Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Biography

Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar was an Indian scientist, famously dubbed as the ‘Father of research laboratories’. He was the first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and a professor of chemistry for over 19 years. If chemical industry is an important part of Indian economy, a lot of its credit goes to this pioneer for his sincere efforts and conviction. Though his areas of interest included emulsions, colloids, and industrial chemistry, but his primary contributions were in the spheres of magnetochemistry. He also made a melodious “kulgeet” i.e. University song for Banaras Hindu University, which is still sung with great pride before any function in the University. During his college years, he also wrote an Urdu play for which he was awarded a prize and a medal. He was, in a way, a bridge between two cultures and two eras. He greeted science with a mission and also valued literature as much as he loved science and engineering. Under his directorship, twelve laboratories were established all over the country for scientific research in multiple areas, including the ones for food processing, metallurgy and chemical research. He could be perfectly described as a unique persona, an exceptional amalgamation of science, engineering and literature.