Homi Jehangir Bhabha was a visionary, who dreamt of India gaining self-reliance through progress in the field of nuclear power. Science, especially nuclear science, was not exactly Bhabha’s passion. It was his way of life.
At Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s behest he founded the Department of Atomic Energy and the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948 and molded India’s stand on atomic energy. Bhabha ushered India into a world of scientific independence.
Within a decade of launching its atomic energy programme, India became one of the first ten most advanced countries in this new and complex technology. The country achieved the distinction of commissioning Asia’s first research reactor Apsara in 1956. This reactor was built indigenously, excepting for the fuel elements, which were supplied by the United Kingdom.
 | | Homi Bhabha inaugurates the first atomic reactor, Apsara on 4 August,1956 |
With the confidence gained from this achievement, Dr. Bhabha drew up a three-stage long-term nuclear power programme for India. The objective was that nuclear power development should reach a level such that power from nuclear energy should contribute significantly to the electricity needs for industrial and agricultural growth of the country.
Dr Bhabha led India’s nuclear programme until his tragic death 40 years ago, January 24, 1966, when his Air-India flight crashed near the summit of Mont Blanc in Switzerland as it was attempting to land in Geneva.
*Photograph Courtesy: Films Division, Mumbai
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