FATHER OF INDIAN GREEN REVOLUTION DESERVES BHARAT RATNA

IN the demise of Dr M S Swaminathan, the nation lost its tallest agricultural scientist, an icon and a visionary who helped put food on the plates of the poorest of the poor.

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His pathbreaking interventions helped change India's trajectory from famine and hunger in the 1960s to food security Celebrated as the father of the Indian Green Revolution, he was very much alive to its downside but initially prioritised enhancing farm yield to address the most pressing problem of the day. When the Green Revolution started rolling, he was concerned about the swamping out of native crop lines as high yield came from imported dwarf seed varieties that were genetically tweaked and crossed with local ones. The indiscriminate use of fertilisers and herbicides to enhance yield was another worry as it ended up making the soil toxic. To enhance soil health, he floated the concept of an Evergreen