBombay University.[4] In 1949, he completed hisPhD innuclear physics fromKing's College inLondon on a scholarship fromTata Group.[5][6]
Ramanna had metHomi J. Bhabha in 1944 and was inspired by his work.[2] In 1949, Ramanna joinedTata Institute of Fundamental Research to work under Bhabha. In 1952, he started working on theIndian nuclear programme at the Atomic Energy Establishment inTrombay (later renamed asBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)).[3][6] In 1957, the first researchnuclear reactorApsara became operational at BARC and Ramanna was part of the team working on the same. He was working onneutron emission studies and research onnuclear fission.[2] In July 1958, thenPrime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru authorized "Project Phoenix" to produceweapon grade Plutonium.[7] In 1957, Ramanna established a training school at BARC to facilitate training of scientists innuclear physics.[6]
In the early 1960s, he was involved in learning and development of know-how to manufacture nuclear weapons. After Bhabha's unexpected death in 1966, the design work on theatomic bomb proceeded under Ramanna, who took charge of the nuclear weapons technology research.[8] WhenIndira Gandhi became the prime minister in 1966, the project for the design and manufacturing of the nuclear device proceeded secretly.[9] The program employed 75 scientists with Ramanna heading the project andP. K. Iyengar serving as his deputy.[10] Later, the weapons programme was directed towards the production ofplutonium rather thanuranium and in 1969, enough plutonium had been accumulated for the production of a single nuclear bomb.[8] In 1968–69, a plutonium fueledfast breeder reactor namedPurnima was established at BARC.[11][12]
In July 1970, physicistB. D. Nagchaudhuri was appointed as the scientific adviser to theDefense Minister and as Director of theDefence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Nagchaudhuri and Ramanna worked together to recruit the team and set up the requirements necessary for anuclear weapon test. In 1971,Homi Sethna succeededVikram Sarabhai as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, completing the leadership group.[11] After India gained military and political initiative over Pakistan in theIndo-Pakistani war of 1971, the work on building a nuclear device continued with Ramanna being appointed as the chairman of BARC in 1972.[13][3]
The hardware for the bomb began to be built in early 1972 and the Prime Minister authorized the development of a nuclear test device in September 1972.[14] The nuclear test was planned for May 1974 with tight control being maintained on all aspects of the preparations of the test, which was conducted in extreme secrecy.[15] The test was code namedSmiling Buddha and called as aPeaceful Nuclear Explosive (PNE).[16] Anuclear fission device was successfully detonated on 18 May 1974 at 8.05IST.[17][18] In 1975, Ramanna was honored with thePadma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award.[19]
Ramanna served as Vice President of theIndian Academy of Sciences from 1977 to 1979 and as President ofIndian National Science Academy inNew Delhi from 1977 to 1978.[2] Post the test, Indira Gandhi authorized preliminary work to commence on the development of afusion boosted fission bomb. Differences in opinion arose between Sethna and Ramanna, which affected the progress of the program.[19] In 1978, then Prime MinisterMorarji Desai moved Ramanna from BARC to made him the secretary of defense research and scientific advisor to theMinistry of Defense.[19] Later, he was also appointed as the Director General of DRDO.[20] In the same year, thenPresident of IraqSaddam Hussein approached Ramanna for help in building a nuclear bomb when Ramanna visitedBaghdad. Ramanna refused and returned to India.[5]
With the return of Indira Gandhi in 1980, the nuclear program gained momentum and Ramanna was re-appointed as the director of BARC.[3] She authorized Ramanna to prepare for further nuclear tests and two new shafts were constructed at thePokhran test range in 1984. Ramanna pushed forward with aUranium enrichment program andDhruva, a new reactor with a capability to produce larger quantities of weapon grade material, was constructed.[19] As a part of the nuclear programme, components for a nuclear fusion bomb were developed but no testing took place. In 1983, Ramanna was made as the secretary of Department of Atomic Energy.[21] In 1984, he was made the chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, which he held for three years.[3] In the same year, Ramanna represented the South Asian and Middle Eastern bloc at theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).[22] Later, he served as the chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Director General of IAEA and as president of the 30th General Conference in 1986.[2] In late 1985, a study group commissioned by the Prime Minister of India consisting of Ramanna and few others, outlined a plan for the production of 70 to 100 nuclear warheads and a strict no first use policy.[19]
In 1990, Ramanna was madeUnion minister of State for defence in theV. P. Singh administration, but the government collapsed a short while later.[3] Later in his career, Ramanna advocated for strict policies to prevent nuclear proliferation and argued against further nuclear testing.[23] He held various academic positions including the chairman of board of Governors atIIT Bombay, chairman of the governing council atIndian Institute of Science and founder director ofNational Institute of Advanced Studies,Bangalore.[5][3][2] He was a nominated member of theRajya Sabha, the upper house of theIndian Parliament from 1997 to 2003.[24]
Ramanna died on 23 September 2004 at the age of 79 due to gastronomical issues.[1][25][26] ThenPresident of IndiaA. P. J. Abdul Kalam said, "The passing away of Dr. Ramanna is a deep personal loss for me as he was a mentor, guide and teacher to me over the years. A towering and multi-faceted personality Dr. Ramanna was always keen to contribute to national development with a sense of mission in any capacity, which was evident in his role as a Union Minister and a Member of Parliament. For us in the science and technology community, he was always a source of inspiration and a guide."[27] P. K. Iyengar wrote “more important legacy is his uncompromising belief in intellectual clarity and rational thinking in every facet of life, and his unwavering belief (which he inherited from Jawaharlal Nehru and Homi Bhabha) that the nation could progress only by embracing science and scientific thinking. The best way to honour his memory is not through eulogies, but by rededicating ourselves to his policies and belief.”[2]
Ramanna had a keen interest in music and trained as amusician. He playedmusical instruments such as thepiano.[5] In 1952, he married Malathi and the couple had three children, two daughters and a son.[28] He was one of the survivors of theAir India Flight 403 that crashed in 1982.[29]
Ramanna was awarded multiplehonorary doctorates by various universities. His major awards include:[2]
Ramanna has authored two books:[5]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Director,Bhabha Atomic Research Centre 1972 - 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Director General,Defence Research and Development Organisation 1978 - 1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman,Atomic Energy Commission of India 1983 - 1987 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Defence 1990 - 1990 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
