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{{Short description|Indian physicist and academic}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name = B. D. Nag Chaudhuri
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Meghnad_Saha_with_his_assistant.jpg
| alt =
| caption = B. D. Nag Chaudhuri (second from left, front row) with [[Meghnad Saha]] and others.
| office = 3rd Director General of [[Defence research and development organisation]]
| term = 1970–1974
| predecessor = [[Suri Bhagavantam]]
| successor = [[MGK Menon]]
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1917|09|06}}<ref name=si-physicists>{{cite web|url=http://www.scientistindia.com/specialphysicist.htm|title=Physicists|publisher=Biological Dictionary of Indian Scientists|access-date=2012-05-16|archive-date=6 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006050821/http://www.scientistindia.com/specialphysicist.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Narayanganj]], [[Dhaka]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2006|06|25|1917|09|06}}<ref name=itcsra-obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.itcsra.org/sra_news_views/obituary/dr_b_d_nagchaudhuri.html|title=Dr B D Nagchaudhuri passes away|publisher=ITC Sangeet Research Academy|access-date=2012-05-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022000850/http://www.itcsra.org/sra_news_views/obituary/dr_b_d_nagchaudhuri.html|archive-date=22 October 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]], India
| monuments =
| nationality = [[India]]n
| other_names =
| citizenship =
| education = [[Banaras Hindu University]] [[Allahabad University]] [[University of California, Berkeley]]
| known_for = Building [[India]]'s first [[cyclotron]] One of the pioneers of [[nuclear physics]] in India
| notable_works =
| awards = [[Padma Vibhushan]]
| module = {{Infobox scientist
| embed = yes
| fields = [[Physics]]
| years_active =
| work_institution = [[Rajabazar Science College]] [[University of Calcutta]] [[Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics]] [[Government of India]] [[Planning Commission (India)|Planning Commission]] [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]]
| organization = [[Indian National Science Academy]] International Foundation for Science, Sweden [[ITC Sangeet Research Academy]]
}}
}}
'''Basanti Dulal Nag Chaudhuri''' (6 September 1917 – 25 June 2006) was an Indian [[Nuclear scientist]] and academic, and Scientific Advisor to the [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]], [[Government of India]]. He is known as one of the pioneers of [[nuclear physics]] in India. While serving as the Director General (chairman) to the [[Defence Research and Development Organisation]] (DRDO), he played influential role in ''[[Smiling Buddha|Pokhran-I]] (Smiling Buddha)'', [[India]]'s first successful [[Nuclear bomb]] test on 18 May 1974. This historic achievement made India the sixth nation in the world to become a nuclear superpower, after the [[United States of America]], [[Soviet Union]] (now [[Russia]]), [[England]], [[France]], and [[China]]. He also initiated the first feasibility studies on India's [[ballistic missile]] program.

In the early 1970s, as the Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Defence and chair of the Cabinet Committee on Science and Technology, Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri played an influential role in Smiling Buddha, India's first [[nuclear test]]. He also initiated the first feasibility studies on India's ballistic missile program. Later, he also served as a member of the [[Planning Commission (India)|Planning Commission]] and as Vice Chancellor of the [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]].

==Early life==
Basanti Dulal Nag Chaudhuri hailed from a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] [[Hindu]] family of [[Narayanganj]], [[Dhaka district|Dhaka]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]] (present-day [[Bangladesh]]).<ref name=si-physicists/><ref name=anderson-nucleus-585>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3BcKqXOeSbAC&pg=PA585 |title=Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India|page=585|author=Robert S. Anderson|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|year=2010|isbn=9780226019772 |access-date=2012-05-16}}</ref> During the [[partition of India]] in 1947 and the ensuing communal violence in [[East Bengal]] (now Bangladesh) of [[Pakistan]], his family moved to [[West Bengal]], [[India]].

His father became a professor of English at the [[Banaras Hindu University]], now [[Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) Varanasi]] (IIT-BHU).

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Banaras Hindu University.<ref name=itcsra-obit/> He obtained a Master's degree from [[Allahabad University]]. In [[Allahabad]], he met influential lawyer [[Parmeshwar Narayan Haksar]] as well as renowned Indian physicist, [[Meghnad Saha]]. He became close to Saha and joined his research group. In July 1938, when Saha moved to the [[Rajabazar Science College]] campus of [[University of Calcutta]], Nagchaudhuri moved with him.

