The Indian Physicist:  Dr. Raja Ramanna

The Indian Physicist: Dr. Raja Ramanna

Born: 28 January 1925
Died: 24 September 2004

Shri Raja Ramanna was an Indian nuclear physicist born on January 28, 1925, in Tumkur. He played a key role in the development of India’s nuclear weapons program.

 

Ramanna did his schooling at the Bishop Cotton Boys School in Bangalore (Bengaluru). He obtained his bachelor’s degree in physics from Madras Christian College, in 1945. In 1949, he secured a doctoral degree in physics at King’s College London. He joined the Indian nuclear science program that same year at the Atomic Energy Establishment in Trombay. There he worked under physicist Homi.J.Bhabha, the establishment was later renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Later, Ramanna served as the Director of BARC and supervised the country’s first nuclear weapons test in 1974. He served as the secretary for defense research during 1978-1981, as the minister of state for defense in 1990, and also headed India’s Atomic Energy Commission.

Ramanna held offices of professional societies and other organizations, like the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian Institute of Science, etc, while continued his support for the development of nuclear arms.

For more than four decades Ramanna was associated with and directed India’s nuclear program, and also initiated industrial defense programs for the Indian Armed Forces. He received Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian decoration, in honor of his services to build India’s nuclear program. An adaptable personality, Shri Raja Ramanna was a talented Musician and knew how to play the piano as skillfully as he could express atomic energy. Music was extremely close to his heart. The Structure of Music in Raga And Western Systems is one of the two books he wrote, 1993. Years of Pilgrimage 1991 was his autobiography. In 2004, Ramanna passed away in Mumbai at the age of 79.