BIRBAL SAHNI

Birbal Sahni was an Indian palaeobotanist who founded the Institute of Palaeobotany at Lucknow, which was later renamed as Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany after his death. He was a pioneer in palaeobotanical research in India and was also a geologist who took an interest in archaeology. Palaeobotany is the study of fossil plants, and his interest in the subject stemmed from his childhood fascination with plants, shells, and stones. Born in late 19th century India, he was a bright and curious child who loved to explore and examine his surroundings. He grew up in an intellectually stimulating environment where his parents ensured that he received the best education possible. After attending the Government College at Lahore where he studied botany under S. R. Kashyap, he moved to England to further his education. After earning his doctorate from the University of London in 1919, he briefly worked in Germany before returning to India. Soon he became the Head of the Botany Department of the Lucknow University and proved to be an excellent teacher with a great passion for palaeobotany. Soon he made the department an active centre for palaeobotanical research and also inspired his students to venture into the field. The establishment of the Institute of Palaeobotany was the culmination of his years of hard work though he unfortunately passed away just a week after the foundation stone laying ceremony.

EARLY LIFE

Birbal Sahni was born on 14 November 1891 as the second son of Lala Ruchi Ram Sahni and Shrimati Ishwar Devi in Bhera, Shahpur District, West Punjab. His father was a patriot and social reformer who was active in India’s struggle for independence. An educator, he eventually became a Professor of Chemistry in the Lahore Government College.

Birbal’s childhood home was often visited by the likes of Motilal Nehru, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Sarojini Naidu, and Madan Mohan Malaviya which ensured that the young boy grew up in an intellectually stimulating environment.

He received his early education from the Mission and Central Model schools. Then he went to study at the Government College University, Lahore, where his father worked, before moving on to the Punjab University from where he graduated in 1911.

He was a brilliant student, and one of his mentors, S. R. Kashyap, had instilled in him a deep love for botany and motivated him to pursue his interest in the field. Thus Birbal moved to England for his higher studies.

He studied at the Emmanuel College at Cambridge and obtained a first class in Part I of the Natural Sciences Tripos in 1913 and completed Part II of the Tripos in 1915. At around the same time he also received his B.Sc. degree from London University.

He found a mentor in his teacher Sir Albert Charles Seward under whom he started doing his research on palaeobotany. Along with him, he worked on the study of Indian Gondwana Plants, the findings of which were published in the book, ‘Indian Gondwana Plants: A Revision’ in 1920. Meanwhile he was awarded his D.Sc degree by the University of London in 1919.

CAREER

During his stint in England Sahni joined Professor Seward to work on a Revision of Indian Gondwana plants (1920, Palaeontologica Indica). In 1919 he briefly worked in Munich with the German plant morphologist Karl Ritter von Goebel. In 1920 he married Savitri Suri, daughter of Sunder Das Suri an Inspector of Schools in Punjab. Savitri took an interest in his work and was a constant companion.Sahni returned to India and served as Professor of Botany at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and Punjab Universityo for about a year. He was appointed the first Professor and Head of the Botany Department of the Lucknow University in 1921, a position he retained until his death. The University of Cambridge recognised his researches by the award of the degree of Sc. D. in 1929. In 1932 Palaeontologica Indica included his account of the Bennettitalean plant that he named Williamsonia sewardi, and another description of a new type of petrified wood, Homoxylon, bearing resemblance to the wood of a living homoxylous angiosperm, but from the Jurassic age.During the following years he not only continued his investigations but collected around him a group of devoted students from all parts of the country and built up a reputation for the University which soon became the first Center for botanical and palaeobotanical investigations in India. Sahni maintained close relations with researchers around the globe, being a friend of Chester A. Arnold, noted American paleobotanist who later served his year in residence from 1958–1959 at the institute He was a founder of The Paleobotanical Society which established the Institute of Palaeobotany on 10 September 1946 which initially functioned in the Botany Department of Lucknow University but later moved to its present premises at 53 University Road, Lucknow in 1949. On 3 April 1949 the Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of the new building of the Institute. A week later, on 10 April 1949, Sahni succumbed to a heart attack.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Sahni was recognised by several academies and institutions in India and abroad for his research. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) in 1936, the highest British scientific honour, awarded for the first time to an Indian botanist. He was elected Vice-President, Palaeobotany section, of the 5th and 6th International Botanical Congresses of 1930 and 1935, respectively; General President of the Indian Science Congress for 1940; President, National Academy of Sciences, India, 1937–1939 and 1943–1944. In 1948 he was elected an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Another high honour which came to him was his election as an Honorary President of the International Botanical Congress, Stockholm in 1950. For his work in numismatics he received the Nelson Wright Medal in 1945.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Minister of Education in 1947 offered the post of Secretary to the Ministry of Education to Sahni. This he reluctantly accepted.

The Birbal Sahni Gold Medal for students of botany was instituted in his memory. A bust of Sahni is placed in the Geological Survey of India in Calcutta.

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