Through Saha, he came in contact with [[Ernest Lawrence]] and with the latter's support he moved to the [[University of California, Berkeley]] at the end of 1938 to work on his doctorate in Nuclear Physics.<ref name=anderson-nucleus-585/> His thesis advisor was Ernest Lawrence. Nagchaudhuri completed his doctorate in 1941 and returned to India.

After the [[partition of India]] in 1947 and the ensuing violence against Hindus in Dhaka, his family moved to India. His father took a position as a professor in the Department of English at the Banaras Hindu University.<ref name=anderson-nucleus-585/>

Nagchaudhuri was married to Dipali Nag [[née]] Talukdar, daughter of a professor at [[St. John's College, Agra]]. Dipali Nag was a well-known [[Indian classical music|classical]] vocalist.<ref name=itcsra-obit/> They had one son.

==Professional work==

===Academics and research===
After completing his doctorate in 1941, Nagchaudhuri returned to the [[Rajabazar Science College]], University of Calcutta to join Saha's research group. In 1949, when the [[Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics]] (SINP) was established, Nagchaudhuri was affiliated with research at the institute, while continuing to teach at Science College, Calcutta University. After Saha's retirement in 1952, he was named Director of the SINP.<ref name=anderson-nucleus-585/>

Nagchaudhuri's research focused on [[nuclear isomer]]s, [[induced radioactivity]], [[Cherenkov radiation]] and [[nonthermal plasma]].<ref name=insa-obit>{{cite journal|url=http://insaindia.org/pdf/INSA%20185.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428051203/http://insaindia.org/pdf/INSA%20185.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-04-28 |title=INSA News |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |issue=185 |date=July–September 2006 |access-date=2012-05-06 }}</ref> During his doctorate at Berkeley, he had worked with the pioneers of the [[cyclotron]]. Before returning to India in 1941, with support from Saha and funding from the [[Tatas]], Nagchaudhuri had arranged for shipment of parts for a cyclotron magnet to the Calcutta University. However, ship carrying the second consignment of parts for the cyclotron was sunk by the [[Japan]]ese. The team under the leadership of Saha and later under Nagchaudhuri took on the task of building the remaining parts themselves. Problems with the vacuum pumps continued to afflict the project. The demountable oscillators also proved difficult to build. It was only in 1954, after a visit from Emilio Segre to the laboratory, that the cyclotron started to function. Nagchaudhuri is thus credited with building the first cyclotron in India.<ref name=anderson-nucleus-139>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3BcKqXOeSbAC&pg=PA585 |title=Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India|page=139|author=Robert S. Anderson|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|year=2010|isbn=9780226019772 |access-date=2012-05-16}}</ref>

In 1953, he succeeded [[Meghnad Saha]] as the [[Palit Professor of Physics]] at Calcutta University, a post which he held until 1959.<ref name=insa-fellows>{{cite web|url=http://insaindia.org/pdf/N-Fin-579-623.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818135839/http://insaindia.org/pdf/N-Fin-579-623.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-08-18 |title=Fellows |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |access-date=2012-05-16 }}</ref> He was a visiting professor at [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] in 1961-62 and nominated as a Lincoln Lecturer.

===Government===
Being well-connected to the political elite of West Bengal through his relationship with B.C. Roy and with P.N. Haksar, Nagchaudhuri was nominated to serve as the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee of Science & Technology from 1969 to 1972.<ref name=anderson-nucleus-585/> During this period, he also served as the Scientific Advisor to the [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]] (MoD). He became a Member of the Planning Commission in 1970. From 1970 to 1974, he served as the Scientific Advisor to the [[DRDO]].

Given his background in nuclear physics, and in his roles as the chair of the cabinet committee and as scientific advisor to the DRDO, he was closely involved in the policy discussion about India's [[nuclear test]]. In October 1972, then [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Indira Gandhi]] gave the go-ahead for the [[Smiling Buddha]] test. Nagchaudhuri was a member of the steering committee for the test preparations.<ref name=anderson-nucleus-479>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3BcKqXOeSbAC&pg=PA585 |title=Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India|page=479|author=Robert S. Anderson|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|year=2010|isbn=9780226019772 |access-date=2012-05-16}}</ref> It was in the scientific laboratories of the DRDO, headed by Nagchaudhuri, that the explosive lenses for the test were fabricated. The test was successfully conducted in May 1974.

