"It was when I came upon the mute witness of these self-made records, and perceived in them one phase of a pervading unity that bears within it all things : the more that quivers in ripples of light, the teeming life upon our earth, and the radiant suns that shine above us – it was then that I understood for the first time a little of that message proclaimed by my ancestors on the banks of the Ganges 30 centuries ago."
An excerpt from the speech, which stunned the world as it revealed an amazing fact : Plants too have life. An Indian scientist was lecturing before the Royal Society of England. By the time the speech was over, the audience warmly applauded the new inventor with claps. His words brought to life the world of plants. Such was Jagdishchandra Bose, whom the world failed to appreciate and honor appropriately.
Born on November 30, 1858, in a respectable Hindu family; his father, Babu Bhagwanchandra Bose, was the Deputy Magistrate of Faridpur district in Bengal. Jagdish was the second child of his parents, the first being a girl - Saralaprabha. Jyotishchandra, the second son died when only ten; the rest were all girls - Suvarnprabha, Lavanyaprabha, Hemaprabha, and Charuprabha. At the time of Jagdish’s birth, unified India was under the British Rule. Jagdish was born in Bikrampur village in Dhaka district, presently a part of Bangladesh.
Jagdish passed his childhood at Faridpur under the care of his mother Abala Bose, a kind and affectionate lady. His father Babu Bhagwanchandra committed himself to social work by helping the poor and needy. Jagdish inherited these virtues. In his words, "My father was one of the earliest to receive the impetus characteristic of the modern epoch as derived from the West ….. To me his life had been one of blessing and daily thanksgiving."
Bhagwanchandra Bose was a man of strange temparament. As a strict executive officer, he never flinched to chase dacoits on an elephant even in the darkness of the night, but at the same time he was a true friend of the people. He organized an annual fair in Faridpur, where articles of local produce - artistic toys, textile, and agricultural products, etc. were exhibited. Jatras and Kavis, moving dramatic performances and ready made poetic combats, etc., were held, as also wrestling competitions and they were immensely liked by the people. As an officer he was friendly co-operative with his neighbours and had no racial prejudices, When after the jail-term a dacoit-leader approached him for help and sustenance, he readily engaged him as an attendant of Jagdish, then a child of about four years. These perculiarities endeared him to many. All his actions appear to have been actuated by the sole desire of doing good to his country, and as soon as a resolution was made, he stuck to it till the end.
His father put in sincere efforts – to spread education both among men and women, on questions of social welfare, in the establishment of a people’s bank and on the foundation of industrial and technical schools. His father’s efforts and benevolence failed to usher in the desired change. However, Bhagwanchandra was not one to give in so easily. His sheer grit and determination taught the young boy a lesson for life and that was to deal with success or failure with equanimity. This young boy later said, "If my life, if any way came to be fruitful, then that came through the realization of this lesson."
The steps that Bhagwanchandra took for the education for his son were not of the usual order. The dacoit leader used to tell young Jagdish the story of his rough and rugged life. He also listened to his grandmother's fairy tales. He witnessed the Jatras and Kavis , and there he learned the story and essence of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. He was the proud possessor of a pony which was presented to him by his father. He not only rode the pony but also groomed it himself. These rides while they strengthened his boy and limbs also roused a sense of proud ownership. His sensitive mind brooded over all the natural phenomena that his young eyes encountered. The fast moving river with fallen leaves floating by, the sprouting of seeds and growth of plants, the cycle of flowers and fruits one after the other, the attraction of the moth towards a light, all this opened out before him a world of enchantment, and he was impatient to understand them and drink deep into the why of things.
As one can see, Jagdish was very fond of nature. He loved plants and animals. In those days, people were greatly influenced by western culture; Jagdish’s father had modernist views in educational matters. He started Pathshala, a vernacular school where children were taught in Bengali. Jagdish received his primary education at this Pathshala. Young Jagdish was curious and always ready to question the mysteries of nature. Bhagwanchandra never discouraged queries from young Jagdish. Even after his day-long drudgery, he always kept his ears open for them and tried to satisfy his child's curiosity as much as he could. He used to encourage his son with such remarks as "you grow bigger and bigger, my boy, and try to find out the truth yourself."
Jagdish was studious but by no means was he a bookworm. He had a great liking for sports, especially cricket. He played with poor boys. He would keenly observe how the fisher folk navigated on the broad river Ganges in their boats, the tilling of land and the grazing cattle that were taken to graze on distant hills. Speaking of the effect it produced on him, "From those who tilled the ground and made the land blossom with green verdure and ripening corn, and the sons of the fisher folk, who told stories of the strange creatures that frequented unknown depths of mighty rivers and stagnant pools, I first derived the lesson of that which constitutes true manhood. From them too I drew my love of nature."
