India on August 12 is celebrating the 106th birth anniversary of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, fondly remembered as the Father of India's Space Programme. Born in Ahmedabad on August 12, 1919, Sarabhai showed early brilliance. He earned an undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics from Cambridge University and later pursued a PhD under Nobel laureate C.V. Raman at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His 1942 PhD work, Time Distribution of Cosmic Rays, marked the beginning of his distinguished career. At just 28, he founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad in 1947, laying the foundation for scientific research in post-independence India.
Sarabhai's vision extended beyond research. Inspired by the Soviet Sputnik launch in 1957, he pushed for an Indian space program. With support from his mentor, Dr. Homi Bhabha, he established the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962. This evolved into the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969. Sarabhai also selected Thumba in Kerala as the site for India's first rocket launch station, where the first sounding rocket, carrying a sodium vapor payload, was launched on November 21, 1963.
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His contributions were not limited to space. Sarabhai collaborated with local industrialists to establish the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) and served as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. He also pioneered the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975-76, bringing educational television to rural India, and initiated the Aryabhata project, India's first satellite, launched in 1975 from the Soviet Union.
Sarabhai passed away on December 30, 1971, at age 52. His contributions earned him prestigious honors, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (1962), Padma Bhushan (1966) and a posthumous Padma Vibhushan in 1972.
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