Biography of Birbal Sahni

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Biography of Birbal Sahni
Birbal Sahni was an Indian paleobotanist who studied the fossils of the Indian sub-continent. He researched fossil plants and plant evolution in India. He was the founder of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

FAMILY AND EDUCATION

Birbal Sahni was born in Bhera, Shahpur, Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan) on 14 November 1891. Famous meteorologist and physicist Ruchi Ram Sahni was his father. His mother was Ishwar Devi. His grandfather Karam Chand Sahni was also a scholar and well-known merchant in British India.

Birbal got his interest in science from his father and grandfather. His grandfather conducted some amateur researches in the field of Chemistry. Ruchi Ram, his father was a professor of Chemistry at Government College, Lahore. When Ruchi Ram studied at Manchester, he got an opportunity to work with world-famous scientists Ernest Rutherford and Neils Bohr. So, Birbal secured an environment that is familiar to the scientific world. Ruchi Ram was also a social activist and participated actively in India’s independence movement.

Birbal’s early schooling was at the Mission and Central Model School, Lahore. Then he got admitted to the Government College University, Lahore from where he received a B.Sc. degree in 1911. Later he also attended the University of Punjab. Then he travelled to England for higher studies. In 1914, he graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In 1919, he was awarded the D.Sc. degree of the University of London. Birbal was lucky to have Shiv Ram Kashyap as his Botany Teacher. Birbal had an outstanding academic career.

Birbal married Savitri Suri in 1920. She took an interest in his husband’s work and was a constant companion. She served as the president of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences from 1949 to 1969. She was also a member of India’s National Academy of Sciences and was awarded the Padma Shri in 1969 by the Government of India.

More Read: Biography of Salim Ali, The Birdman of India

RESEARCH WORKS

Sahni’s contribution in the field of Botany is axiomatic. His special interest was in living plants species. He worked on Nephrolepsis, Niphobolus, Taxus, Psilotum, Tmesipteris, Acmopyle etc. He examined their geographical distribution and evolutionary trends.

He also worked on fossils of the Harappa Civilization. He examined the wood remains from Harappa, noted that they were of conifers and inferred that the people there must have had trade links with people in mountains where conifers could grow. Sahni was among the first Indians to suggest a separate order, the Taxales, within the conifers to contain the genera Taxus, Torreya and Cephalotaxus. Sahni also studied the morphology of the Zygopteridaceae. He identified Torreyites, a close relative of Torreya, which extended the range of the Taxales into Gondwanaland. He also described Glossopteris in detail and identified differences between the flora of India and Australia with that of China and Sumatra.

Sahni worked in the Himalayas for several years. He researched the plants of the Himalayas and found various fossils. Through these fossils, he wanted to estimate the upliftment rate of the Himalayas.

Sahni wrote a lot of publications and books where he gathered his finding. Numerous publications of Sahni had been found in Appendix 3 of Gupta (1978). Some of his remarkable publications are The Age of The Saline Series in the Punjab Salt Range, Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift concerning India and Adjacent Countries, The Age of The Deccan Trap, Revolutions in The Plant World, Speculations on the Climates of The Lower Gondwanas of India, The Himalayan Uplift Since the Advent of Man: It’s Culthistorical Significance, The Karewas of Kashmir, Materials for a Monograph of the Indian Petrified Palms, Foreign Pollen in the Ovules of Ginkgo and It’s Significance in the Study of Fossil Plants, Observations on the Evolution of Branching in the Filicales, The Present Position of Indian Paleobotany and so on.

Birbal had a great influence on his students. His ability to apply theory to observations and make hypotheses based on observations were especially influential on his students.

CAREER

Sahni had a versatile career. He worked in different countries and different areas across the Indian Sub-continent. So, eventually, he became one of the best paleobotanists of his time.

  • In Munich, he worked with Karl Ritter Von Goebel, a German morphologist.
  • Professor of Botany at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
  • Professor of Botany at Punjab University
  • Vice-president, Paleobotany section, of the 5th and 6th International Botanical Congress
  • General President of the Indian Science Congress for 1940.
  • President of National Academy of Sciences, India.
  • Secretary to the Ministry of Education of the newly independent India. He played an important role in building the education system of India.

He also founded The Paleobotanical Society which established the Institute of Paleobotany on 10 September 1946 which initially functioned in the Botany Department of Lucknow University.

More Read: Biography of Har Govind Khorana

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Sahni’s works are recognized all over the world. He was ahead of his time in terms of scientific nature study. He was honoured by several world-famous institutions for his contribution to this field.

  • The University of Cambridge awarded him the degree of Sc.D. in 1929.
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1936 as the first Indian Botanist.
  • Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  • Honorary President of the International Botanical Congress, Stockholm in 1950.
  • He received the Nelson Wright Medal in 1945.
  • A bus of Sahni in established in the Geological Survey of India.
  • The Birbal Sahni Gold Medal for Botany Students’ was instituted in his memory.

 

DEATH

Birbal Sahni died on the 10th of April in 1949. He succumbed to a heart attack.

Birbal Sahni was also interested in music other than natural science. He could play the Sitar and the Violin. He also had a true interest in playing Tennis and Chess. He was very friendly to kids as well.


Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birbal_Sahni

https://palaeobotany.org/index.php/palaeobotanist-biographies/sahni-birbal-1891-1949/

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/birbal-sahni-6574.php

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