Ruchi Ram Sahni

Ruchi Ram Sahni (April 5, 1863 – June 3, 1948) was a Punjabi freedom fighter having a wide influence as an educationist and creator of scientific temper in the pre-partition Punjab.^[1] He was a scientist, an innovator, an enthusiastic educationist, a fierce patriot, a devoted social worker and the catalyst behind popularizing science education in Punjab.^[2] He was the father of renowned paleobotanist Birbal Sahni.

Early life

Sahni was born on 5 April 1863 at Dera Ismail Khan a city on west bank of Indus River (now in Pakistan). His father's name was Karam Chand Sahni who was a merchant and his mother's name Gulab Devi who belonged to a banker’s family of Pind Dadan Khan.

Ruchi Ram Sahni was a brilliant student he completed his matriculation from Government School Lahore in 1881 and BA in 1884 in which he stood first in the University in December 1885. Sahni visited Presidency college, Calcutta as trainee meteorologist and guest student in 1885 where he interacted with leading personalities of Bengal. He was impressed by Dr Mahendra Lal Sircar and to emulate him to take science to the masses ^[3]

Research in Europe

While working as a professor at Government College, Lahore, Ruchi Ram took a study leave in 1914 to research the variability in atomic weights of Lead and Bismuth under the mentorship of Kazimierz Fajans at Technische Hochshule of Karlsruhe, Germany now known as Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. A few months after his joining Germany went into war against allied forces which included United Kingdom of Great Britain. As a result Ruchi Ram had to leave Germany hurriedly and went to Manchester in the Lab of Ernest Rutherford who was also mentor of Prof. Kazimierz Fajans. Together with Rutherford Ruchi Ram published two papers in the field of physical chemistry. When he went to Manchester, two of his sons were already in UK, the eldest one was studying medicine at London and his second son Birbal Sahni, a pioneer in Paleobotany was studying Botany at Cambridge. During his vacations, Birbal Sahni assisted his father to produce photographic plates of later’s experiments. ^[4]

Family

Ruchi Ram was married to Ishwari Devi. The pair had 5 sons Bikramjit, Birbal, Bodh Raj, Manohar Lal, Mulk Raj and 4 daughters Ram Rakhi Chandiok, Lajwanti Sabherwal, Leelawati Kohli, and Lakhwanti Malhotra. His eldest son Bikramjit Sahni studied medicine from Edinburgh and London, the second son Birbal was DSc (Cambridge), Scd, Cantab.FRS, third son was Bodh Raj Bar-at-Law, London, fourth Manohar Lal, a Rubber Technologist, UK and fifth was Mulk Raj PhD, ScD, Cantab; DSc Imperial College, London. Birbal Sahni established the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow, India. While Mulk Raj Sahni founded Department of Geology at Panjab University, Chandigarh India and published two papers in Nature. Among Ruchi Ram`s daughters Leelawati was the first women graduate of Panjab University. Several of Ruchi Rams grandsons and granddaughters went on to become renowned educationist. Among them Prof Ashok Sahni followed the traditions of his father Mulk Raj and Uncle Birbal and became Prof. of Paleogeology at Punjab University Chandigarh. He has about 90 peer reviewed publication in International journals including several in renowned journals- Science and Nature. Ashok Sahni discovered fossils of new species of Indian Dinosaurs. His wife is a Geophysicist.^[5]

References