Who Is Vikram Sarabhai ?
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was the leading scientist of India. He wrote 6 scientific research papers and opened 40 institutes. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in the year 1919 in the field of science and engineering. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai’s name cannot be separated from India’s space program. It is well known that it was Vikram Sarabhai who placed India on the international map in the field of space research. But at the same time he contributed equally in other fields like textiles, pharmaceuticals, molecular energy, electronics and many other fields.
early life :
Vikram Sarabhai was born on 12 August 1919 in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Sarabhai’s family had a lot of importance in his life and he was related to the family of a rich businessman. His father Ambalal Sarabhai was a prosperous industrialist who had several mills in Gujarat in his name. Vikram was one of the 8 children of Sarabhai, Ambalal and Sarala Devi. To teach her 8 children, Sarala Devi established a private school according to Montessori practices, which was propounded by Maria Montessori, her school later gained much fame.
Due to Sarabhai’s involvement in the Indian independence campaign, freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru often visited Sarabhai’s house. All these soldiers had a great influence on the life of young Vikram Sarabhai at that time and he also helped in the development of Sarabhai’s personal life.
On September 1942, Vikram Sarabhai was married to the famous classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai. His matrimonial ceremony was held in Chennai in which no one from Vikram’s family was present, as Mahatma Gandhi’s Quit India Movement was at that time, which included Vikram’s family. Vikram and Mrinalini have two children – Karthikeya Sarabhai and Mallika Sarabhai. Mallika Sarabhai is a famous dancer herself, who was honored with the Palme d’Ore Award
The most notable aspect of Dr. Sarabhai’s personality was the extent and extent of his interest and the ways in which he transformed his ideas into institutions. His personality was embodied in his personality like a creative scientist, a successful and visionary industrialist, a great innovator, a great institution builder, a different kind of educationist, a connoisseur, a contractor for social change, a leading management coach, etc.
His most important feature was that he was a man of high quality who had extraordinary sympathy for others. He was such a person that whoever came in contact with him would not remain without being influenced by him. They would immediately establish personal harmony with whomever they interacted with. This was possible because they made a place of respect and trust for themselves in the hearts of the people and left their mark of honesty on them.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Center is the largest and most important center of ISRO. It is located in Thiruvananthapuram. Rockets, launch vehicles and artificial satellites are built here and the technology related to them is developed. The center started in 1982 as the Thamba equatorial rocket launch center. The center was renamed in honor of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space program.
Institutes established by Dr. Sarabhai:
- Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad
- Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad
- Community Science Center, Ahmedabad
- Darpan Academy for Performing Arts, Ahmedabad (Together with his wife)
- Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, Thiruvananthapuram
- Space Applications Center, Ahmedabad (This institute came into existence after the merger of six institutes / centers established by Sarabhai)
- Faster Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), Kalpakam
- Variable Energy Cyclotron Project, Kolkata
- Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad
- Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), Jaduguda, Bihar
Indian Space Program:
The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was one of his great achievements. After the launch of Russian Sputnik, he persuaded the government about the importance of the space program for a developing country like India. Dr. Sarabhai emphasized the importance of the space program in his quote. “There are some people who question the relevance of space activities in developing nations. There is no ambiguity of purpose before us.
We are not imagining competing with economically advanced nations in space-flights, including the moon or planets or humans. “” But we are convinced that if we have a meaningful role at the national level, and in the community of nations, If we are to be fulfilled, then we should be second to none in applying advanced technologies to the real problems of human and society. “
In view of his achievements in the field of science, he was awarded the ‘Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award’ in 1962. The Government of India decorated him with ‘Padmabhushan’ in 1966. Apart from all this, the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Institute of Sciences of India, Physical Society, London and Cambridge Philosophical Society honored him by making him his ‘Fellow’.
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When Dr. Sarabhai came back to his independent India, he wanted to bring or fulfill facilities which were not present among the people, for this he started running the social institutions run by his family and November. On 11, 1947, with the help of Karmkshetra Educational Foundation and The Ahmadabad Education Society, he established the Physical Research Laboratory and started inventing new things in his institute and about Cosmic Ray and Properties of the upper layer of atmosphere in this institute Started the study.
interesting fact :
- His father Ambalal Sarabhai was a thriving industrialist
- After passing the Intermediate Science examination in India, Vikram Sarabhai moved to England and joined St. John’s College, Cambridge University.
- He played an important role in the establishment of ‘Physical Research Laboratory’ in Ahmedabad.
- The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization was one of the great achievements of Vikram Sarabhai.
- In the field of science and engineering, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1966.
- Vikram Sarabhai was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1972.
- The first rocket launching station located at Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram Homi Jahangir was established with the help of Bhabha and Sarabhai.
- He was married to Mrinalini, a famous classical dancer and she did not have any family members in her wedding.
Vikram Sarabhai conducted research on the change in time of cosmic rays and concluded that meteorological results would not be completely affected by the daily change observation of cosmic rays. Further, stated that the residual change is wide and worldwide and it is related to the change of solar activities. Vikram Sarabhai conceived opportunities for new fields of research in solar and interplanetary physics. The year 1957–1958 is seen as the International Geophysical Year (IGW).
The Indian program was an extremely important contribution by Sarabhai to IGW. The launch of Sputnik-1 in 1957 made him aware of new scenarios of astronomy. Subsequently, the National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was formed under his chairmanship. In view of the special map of Thumba that it is near the geomagnetic midline, Vikram Sarabhai visited the first rocket launch station of the country, Thumba Geostationary Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), at Thumba, a fisherman village on the Arabian coast near Thiruvananthapuram. Installation selected.
In this adventure, he received active support from Homi Bhabha, who was then the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. On November 21, 1963, the first rocket with sodium vapor payload was launched. In 1965, the United Nations General Assembly recognized TERLS as an international facility.
Death:
This great scientist, the father of space programs in India, died on 30 December 1971, but following his path, Indian scientists managed to send the first home-built satellite ‘Aryabhata’ into space in 1975 AD. Due to space satellites, television broadcasting in rural areas is helping in education, agriculture and rural development and poor farmers of the country are benefiting from the weather forecast. The most notable aspect of Dr. Sarabhai’s personality was the extent and extent of his interest and the manner in which he managed to convert his ideas into institutions.
They may not be physically among us today, but India can never forget their contribution in the fields of textile industry, pharmaceutical manufacturing, nuclear power, physics, etc. Dr. Sarabhai‘s life is a precious source of inspiration for young scientists around the world.