Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar - Work in India

Work in India

Prime Minister Nehru was a proponent of scientific development, and after India's independence in 1947, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Bhatnagar. He was named the first Director General of the CSIR. He became known as "the Father of Research Laboratories" and is largely remembered for having established various chemical laboratories in India. He established a total twelve national laboratories such as Central Food Processing Technological Institute, Mysore, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, the National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, the National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, the Central Fuel Institute, Dhanbad, just to name a few. While at CSIR, he mentored numerous other promising young scientists of the time who were working in the very productive climate in those days at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in Kolkata, including Syamadas Chatterjee, Santilal Banerjee (MSc Gold Medalist- Dacca University and a DSc from the US) who later moved to the National Physical Laboratory in Delhi at Bhatnagar's urging), Asutosh Mookherjee etc. Bhatnagar also closely followed the work of C. V. Raman and Kariamanickam Srinivasa Krishnan at IACS on the Raman Effect and in particular the work Krishnan and his partner, Santilal Banerjee, were doing on the magnetism of small crystals.

Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar played a significant part along with Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Vikram Sarabhai and others in building of India's post-independence science & technology infrastructure and policies. Bhatnagar was the Founder Director of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),which was to later became a major agency for research in independent India. He was the first Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

He was Secretary, Ministry of Education and Educational Adviser to Government. Bhatnagar played an important role both in the constitution and deliberations of the Scientific Manpower Committee Report of 1948. ‘It may be pointed out that this was the first-ever systematic assessment of the scientific manpower needs of the country in all aspects which served as an important policy document for the government to plan the post-independent S&T infrastructure.’ Bhatnagar was a University Professor for 19 years (1921–40) first at the Banaras Hindu University and then at the Punjab University and he had a reputation as a very inspiring teacher and it was as a teacher that he himself was most happy. His research contribution in the areas of magneto chemistry and physical chemistry of emulsion were widely recognised. He also did considerable work in applied chemistry. He played an instrumental role in the establishment of the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) of India, which bridges the gap between research and development. Bhatnagar was responsible for the initiation of the Industrial Research Association movement in the country. He constituted the one-man Commission in 1951 to negotiate with oil companies for starting refineries and this ultimately led to the establishment of many oil refineries in different parts of the country. He induced many individuals and organisations to donate liberally for the cause of science and education. He exhibited high poetic talent particularly in Urdu .

On returning to India in August 1921 he joined the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) as Professor of Chemistry. It may be noted that the BHU was founded by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1916. Bhatnagar stayed for three years in BHU and during this short span of time he was able to create an active school of physico-chemical research. Bhatnagar wrote the ‘Kulgeet’ (University song) of the University. Justice N.H. Bhagwati, Vice-Chancellor of BHU said: "Many of you perhaps do not know that besides being an eminent scientist, Professor Bhatnagar was a Hindi poet of repute and that during his stay in Banaras, he composed the ‘Kulgeet’ of the University...Prof. Bhatnagar is remembered with reverence in this University and will continue to be so remembered till this University exists."

From Banaras Bhatnagar moved to Lahore where he was appointed as University Professor of Physical Chemistry and Director of University Chemical Laboratories. He spent 16 years in the Punjab University, Lahore and this period was the most active period of his life for original scientific work. While his major fields of study were colloidal chemistry and magneto-chemistry he did considerable work in applied and industrial chemistry. In 1928 Bhatnagar, jointly with K.N. Mathur, invented an instrument called the Bhatnagar-Mathur Magnetic Interference Balance. The balance was one of the most sensitive instruments for measuring magnetic properties. It was exhibited at the Royal Society Soiree in 1931 and it was marketed by Messers Adam Hilger and Co, London.

Bhatnagar did considerable work in applied and industrial chemistry. The first industrial problem undertaken by Bhatnagar was the development of a process to convert bagasse (peelings of sugarcane) into food cake for cattle. This was done for the Grand Old Man of Punjab, Sir Ganga Ram. He had undertake industrial problems for Delhi Cloth Mills; J.K. Mills Ltd., Kanpur; Ganesh Flour Mills Ltd., Layallapur; Tata Oil Mills Ltd., Bombay; Steel Brothers & Co. Ltd., London and so on. One of the important achievements of Bhatnagar in applied and industrial chemistry was the work he did for Attock Oil Company at Rawalpindi (representative of Messers Steel Brothers & Co London). Attock Oil Company in their drilling operations confronted a peculiar problem, wherein the mud used for drilling operation when came in contact with the saline water got converted into a solid mass which hardened further. This solidification of the mud rendered all drilling operations impossible.

Bhatnagar realised that this was a problem in colloidal chemistry and developed a suitable method to solve it. "The problem was elegantly solved by the addition of an Indian gum which had the remarkable property of lowering the viscosity of the mud suspension and of increasing at the same time its stability against the flocculating action of electrolytes." M/s Steel Brothers was so pleased with the method developed by Bhatnagar that they offered a sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- to Bhatnagar for his research work on any subject related to petroleum. At the instance of Bhatnagar the company placed the amount at the disposal of the University. The grant helped to establish the Department of Petroleum Research under the guidance of Bhatnagar. Investigations carried out under this collaborative scheme included deodourisation of waxes, increasing flame height of kerosene and utilisation of waste products in vegetable oil and mineral oil industries. Realising the commercial importance of the collaborative scheme the Company increased the amount and extended the period from five years to ten years.

