Fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Borlaug’s trip to India commemorated.
By American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: The 50th anniversary of Green Revolution pioneer Dr. Norman Borlaug’s visit to India was commemorated by Indian and U.S. officials at the residence of Nirupama Rao, Indian ambassador to the US, here, on Wednesday.
Borlaug, a 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, went to India on the invitation of M.S. Swaminathan in May 1962. While there, he was able to find a solution to the widespread famine India was struck with at the time by genetically engineering strains of wheat that were impervious to various diseases that were devastating farm crops throughout the country. His work is credited with saving countless lives across the subcontinent, earning him the unofficial nickname “the man who saved a billion lives.”
“Friends, when you consider the achievements of Dr. Norman Borlaug you realize that this is what legends are made of,” said Rao. “[Y]ou also realize that although he began his life’s work in Mexico, his ‘grandest theatre of operations’ [was] India. He believed in thinking outside the box.”
Rao also read a statement from Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.
“Dr. Borlaug led the global crusade against hunger with a missionary zeal and over the years succeeded in saving billions of lives from starvation,” said Pawar’s prepared remarks. “Through his efforts, India received the ‘miracle seeds’ of [several] wheat varieties and, supported by enabling policies and R&D programs, ushered [in] the ‘Green Revolution,’ placing our food security on a firm foundation.”
Attendees included Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development; Suzanne Heinen, administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize. Borlaug’s daughter Jeanie Borlaug Laube and granddaughter Julie Borlaug also spoke on the occasion.
“Dr. Borlaug spent his time really inspiring all of us around a very simple point: that we could, if tried, end hunger in our life time,” said Shah, discussing the legacy of the agronomist.
Borlaug was born in 1914 to Norwegian immigrants in Iowa. After growing up on his family’s farm, he decided to leave for further studies, which he pursued at the University of Minnesota’s General College in 1933. He received his Master’s of Science in 1940 and his Ph.D. in plant pathology and genetics in 1942. He is one of only seven individuals to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (in 1977) and the Congressional Gold Medal (in 2006). Also in 2006, the Indian government bestowed upon him the title of Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian honor.
Dr. Borlaug passed away in September of 2009, due to complications arising from lymphoma.
(Updated on August 9, 2013)