Pushpa Bhargava built one of India’s leading biology institutes from scratch. Decades later, he handed back a top civilian award, to protest what he called a climate against reason itself.
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Science and Technology · SciTech0099
Pushpa Bhargava
Father of Modern Biology in India
1928
Born in Ajmer; later earns a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry.
1977
Founds the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, in Hyderabad.
1986
Receives the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to scientific research.
2015
Returns that Padma Bhushan, protesting a climate hostile to reason.
A Builder Who Kept Questioning
The same scientist who built CCMB from scratch later became the Supreme Court’s own watchdog against rushed GM-crop approvals.
Must Know
- Pushpa Mittra Bhargava was born on 22 February 1928, in Ajmer. He died on 1 August 2017, in Hyderabad, aged 89.
- He earned a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from Lucknow University.
- In 1977, he founded the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, and served as its first Director until 1990.
- Bhargava is widely called the father of modern biology in India, for his role in building the country’s molecular biology research capacity.
- He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, in 1986, for his contributions to scientific research.
- He published more than 125 scientific papers over his career, mainly in molecular biology and embryonic development.
Good to Know
- CCMB later gave rise to other institutions. One is the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), also based in Hyderabad.
- Bhargava served as Vice-Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission. He resigned from the post, citing differences of opinion with the government of the day.
- The Supreme Court of India appointed him as a special observer on the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the body that approves genetically modified crops.
- In that role, he opposed the approval of GM crops including Bt brinjal and GM mustard. He argued that required safety tests had not been fully carried out.
- He was a vocal advocate for what he called “scientific temper.” This is a constitutional duty under Article 51A, which calls on citizens to develop a spirit of inquiry and reform.
- His writing and public commentary regularly argued that scientific rationalism should be treated as a civic responsibility, not just an academic pursuit.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- In 2010, the government placed an indefinite moratorium on Bt brinjal, overruling the GEAC’s own prior approval. See SciTech0037 — Genetically Modified Crops and Biotechnology Regulation in India for the fuller regulatory history. Bhargava, as the Supreme Court’s own nominee on the GEAC, was a leading voice pressing for that outcome.
- In 2015, Bhargava returned his 1986 Padma Bhushan. He said the move was a protest against what he described as rising intolerance. He called it a climate hostile to reason and scientific temper.
- His decision came in the same period several other scientists and writers returned their own awards, in a wave that came to be called “Award Wapsi.”
- He remained active in public debate on science policy until his death in 2017, continuing to write and comment on issues from GM crops to research funding.
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