At the vernacular school, he learnt to think and received the lesson on the rich heritage of Indian culture. Moreover, Jagdish’s parents took the young boy along, to see the dramas based on the great Hindu epics. The moral education that he received in his childhood came from listening to story recitals through Kathak (Kathak is a traditional dance form delving in various incidents connected with great Indian epics and mythologies like Ramayana and Mahabharata). The character Karna, of Mahabharata, was the role model to young Jagdish.
At the age of nine, Jagdish had to leave his hometown as he was sent to an English School for further education. The village boy was suddenly exposed to the big modern city of Calcutta. He had by then, developed some power of observation, fair amount of reasoning and a flair for expression of thoughts, through his mother tongue Bengali. At the St. Xavier’s School, his classmates knew only English. They teased Jagdish for his being naive. One day, one of his classmates hurt him in a bout of boxing, but brave Jagdish taught the boy a well-deserved lesson. From that day onwards, no one dared to tease him.
While staying in a boarding house of the school, he would breed frogs and fishes in a pond near the boarding house. He grew flower-bearing plants and also had a number of pets like rabbits, squirrels, birds and non-poisonous snakes. Displaying early signs of scientific temperament, he would pull out germinating plants to study their root system. Apart from these hobbies, he was an intelligent student and favorite of his teachers. After passing the final examination with first class, he joined B.A. at the college.
Though his main subject was physics, he was more interested in botany. It was his professor, Father Lafont, who inspired in Jagdish a great interest towards Physics. Jagdishchandra Bose, a scholar student, received his B.A. honors in 1877.
At the age of 19, Bose passed his graduation and yearned to study in England. His father did not have enough money to send him abroad. He wished that his son become a teacher and serve his motherland. Bose’s mother was a religious lady with orthodox beliefs. She believed that crossing the seas to go abroad was against their religion, Hinduism. Furthermore, his younger brother had died at the age of 10, so he he was now the only son. His mother, quite understandably, did not want to be separated from him.
Jagdishchandra, being an obedient son, was ready to follow the wishes of his parents because even he was aware that his father's financial condition was a great hindrance to his going abroad. But his mother finally realized the importance of her son's wishes. She strengthened her mind and one night she came to her son and said, "I just do not understand what this going to Europe means. But you want to go there for further studies. Let your cherished hope be fulfilled. The savings of your father are lost; but I have some cash and ornaments. These will meet your expenses. You prepare to sail". His mother was ready to pawn off her precious jewels, but his father prevailed upon her from doing so and arranged for the money.
Bose realized his dream of setting his foot on the shores of conservative England in the year 1880.
In London while studying medicine, he repeatedly suffered ill health forcing him to change the stream and join the study of Natural Science in Christ Church College, Cambridge. It was then compulsory to learn Latin in order to study Natural Science, which Bose had mastered earlier. He possessed a unique quality of perfection, which stood in good stead while passing the Tripos Examination with distinction from Cambridge University. He also completed the B.Sc. from the London University.
The four years of study in England won him two degrees from the two Universities of London and Cambridge. He was then twenty-five and it was necessary at that time that he should increase the income of the family. After much searching for a suitable job, he finally managed to acquire the position of a teacher at the Presidency College in Calcutta.
It was believed in high quarters that an Indian's efficiency in teaching Science might be low. The Principal of the College did not like the appointment. The Director had a notion that a young bengali, just returned from college in England, would not be able to deliver lectures effectively and maintain discipline in the classroom. But there was something else that Bose found utterly unjust. On joining service, it came to light that in the Imperial Service, Indians were paid only two-thirds of what Europeans received. Jagdischandra resolved to discharge his duties to the best of his ability but would not accept his salary. He continued in this way for three years and his father's family, which was run with great difficulty due to indebtedness, supported Jagdishchandra's personality and strength of character.
He was soon recognized as a brilliant professor. his expreiments about the different axioms of physical science were found so wonderfully interesting that students would not be absent from his class, rather they would stick to him and follow his lectures most attentively. They learnt their subject more quickly and efficiently. After three years, Principal Twany and Director Croft, but their joint recommendations offered him full pay from the beginning. They appreciated his personality and strength of character and became his friends and benefactors from then.
