October 1, 2023
Condolence Message on the Passing of Professor M.S. Swaminathan, “Father of India’s Green Revolution”
SGI
President Daisaku Ikeda sent
a condolence message on the passing of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, often referred to
as the “Father of India’s Green Revolution,” who died on September 28, 2023, at
the age of 98.
As the director of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute during the 1960s and early 70s, Professor Swaminathan, a plant geneticist by training, spearheaded India’s Green Revolution, a transformational era in Indian agriculture that made the country self-sufficient in food grain and contributed to the reduction of widespread hunger. In the course of an illustrious career, Prof. Swaminathan also served as President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs from 2002 to 2007, dedicating himself to the global movement for nuclear disarmament. TIME magazine named him one of the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th century, alongside fellow Indians Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. He was awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987.
Prof. Swaminathan and Mr. Ikeda first met in Tokyo in 2002 and went on to publish the dialogue Green Revolution and Human Revolution, in which the two discuss their views on science and religion in relation to the human spirit.
In his condolence message, Mr. Ikeda acknowledged the
scientist’s invaluable contributions to protecting humanity’s fundamental
rights and to the global pursuit of peace. He praised Prof. Swaminathan for “selflessly
dedicating himself to the struggle to rid the world of nuclear weapons and war,”
stating that his achievements “will shine in the annals of human history, a legacy casting
the light of hope and courage forever into the future.”
[Adapted from an article in the October 1, 2023, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka Gakkai, Japan]
