Prof. Arun Grover delivers Bawa Kartar Singh Memorial Lecture on Initiation and Evolution of Science Education and Research in North West of India

Chandigarh, November 7, 2024: Former Panjab University Vice Chancellor Prof. Arun Kumar Grover today delivered 38th Bawa Kartar Singh Memorial Lecture on initiation and evolution of science education and research from Lahore to PU Chandigarh campus at Dept. of Chemistry, PU.

In his engaging talk, Prof. Grover provided a glimpse of evolution of science education and rich research heritage of North West India (pre-partition) from 1904 onwards. Professor Bawa Kartar Singh Oration of Chemistry Department is an apt occasion to reflect back at the evolution of higher education and research in North West of India, he added.

While connecting the dots from the creation of University of Panjab at Lahore in 1882 for the erstwhile united Punjab, Rajputana and Kashmir to the present PU Campus, Prof. Grover said that the first student from Govt. College Lahore(GCL) to pass Chemistry paper in intermediate examination of Calcutta University happened only in 1878-79 after the appointment of Mr. John Campbell Oman as Professor of Natural Sciences in 1877. Guru Datta, Ruchi Ram Sahni, Lajpat Rai and Hans Raj enrolled in GCL in 1881. A chemistry laboratory in GCL came up only in 1901. The researchers in each area at Lahore were indeed small in number, however, the quality of their work was World Class, he added while referring to the early science teachers and research activities at Lahore.  

As many as nine out of forty Presidents of National Institute of Science (NIS)/ Indian National Science Academy (INSA) have been scientists of Punjab origin since 1935, which reflect the contribution and strength of Punjab in growth of science education and research in India, said Prof. Grover. Similarly, out of 170 foundation fellows, twenty three were of Punjab origin in Indian Academy of ScienceS, Bangalore (1934), he further added.

Prof. Grover said that the nomenclature of Guru Datta Vidyarthi Hall for the Chemistry Department reminisces for us the initiation of teaching science subjects to Guruditta Mal and his contemporaries, like, Ruchi Ram, Hans Raj, Lajpat Rai by John Campbell Oman, an Indologist and the first Professor of Natural Sciences (1877-97) at Government College Lahore (GCL).Guru Datta and Ruchi Ram Sahni (RRS) were appointed as faculty in GCL in 1886 and 1887, respectively after the completion of MA degree in Science. No one else completed MA in science after them at Lahore till the end of nineteenth century. The Indian Universities Act (1904) was got promulgated by the Viceroy Lord Curzon for the then five universities of India, it enjoined them to appoint teachers and promote research, he further added.

Prof. Grover also highlighted the role and mentoring contributions of scientists and teachers like Gopal Singh Chowla, Shiv Ram Kashyap, Dr. Kartar Singh Bawa, George Matthai, S S Bhatnagar, H B Dunnicliff,  Sarvadaman Chowla,  Mahan Singh, J N Ray,   Shiv Ram Kashyap, Hans Raj Gupta,  Vishwanath,  M. Afzal Hussain, Hem Singh Pruthi,  Pran Nath Mehra, et al.  He recalled the scientific contributions of R.N. Chopra, Sahib Singh Sokhey, Daya Ram Sahni, M R Sahni , Prof. Yash Pal, Prof. Harkishan Singh,  Dewan Anand Kumar,  Birbal Sahni, A C Joshi, M S Randhawa, Vishwa Nath, G P Sharma, F C Aulukh, R P Bambah, Nitya Anand, Sukh Dev, R C Paul, O P Vig, K N Gaind, M R Sahni, B M Anand, Yash Pal, Satish Dhawan, Darbari Seth, F C Kohli, S S Anand, P N Chuttani etc.

Prof. Grover mentioned the Lahore connection of Development of India plan masterminded by Meghnad Saha and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar via A V Hill Report.