Jagdishchandra, also, came to understand that the best method of facing Englishmen was to stand before them with courage and indomitable will-power. This is did all his life.
The accumulated salary of three years, thus obtained was immediately paid to the creditors of his father. He had already taken responsibility of the debt and had already sold of all ancestral properties and homestead. This was very painful to him, but the debt needed to be repayed and it was actually reduced to half by this act. Her mother willingly gave up all her ornaments which Jagdishchandra reluctantly accepted to clear off the remaining debt. By this act, the debt was reduced to one-fourth. The creditors were ready to accept this as full settlement of their dues. But Jagdishchandra continued to pay in installments for six years more to wipe away the debt completely.
In 1887, Jagdishchandra Bose married Abala, the daughter of Durgamohan Das of Vikrampura, a very good friend of his father, well known in Bengal for his helping advancement of female education and social reform, and also as one of the founders of Brahmo Balika Sikshalaya, Calcutta. As desired by Durgamohan, the couple, soon after their marriage, shifted to a rented house at Chandanagar on the bank of the Ganges for six months.
They purchased a boat and berthed it by the side of their home. The habit of rowing contacted at Cambridge, continued here for a long time in this country. Bose initiated his wife to this sport and they often had trips on the river, rowing the boat together. Jagdishchandra used to cross the river by boat and entrain at Naihati to attend the College at Calcutta. In the afternoon, his wife rowed across the river in their boat to receive her husband. After the lapse of six months, the couple again lived with Jagdishchandra's parents at Calcutta.
During their stay at Chandanagar, Jagdishchandra helped his wife in the management of the daily affaris at home. He initiated her to these duties by performing the same himself with her co-operation. He himself fixed labels to the containers of stores and maintained accounts. Thus they had a very cordial atmosphere at home.
At the time of his marriage, the Bose family was in heavy debt, as his parents had helped many people monetarily without any returns. But Abala never complained. She tried to save as much money possible. This marriage was a very happy combination. Abala was a constant friend and companion of her husband. Bose's book, "Plant Autograph and their revelation" was dedicated (1927) to Abala Devi with the note, "To my wife, who has stood by me in all my struggle." The couple had only one child, which did not survive for long. As a result, they looked after the students as their own. Abala was a literate lady and helped her husband in his researches and also accompanied him on his foreign tours. She also started a girl’s school in Calcutta and ran it successfully.
The monotony of teaching the same lessons every year became a tedious regimen to follow, for Bose. He was a born researcher, but for research work a laboratory was needed. The Presidency College did not have a single laboratory. Bose established a small laboratory in the form of an enclosure adjacent to a bathroom at the college. He even devised many scientific instruments and carried out experiments involving refraction, diffraction and polarization. With this he embarked upon a long voyage of scientific researches and discoveries. He conducted experiments on electricity for about eight to ten years. He could not provide sufficiently for his family as he spent most of his salary for the development of the laboratory. He did all this in order to realize his dream that India should "enter the world movement for the advancement of knowledge".
Though there were many obstacles, he was finally able to set up his laboratory. The result of all his labor bore fruit, when he invented wireless telegraphy and gave its first public demonstration in Calcutta. The year was 1895, when his first research paper was published. This strikingly original research won the attention of the scientific world and also Lord Kelvin, the greatest physicist of 19th century who declared : "literally filled with wonder and admiration for so much success in the novel and difficult problem, which he had attacked".
When Bose was at Cambridge, one of his professors, Prof. Raleigh bore an immense influence on his work. He encouraged Bose to utilize his capabilities in in-depth research. It was Lord Raleigh, who communicated the results of Bose’s remarkable researches to the Royal Society of England. In those days, Indian scientists had to visit London personally to submit their research papers or else their researches were denied due recognition. So, Bose had to visit England, repeatedly. The scientists of the West had a great respect for him and Lord Kelvin insisted that Bose stay in London forever, but he was not ready to leave his motherland at any cost.
When the Royal Society published two of his articles, he got fame and some financial aid. On the basis of his articles, London University honored him with a Doctorate in Science. In those days, the British Government would deny any Indian to go abroad for research purposes. But Bose was to be an exception. He had the singular honor of getting official encouragement from the British rulers. Several scientists would try to emulate his invention but would ultimately fail. Only one Italian scientist Marconi succeeded and won the Nobel Prize, in 1909. It was a tragedy that Bose did not patent his invention of Wireless Telegraphy. He did not express any grief though and continued research especially in Botany.
