Science Leadership - Sir CV Raman - Value of Science

December 21, 2007

Science Leadership - Sir CV Raman - Value of Science I would like to share the moral story which was delivered by Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam during addressing to the Management Students at Bhopal Institute of Social Sciences on 18th December 2007. This is the incident about Sir CV Raman –a Nobel Laureate in Physics for discovering Raman Effect. Raman was in the first batch of Bharat Ratna Award winners. The award ceremony was to take place in the last week of January, soon after the Republic Day celebrations of 1954. The then President Dr.

Rajendra Prasad wrote to Raman inviting him to be the personal guest in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, when Raman came to Delhi for the award ceremony. Sir CV Raman wrote a polite letter, regretting his inability to go. Raman had a noble reason for his inability to attend the investiture ceremony. He explained to the President that he was guiding a Ph.D. student and that thesis was positively due by the last day of January. The student was valiantly trying to wrap it all up and Raman felt,

he had to be by the side of the research student, see that the thesis was finished, sign the thesis as the guide and then have it submitted. Here was a scientist who gave up the pomp of a glittering ceremony associated with the highest honour, because he felt that his duty required him to be by the side of the student. It is this unique trait of giving value to science that builds science. This is one experience, how leadership can be given for the growth of science. Dr.Y.C.Zala

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