Author: Anwar Dil
Translator(s)/Editor: Anwar Dil
Publisher: East West Books
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 636
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8188661333
Description
M S Swaminathan was born in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. He received his B Sc degree in Biology from Travancore University, Trivandrum; B Sc in Agriculture from Madras University, and PhD in Agriculture from University of Cambridge. He has had a distinguished research, teaching, and administrative career at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI); Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural research (ICAR); Secretary of Agriculture, Government of India; deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India; director General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), The Philippines.
He is currently Chairman, M S Swaminathan research Foundation, Chennai (Madras); UNESCI Chair in Ecotechnology; and President, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. He is the recipient of numerous awards, notably Bhatnagar Award (1961), Mendel Memorial Medal (1965), Magsaysay Award (1971), Borlaug Award (1979), Einstein World Science Award (1986), first World Food Prize (1987), Padma Vibhushan Award by President of India (1989), UNESCO Gandhi gold Medal (1999), Roosevelt four Freedoms Award (2000), Toda Award for Peace Achievement (2002), and forty-five honorary doctorate degrees from around the world. He is the author of over three hundred research papers and several books. The Time Magazine ranked him among the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th century alongside Gandhi and Tagore.
REVIEWS
Acclaimed internationally for his pioneering contributions to agricultural science and practical application of his scientific genius for modernization of agriculture and enhancement of food production, Dr Swaminathan stands out with rare distinction in the scientific community. Our fight against hunger through the success of the Green Revolution owed a lot to his effort. In his pursuit of scientific research he has consistently emphasized sustainable agriculture and an environment-friendly approach. His scientific insights have opened new frontiers of success for our nation.
-K R Narayanan, Former President of India
A renowned scientist-statesman, Professor M S Swaminathan brings to his work the compassion of a humanist, critical and exploratory ability of a scientist and the philosophy vision of a planetary citizen. His scientific research for food and nutrition security has the overarching commitment to ecological preservation, poverty eradication, empowerment of women, social equity and above all promotion of human and moral values. Mahatma Gandhi’s concepts of sarvodaya and antyodaya remain central to his scientific work. Dr Anwarl Dil’s book outlines his outstanding contributions to the success of the green revolution and his efforts to transform it to an ever-green revolution by making it pro-nature, pro-women and pro-poor.
-Dr Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
No figure in the second half of the 20th Century has done more than MS Swaminthan to improve the conditions of life of the world’s poor. He has brought extraordinary humanistic vision and profound commitment to human development to all of his scientific accomplishments. During a period when science has been moving forward with unprecedented ed success, M S Swaminathan ahs been at the forefront of international and Indian efforts to ensure that those successes are translated into better lives for the poor and marginalized. No other figure in recent decades has contributed so abundantly to development that is, in his words, pro-poor, pro-women, pro-job, and pro-environment.
-Prof James Gustave Speth, Yale University; Former Administrator, UNDP
As a scientist and researcher, as a pioneer of the Green Revolution, as an advisor and policy maker, and above all as a leader, In recall with admiration the great efforts undertaken and the strides made by Dr Swaminathan in the relentless struggle to find sustainable ways to achieve man’s basic right to food.
-Dr Jacques Diouf, Director General, FAO
I can think of no one who has combined the insights of the cutting edges of Biological science, with attention to the most urgent of human needs, with the competence, devotion and energy that Dr M S Swaminathan has given. The world is and will be a better place on account of his contribution to its welfare.
-Dr Joshua Lederberg
Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Physiology
Dr M S Swaminathan has served as a mentor and guide for me and thousands of others who have dedicated their professional lives to the betterment of humankind through agricultural development and alleviation of hunger and poverty. He is truly a giant in the agricultural development field and his contributions are many and most significant. I am delighted that Professor Anwar Dil has made available this book on Dr Swaminathan and his legacy.
-Prof Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Cornell University; World food Laureate; Former Director-General, International Food Policy Research Institute
Dr M S Swaminathan has made an outstanding contribution to the world, and while preserving our environment he has made people its beneficiary. The people of the world will always be indebted to him, not only for his innovative approaches, his research, and the many books and articles he ahs written, but for the leadership role he has taken in all areas for the preservation of our planet. I welcome this important book on Dr Swaminathan’s life and work by Professor Anwar Dil in his On this Earth Together Series.
-Dr Norman E Borlaug, Nobel Peace Laureate; Distinguished Professor of International Agriculture, Texas A & M University
Dr Swaminathan is a great humanitarian, an international scientist, and a bold and imaginative visionary. The results of his efforts have had a multiplier effect, helping small farmers to produce more food, increase incomes, and protect the environment. This has resulted in the elimination of major source of discord and conflict.
-Dr Ismail Serageldin,
Former Vice-President, World Bank
This is the fifth volume prepared by Dr Anwar Dil to record the life and work of persons who have made an outstanding contribution to the eradication of hunger and poverty, Dr Swaminathan is not only a scientific genius, but also a great thinker, philosopher, and a remarkable human being, Al of us owe a debt of gratitude to Anwar Dil for capturing in this volume Swaminathan’s monumental contribution to the well-being of humankind.
-Sartaj Aziz, Former Minister of Agriculture, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Pakistan
Contents
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
List of Illustrations
M S Swaminathan: A Biographical Profile
Foreword
Life and Work of M S Swaminathan-An Introductory Essay
PART I- SELECTED WRITINGS BY M S SWAMINATHAN
A. Toward a Hunger-Free India
B. Towards a Hunger-Free World
PART II-LIFE AND WORK OF M S SWAMINATHAN-CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES
Section 1: Selected Interviews
Section 2: Excerpts from Archives
Section 3: Excerpts from Press Coverage
Section 4: Excerpts from Selected Citations of Honorary Doctorate Degrees and Awards
Section 5: Selected Prefaces, Forewords, and Introductions to M S Swaminathan’s Books
Section 6: Selected Sections from Books on M S Swaminathan
INDEX