He shifted his focus from electromagnetic waves to response phenomena in plants by the end of 19th century. He experimented on plants and proved that "they too have life like us and can feel pain". To confirm his theory, he also invented an instrument called ‘Resonate Recorder’ that could indicate the feelings of the plants. When the news spread, at first no one believed it. Bose visited England and carried out his experiments in the presence of many scientists. This created a sensation in the world of science because it was a great invention by an Indian scientist!
The Royal Society of England invited him to deliver lectures on his invention. Upon this success, Bose took the world by storm visiting several European countries. American and Japanese Universities also honored and invited him. The world recognized him as the ‘Father of Plant Physiology’.
After returning to his homeland, Bose continued his research work. He devised an instrument called the Crescograph, to study the physical movement of plants and the rate of their growth. He also manufactured medicine to make the plants unconscious before transplantation. Though he retired in 1915 from the post of professor, he was appointed Professor Emeritus on a monthly salary of Rs. 1,500, a princely sum in those days, for the rest of his life. After a couple of years, he donated all his life-savings for the foundation of the Bose Bigyan Mandir, which is the famous Bose Research Institute today. The Royal Society of England recognized his invaluable contribution by honoring him with the fellowship of the society.
J.C. Bose, who gave a fresh lease of life to the world of plants, fell ill and passed away on November 23, 1937. When Albert Einstein, the great scientist of the era, heard the shocking news, his immediate reaction was: The statue of this great personality should be erected at the UNO.
The traditional belief of the Orient, that plants have life is a well- documented fact, professed by rishis of ancient India. It was for Jagdish Chandra Bose, an eminent Indian scientist, to prove that plants too have life and feelings like any other living being. Best known for his researches in the field of Plant Physiology, his other major contributions were in the fields of Radio Physics and Optics.
This great son of India, worked under the most trying circumstances under the tyrannical British rule. He invented several devices like the Crescograph, Resonate Recorder among others having wide and present-day applications in the fields of Botany and Physics. He also established the first indigenous research institute of India, Bose Bigyan Mandir or Bose Research Institute, in Calcutta.
Contemporary scientists wondered as to how a scientist from the Orient with the least of facilities could create path-breaking inventions, which would find practical applications in the late 20th and 21st centuries. He toiled ceaselessly for the advancement of science without any desire of award or reward. Though the invention of Wireless Telegraphy that revolutionized the world of communications was basically his creation; the credit and Nobel Prize for it were bestowed upon Marconi. Undeterred, Bose lived with the noble spirit :
It is the invention, which is of importance for mankind, not the inventor.
November 30, 1858 Birth of Jagdish Chandra Bose at Bikrampur village, Dhaka .
1877 He passed his graduation with Physics (Honors) course from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta.
1880 He went to England for higher studies.
1883 He secured the B. Sc. degree with honors from London University.
1884 He also passed the B.A. examination in Natural Science (Tripos), University of Cambridge.
January 7, 1885 He was appointed as professor of Physical Science at the Presidency College, Calcutta.
May 1, 1895 His first public demonstration on Polarization of Electric Rays by Double Refracting Crystals at a meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta.
1896 He presented a research article on electromagnetic waves before the Royal Society of England.
The London University honored him with the Doctorate Degree in Science. The University of Cambridge awarded him with a degree of M.A..
1900 He was deputed by the Government of India as a delegate for the International Scientific Congress held in Paris.
1904 He was awarded the patent rights for using Galvena crystals in the detection of electromagnetic radiation.
1915 He retired from service but was appointed Professor Emeritus.
1917 Inauguration of the Bose Research Institute in Calcutta.
1920 He was honored as a Fellow of the Royal Society.
1927 He became President of the Indian Science Congress.
November 23, 1937 Jagdish Chandra Bose died at Giridih, Bihar in India.
Dr. J.C. Bose conducted scientific researches mainly in the fields of, Electromagnetic Radiation and Plant Physiology.
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
Heinrich Hertz and his successors – a book by Sir Oliver Lodge, impressed J.C. Bose very much. Inspired by the book Bose became one of the pioneers in research of solid-state physics. Bose began his scientific career in the field of microwaves in 1893. During 1894-1900, he studied the optical properties of radio waves. He made a device called the Mercury Coherer, which could detect low frequency waves. He produced extremely short waves, which were detected by an improved version of Hertz’s detector of electric waves. To produce such radiations, he used a variety of junctions (made from different metals) and connected all the junctions to a highly sensitive galvanometer. He also used Galvena crystals for making receivers, both for short wavelength radio waves and for white and ultraviolet light. He used electromagnetic waves to ring a bell from a distance by unleashing the power of electromagnetic waves. In 1899, he presented his research paper, Mercury Coherer with a Telephone before the Royal Society of England.