Bhatnagar persistently refused to receive any monetary benefit arising out of his applied/industrial chemical research for his personal ends on the ground that it may be utilised for strengthening research facilities at the University. His sacrifices drew wide attention. Meghnad Saha wrote to Bhatnagar in 1934 saying, ‘you have hereby raised the status of the university teachers in the estimation of public, not to speak of the benefit conferred on your Alma Mater’.

Bhatnagar jointly with K.N. Mathur wrote a book ‘Physical Principles and Applications of Magneto chemistry’ and which was published by Macmillan publishers. This book was recognised as a standard work on the subject. Prafulla Chandra Ray wrote: "On turning over the pages of Nature my eyes chanced upon an advertisement of Macmillan’s in which I find your book at last advertised. That the book is of a high standard is indicated by the most excellent review in Current Science by Professor Stoner, who is competent to judge. As far as I know Meghnad’s is the only text book in physical sciences which has been adopted by foreign universities; and it gladdens my heart that another work in physical science is likely to occupy a similar place. My days are practically numbered; and my great consolation is that you, in chemistry, are raising the reputation, abroad, of Indian workers".

In 1930s there were no appropriate research organisations for the development of natural resources and new industries. Thus Sir Richard Gregory, then editor of Nature, who after visiting scientific departments and universities in India in 1933 drew the attention of Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary of State for India, to the lack of appropriate research organisation equivalent to those of in DSIR in Britain for the development of natural research and new industries. He observed: "I knew that work of the Geological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India, Meteorological Department, Forestry and so on; but I think something should be done to form an Indian Research Council to make use of the undoubted capacity of Indians for scientific investigations and its applications. Scientific activities, many of them having a direct bearing upon the development of resources of the country, are scarcely given the attention they deserve." Gregory was not alone in realising the need for appropriate research organisation. C.V. Raman, Lt. Col. Seymour Sewell and Dr. J.C. Ghosh had earlier proposed the creation of an Advisory Board of Scientific Research for India. Indian scientists at Calcutta and Bangalore initiated schemes to launch a National Institute of Sciences and an India Academy Science respectively. At the Fifth Industries Conference in 1933 the Provincial Governments of Bombay, Madras, Bihar and Orissa unanimously reiterated their demand to set up a co-ordinating forum for industrial research, Sir Hoare advised the Viceroy, Lord Willingdon to support the idea of an Indian version of DSIR. However, in May 1934 Willingdon informed Hoare in London that "the creation of a Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in India to promote the application of research to natural resources does not appear to be necessary." Having rejected an Indian version of the DSIR the colonial Government decided in 1934 to make a small concession. The Govt. agreed to create an Industrial Intelligence and Research Bureau and which came into operation in April 1935 under the Indian Stores Department. The Bureau had very limited resources (with a budget of Rs. 1.0 lakh per annum) and thus it was not possible for it to undertake any industrial activity. It was mainly concerned with testing and quality control.

When the Second World War began it was proposed to abolish the Bureau. Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar, the Commerce Member, while accepting the recommendation that the Bureau be abolished argued that "the old Bureau should be abolished not as a measure of economy but to make room for a Board of Scientific and Industrial Research with vaster resources and wider objectives." Mudaliar’s persistent efforts led to the creation of the Board of Scientific and Industrial Research (BSIR) on 1 April 1940 for a period of two years. Bhatnagar, who by then had made remarkable contributions to chemistry was called on to take charge. Bhatnagar was designated Director, Scientific and Industrial Research and Sir Mudaliar became BSIR’s first Chairman. The BSIR was allocated an annual budget of Rs. 500,000 and placed under the Department of Commerce. By the end of 1940, about eighty researchers were engaged under BSIR, of whom one-quarter was directly employed. Within two years of its establishment the BSIR was able to work out a number of processes at the laboratory level for industrial utilisation. Those included techniques for the purification of Baluchistan sulphur anti-gas cloth manufacture, the development of vegetable oil blends as fuel and lubricants, the invention of a pyrethrum emulsifier and cream, the development of plastic packing cases for army boots and ammunition, dyes for uniforms and the preparation of vitamins. Bhatnagar persuaded the Government to set up an Industrial Research Utilisation Committee (IRUC) in early 1941 for translating results into application. Following the recommendation of IURC the Government agreed to make a separate fund out of the royalties received from industry for further investment into industrial research. A resolution moved by Mudaliar, recommending that an Industrial Research Fund be constituted for the purpose of fostering industrial development in the country, and that provision be made for an annual grant of rupees one million for a period of five years was accepted by the Central Assembly in Delhi at its session on 14 November 1941. The efforts of Mudaliar and Bhatnagar led to the constitution of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as an autonomous body, to administer the Research Fund created by the government. The CSIR came into operation on 28 September 1942. The BSIR and IRUC were designated as advisory bodies to the Governing body of the CSIR. In 1943 the Governing Body of the CSIR approved the proposal mooted by Bhatnagar to establish five national laboratories — the National Chemical Laboratory, the National Physical Laboratory, the Fuel Research Station, and the Glass and Ceramics Research Institute. In 1944 in addition to its annual budget of Rs. 1 million, the CSIR received a grant of Rs.10 million for the establishment of these laboratories. The Tata Industrial House donated Rs. 2 million for the Chemical, metallurgical and fuel research laboratories.

After his death, CSIR established the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award for eminent scientists in his honour.