Homi Jehangir Bhabha: Pioneer Indian physicist who died young

Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an important physicist in the mid-20th century, and the founder of India’s nuclear research program. The first head of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission, Bhabha spent his life not only making important contributions to atomic research but advocating for the use of this research to help improve the lives of Indian citizens.

Bhabha was born in old Bombay today in 1909. After completing school in India, he sailed to England in 1927 to study at Cambridge. While in Europe, he spent time in the laboratories of many prolific physicists, including Ernest Rutherford, Niels Bohr, and Enrico Fermi. He began to publish scientific papers during this time, many of which contained original contributions to his field. He even left his name on one discovery, the phenomenon of Bhaba electron scattering.

In 1939, Bhabha was on holiday in India when the war broke out, and thus unable to return to Europe. He took a post at the Indian Institute of Science to continue his work, and in 1941 he was elected fellow of the Royal Society, one of the UK’s highest scientific honours. In 1944, Bhabha proposed the creation of an institute for research in cosmic rays, physics, and nuclear technology; the Institute for Fundamental Research was subsequently founded in Bangalore with Bhabha as its director.

A visionary in the field of atomic energy, Bhabha’s advocacy efforts for a nuclear-powered electricity system for India led to the establishment of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission in 1948, which Bhabha chaired. Through this position and his close relationship with the otherwise pacifist Jawarhalal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, Bhabha became a leading scientific and nuclear advisor to the government of India up through his death in 1966.

However, as much as he advocated for the use of nuclear energy, he advocated against nuclear weapons. Bhabha believed that nuclear power should be used to reduce poverty in India rather than to make bombs. In 1955 he chaired the first international conference for developing peaceful uses of atomic energy, hosted by the UN in Geneva.

Though Bhabha spent time in Europe, once he returned home he became a great patron of Indian culture, supporting artists and musicians in the country. He believed that the development of science and technology was the key to an independent India’s prosperity.

Sadly, Bhaba died at the age of only 57, perishing with over one hundred others, in one of the worst plane crashes in aviation history. Remembered for his accomplishments both as a scientist and as a policy leader, both nationally and internationally, Bhabha was truly a remarkable figure.

Ruth Hirsch