Meghnad Saha - Saha and Atomic Energy

Saha and Atomic Energy

Saha was aware of the electrifying discovery of nuclear fission by Hahn and Meitner in 1939 and the stupefying possibilities this discovery was pregnant with. Meanwhile in 1940 the British rulers in Delhi formed a Board for scientific and Industrial Research (BSIR) with Bhatnagar as the head. Saha was invited to be a member. In 1942, the Government constituted a superior body called CSIR where once again Saha was made a member.
By 1944 it became clear that the tide of fortune in the war was turning against Germany and Japan. In anticipation of victory, the British Government began to make plans for post-war reconstructions. As a part of the process, it asked the Royal Society to send Prof. A.V. Hill to India to advise the government. Hill came and met many scientists, Saha included. He then recommended that an Indian Scientific Mission (ISM) be sent abroad to observe scientific and industrial progress and make post-war plans. The recommendation was accepted and a delegation left India in October 1944; Saha was a member of the ISM.
The tour took the mission to several countries including America. While there, Saha made enquiries about research on atomic energy but drew a blank. He did not know it right then that the Manhattan Project was going on in full swing and atomic energy research was the most closely guarded secret. His enquiries prompted the FBI to interrogate him to gather how much he really knew about their project. However they were relieved that he knew nothing, though his knowledge and expertise on the matter astounded them. On return to India the ISM prepared an official report and submitted it to the Government; the report was drafted by Saha. In 1947 India became free and Nehru became the Prime Minister of India. Atomic energy was the new hope and as member of the BSIR, Saha had every reason to hope that he would be able to play a key role in the development of atomic energy in India. Bhabha also had similar thoughts and he too began to offer Nehru ideas on the subject. In 1948, Saha was formally asked by the Government of India at Nehru's insistence about the formation of Atomic Energy Commission which Bhabha had suggested. Saha firmly opposed the idea on the grounds that India lacked the required industrial base to augment it, and that trained manpower was not available. In his view, before launching a full-fledged atomic energy programme, the industry ought to build up first, and Nuclear physics-oriented courses should be introduced in various universities to obtain a competent manpower. He strongly advocated the French model of atomic energy development which was in fact the brainchild of his friend Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Bhabha, on the other hand, was a proponent of a much faster and more vigorous programme of development which appealed to Nehru. As a result the Atomic Energy Commission was set up in 1948 and the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay in 1954.

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