The renowned newspapers of London including The Spectator and The Times praised this Indian scientist for achieving wonderful results without proper facilities and in adverse conditions under the British reign. However, an Italian experimentalist Marconi grasped the commercial importance of Bose’s device and began to explore it secretly. Unfortunately, Bose did not patent his research on electromagnetic waves, and Marconi took the entire credit as the founder of Radio Physics and won the Nobel Prize, 13 years after Bose began his experiments in electromagnetic waves. Bose got his Galvena crystals patented for their application in the experiments on radioactivity in 1904.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
By the end of 19th century, Bose concentrated on Plant biology, leaving the field of Radio Physics. Nature had always attracted him, from his childhood. The Davy-Faraday Research Institute, a famous scientific institute in England, requested Bose to continue his research. Moreover, many eminent scientists of those days also inspired him to conduct researches. Bose began experiments in plant physiology. He wondered whether an outside stimulus when applied to living and also to non–living things (plants included at that time), would elicit any perceptible response or not. To test this, he brought a leaf, a carrot and a turnip from the garden. He applied the stimulus like electric shock and proved that plants also responded in a similar way. To facilitate his research, he devised an instrument named Resonate Recorder. He also devised the Crescograph. He presented his results before the Royal Society and the world came to know that plants too have life and can feel pain like human beings. He experimented and unveiled some hidden truths of nature that made the entire world sit up to recognize him as the father of plant physiology.
EXPERIMENTAL FACTS ABOUT PLANTS DEDUCED BY BOSE
• Plants have a nervous system like our own.
• Plants grow every second by 1/50, 000th of an inch.
• Like the great human biological system, plants also are subject to periodic conscianimal; have their periods of sleep and awakening. Plants are fast asleep between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
• Plants, too, are subject to exaltation and depression. At certain hours of the day, they are fully conscious and active and at other hours they are dormant and lazy.
• Alcohol produces the same alternate maudlin depression and exaltation in plants as observed in the human system.
• How does the plant finally die? In human beings, at critical junctures, a spasm passes through the entire body and similarly in plants a great contractile spasm takes place. This is accompanied by an electrical spasm. In the script of the Death Recorder, the line suddenly reverses and then ends. This is the final answer of the plant.
• Thin and wiry plants are far more susceptible to excitement than stout and robust plants. They too, need rest and without it, become flabby and depressed.
• Poisons have as much effect on plants as on human beings and applying antidotes can revive them.
• Plants die when placed in 60° C warm water.
• Plants are far more conscious of nature than human beings and become sensitive even to passing clouds, which produces a depressing effect in them.
• At sunset, the lotus closes its petals because of drop in temperature.
• When a plant like mimosa is pinched at one point, the shock spreads to other parts and the plant tends to bend down in fatigue.
• Plants respond to stimulus from outside. We may die when it is extremely cold. When our hand touches fire, we pull it away immediately. Plants also experience heat and cold in this manner, which can be measured by a thermometer.
• Plants grow in twists and turns, not in a perfect straight line because they have positive and negative electrical charges in them. Due to this, one part of the plant grows in the forward direction and the other grows in the backward direction. These pushes and pulls affect the structure of the plant and they tend to curve slightly, instead of growing straight.
• Plants always grow towards light even when kept in a dark place.
• Trees, like the palm, bend down in the evening and raise themselves in the morning. The reason behind this is nothing but their height and the change in the temperatures.
• The roots of plants absorb water but even without roots plants can absorb water. When the root is cut and stem is placed in water, it starts absorbing water. Moreover, when a plant is placed upside down in water, the leaves and the stem start absorbing water.
• The cells of a plant expand and contract like a human heart.
• Plants shrink a little during the night.
• During transplantation, plants feel pain. So they should be made unconscious using a chloroform like chemical, just as human beings are.
• Knowledge is never the exclusive possession of any particular race, nor does it recognize geographical limitations.
• The whole world is interdependent, and a constant stream of thought has been carried out throughout the ages enriching the common heritage of mankind.
• When any man is rendered unable to uphold his manhood and self-respect and woman is deprived of the chivalrous protection and consideration of men and subjected to degradation, the general level of manhood or womanhood in the world is lowered.
• In whatever condition we are placed, that is the true starting–point for us.
