acharya jagadish chandra bose

Preface

In this article, we are going to discuss the great neurobiologist and scientist of India, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose. He was the first scientist in the country to be made a Fellow of the Royal Society and was awarded the highest scientific honour. He is also known as the father of plant neurobiology. Friends, the proof of his greatness is also that he did not patent any of his research. Because they believed that all mankind, along with all Indians, had a right to their discovery.

Biography

He was born on 30 November 1858 in Vikrampur, present-day Munshiganj, Bangladesh. His father Bhagwan Chandra Bose was a deputy magistrate. His father was also a man of talent, and he wanted Bose to understand his mother tongue and culture first. His early education was in a vernacular school, i.e., the Bengali language, except for English. His classmates were the children of farmers and fishermen. It was here that he developed a deep love for nature, plants and animals.

He completed his graduation from St Xavier's College, Kolkata. In 1880, he went to England to study medicine, but due to poor health, he had to leave his studies. He then studied natural sciences at Christ's College, Cambridge, and obtained a BSc from the University of London.

racial discrimination

On his return to India in 1885, he was temporarily appointed as a professor of physics at the famous Presidency College in Kolkata. But they had to face huge racial discrimination. The British believed that Indian scientists were not qualified to teach. He was therefore offered only one-third the salary of an English professor.

In fact, in 1901, he was the first to prove that there is life in plants, but the scientists of that time considered plants inanimate objects, i.e., they believed that there is no life in plants. Because of these reasons, scientists called his discovery magic and mocked him and refused to accept it as science. The Royal Society banned the publication of his research paper for the next ten years. But 100 years later, for this discovery, he was honoured with the title of Father of Plant Neurobiology.

The proud Bose did not accept this insult, as a result of which he taught the students without taking a salary for three years. Therefore, the school administration had to bow down due to their search. Thus, he was paid his full salary, and his post was also made permanent.

The major inventions

The crescograph was his most famous discovery; in fact, it was due to this discovery that he was successful in proving the existence of life in plants. It was because of this device invented by him that it was possible to record the activities of plants. It shows the small speed of the plant by increasing it by 10000 times. Apart from this, he also showed how to kill plants by poisoning them and making them unconscious by giving them chloroform and checking the pulse rate of the plant. His discovery proved that plants too have life and senses. They also react like animals to things like light sounds and poisons.

Before millimetre waves, Marconi and Bose had given a public demonstration of wireless communication in Kolkata in 1895. He showed a special kind of signal by ringing the bell across three walls and also by using this frequency by setting fire to a pile of ordinary gunpowder.

He also invented the galena crystal detectors, which are considered the foundation of today's semiconductor and microwave technology.

Patent decline

He did not patent any of his inventions, because he believed that the whole of humanity should have the right to scientific discovery. Perhaps this is where they lagged behind because at present people are earning lakhs of crores of rupees by patenting even a small thing. Had he got the patent, our present situation would not have been like this, and we, that is, India, would have also benefited from it as a reward. For example, at present the developed countries are ahead of us due to these reasons.

Important monument are dedicated to them 

J.C. Bose University of Science and Technology is located in the Faridabad district of Haryana. In its early days it was named YMCA IE, which was renamed after him in 2018. Apart from the establishment of a college in Kolkata in his name, the AJCB Indian Botanic Garden has also been established in his name, where the giant banyan tree is famous all over India.

The special thing is that it is impossible to trace its roots because the banyan vines have been connected to the ground by bamboo sticks, due to which it is difficult to see its main root. The special thing about this tree is that it is more than 250 years old.

Friends, if you have any information related to this article, then do let us know.