Visionary Indian agronomist MS Swaminathan, who was hailed as the Father of the Green Revolution, passed away due to age-related ailments at the age of 98 years in Chennai on Thursday. Swaminathan was known for being the main architect of green revolution in India. He was called "The Father of Economic Ecology" by the United Nations Environment Programme. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan is survived by three daughters - Soumya Swaminathan who served as chief scientist at the World Health Organization, Madhura Swaminathan and Nitya Rao. His wife Mina passed away in 2022.
MS Swaminathan was born in Kumbakonam on August 7, 1925. He was the second son of surgeon MK Sambasivan and Parvati Thangammal from Alappuzha in Kerala.
Swaminathan's parents wanted him to pursue medicine but he dedicated his life to agriculture to ensure that India had adequate food and prevent famine. The agriculture scientist made the decision after seeing the effects of the Bengal famine of 1943 during the Second World War and the shortages of rice across the sub-continent.
Bringing innovations to Indian agriculture in the 1960s and 1970s, Swaminathan's work prevented massive famine and helped the nation become self-sufficient in food production.
In 1987, Swaminathan's leadership as Director General of International Rice Research Institute (IRR) won him the first World Food Prize. The award is considered an equivalent to Nobel or highest prize in the field of agriculture. Following his achievement, he set up MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai's Tharamani.
From then till now, he has won over 40 awards for his achievements in the field of agriculture. Swaminathan was honoured with Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. He was also conferred with international awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1971) and the Albert Einstein World Science Award (1986). He was also recognised as one of Time magazine's top 20 Asians of the 20th century.