In 1970, he was also tasked by Indira Gandhi to prepare a classified feasibility study for building long-range [[ballistic missile]]s.<ref name=itcsra-obit/> Based on Nagchaudhuri's recommendation, [[Project Valiant]] was initiated in 1972 to build a liquid-fuelled intermediate range ballistic missile.<ref name=anderson-nucleus-469>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3BcKqXOeSbAC&pg=PA585 |title=Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India|page=469|author=Robert S. Anderson|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|year=2010|isbn=9780226019772 |access-date=2012-05-16}}</ref> Another initiative, [[Project Devil]], was initiated at the [[Defence Research and Development Organisation|Defense Research & Development Laboratory]] (DRDL) to produce short-range [[surface-to-air missile]]s.<ref name=anderson-nucleus-468>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3BcKqXOeSbAC&pg=PA585 |title=Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India|page=468|author=Robert S. Anderson|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|year=2010|isbn=9780226019772 |access-date=2012-05-16}}</ref> While both projects were terminated in 1974 due to conflicts within DRDL and resulting lack of progress, they laid the foundation for the successful [[Integrated Guided Missile Development Program]] in the early 1980s.

In 1970-71, Nagchaudhuri also chaired a committee that examined India's maritime security issues. The committee made several key recommendations about the requirement to patrol India's vast coastline, set up a registry of offshore fishing vessels in order to identify illegal activity, and establish a capable and well-equipped force to intercept vessels engaged in illegal activities. The recommendations of the committee formed the foundation of the subsequent [[Khusro Faramurz Rustamji|Rustamji Committee]] in 1974, that led to the establishment of the [[Indian Coast Guard]].<ref name=icg-mh>{{cite web|url=http://indiancoastguard.nic.in/Indiancoastguard/history/morehistory.html|title=History|publisher=Indian Coast Guard|access-date=2012-05-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502201216/http://indiancoastguard.nic.in/indiancoastguard/history/morehistory.html|archive-date=2 May 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Later work===
From 1 July 1974 to 1 January 1979, he served as the Vice Chancellor of the [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] (JNU).<ref name=jnu-formervcs>{{cite web|url=http://www.jnu.ac.in/main.asp?sendval=FormerViceChancellor |title=Former Vice Chancellors |publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru University |access-date=2012-05-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513150204/http://www.jnu.ac.in/main.asp?sendval=FormerViceChancellor |archive-date=13 May 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref> From 1975 to 1977, he served as the Chairman of the National Committee on Environmental Planning and Coordination.

He also served on the Board of Governors of the [[Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi]].<ref name=insa-obit/>

==Affiliations==
Nagchaudhuri served on numerous Indian and international scientific councils. From 1976 to 1984, he served a Member of the Scientific Council of the [[International Centre for Theoretical Physics]]. From 1980 to 1982, he also served on the Research Advisory Council of the [[National Physical Laboratory of India|National Physical Laboratory]]. He also served as a member and vice-chair of the Board of Governors of the [[East-West Center]].<ref name=insa-fellows/>

He also served on the boards of various Indian public sector companies. These included [[Bharat Dynamics Limited]], [[Bharat Electronics Limited]] and [[Hindustan Aeronautics Limited]].<ref name=insa-fellows/>

Nag Chaudhuri maintained an active interest in [[Hindustani Classical Music]] and [[Bengali literature|Bengali]] literature and culture.<ref name=itcsra-obit/>

===Awards===
Nagchaudhuri was elected a Fellow of the [[Indian National Science Academy]] in 1964.<ref name=insa-nagchaudhuri>{{cite web|url=http://insaindia.org/deceaseddetail.php?id=N64-0500 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415151924/http://insaindia.org/deceaseddetail.php?id=N64-0500 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 April 2014 |title=Dr BD Nag Choudhury |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |access-date=2012-05-06 }}</ref> He was awarded the [[Padma Vibhushan]] in 1975.<ref name=si-physicists/> He also received honorary doctorates from [[Andhra University]] and the [[Kanpur University]].

==Death==
Nagchaudhuri died of a [[cerebral infarction]] on 25 June 2006.<ref name=itcsra-obit/> He was survived by his wife, Dipali Nag, his son and his family.

==References==
<references/>

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagchaudhuri, Basanti Dulal}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian physicists]]
[[Category:Indian nuclear physicists]]
[[Category:Banaras Hindu University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Allahabad alumni]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Calcutta]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:People from Dhaka District]]
[[Category:Bengali physicists]]
[[Category:Scientists from Kolkata]]
[[Category:History of the Indian Coast Guard]]

Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri - Revision history

Ilushikpub at 02:53, 13 August 2025