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{{short description|Indian geneticist (1930–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date= October 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date= October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Khem Singh Gill
| image =Dr. Khem Singh Gill.png
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1930|09|01}}
| birth_place = [[Kaleke]], [[Moga District]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2019|09|17|1930|09|01}}
| death_place =
| occupation = [[Geneticist]] Plant breeder Academic
| yearsactive = Since 1951
| spouse = Surjit Kaur Gill
| children = 3
| known for = Genetics Plant breeding
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]] [[Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award]] [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research|ICAR]] Team Research Award FICCI Award [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research|ICAR]] Golden Jubilee Award ISOR Silver Jubilee Award
}}
'''Khem Singh Gill''' (1 September 1930 – 17 September 2019)<ref>[https://www.tribuneindia.com/mobi/news/punjab/former-pau-vice-chancellor-khem-singh-gill-passes-away-at-89/833951.html Former PAU vice chancellor Khem Singh Gill passes away at 89]</ref> was an Indian academic, [[geneticist]], [[plant breeder]] and Vice-Chancellor of the [[Punjab Agricultural University]].<ref name="Ranjit Singh 'Kuki' Gill">{{cite web | url=https://naujawani.com/ranjit-singh-kuki-gill | title=Ranjit Singh 'Kuki' Gill | publisher=Nau Jawani | date=2016 | access-date=20 May 2016}}</ref> He was known for his contributions to the Green Revolution in India. Instrumental for breeding new strains of wheat, linseed, and sesame, he was the author of the book ''Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab''<ref name="Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab">{{cite book | title=Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab | publisher=Punjab Agricultural University | author=Khem Singh Gill | year=1979 | pages=128 | asin=B0007B06LU}}</ref> along with several additional articles on the subject.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbNQiG37DXsC&pg=PA76 | title=Wheat, barley, and triticale cultivars: A list of publications | publisher=CIMMYT | year=1997 | pages=76– | isbn=978-970-648-055-2}}</ref> He was also the vice-president of The Kalgidhar Trust<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.barusahib.org|title=Home|date=2013-11-13|newspaper=The Kalgidhar Society, Baru Sahib|access-date=2017-01-12}}</ref> and The Kalgidhar Society, [[Baru Sahib]], which is one of the largest [[Sikh]] charities. ''A'' Sant Teja Singh Chair Professor in Sikhism of the Eternal Global University<ref name="Sannt Teja Singh Chair Professorship in Sikhism">{{cite web | url=http://eternalglobaluniversity.education/2016/03/23/sannt-teja-singh-chaired-professorships-awarded-to-dr-khem-singh-gill/ | title=Sannt Teja Singh Chair Professorship in Sikhism | publisher=Eternal Global University | date=2016 | access-date=20 May 2016}}</ref> and a founding fellow of [[The World Academy of Sciences]],<ref name="Fellow, Elected 1991">{{cite web | url=http://naasindia.org/fdetail.html#G014 | title=Fellow, Elected 1991 | publisher=National Academy of Agricultural Sciences | date=2016 | access-date=20 May 2016}}</ref> he was a recipient of Rafi Ahmad Kidwai Memorial Prize, Team Research Award of the [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]] (ICAR), FICCI Award, ICAR Golden Jubilee Award and Silver Jubilee Award of the Indian Society of Oilseeds Research.<ref name="Indian Fellow">{{cite book | url=http://www.insaindia.org.in/detail.php?id=N81-0283 | title=Indian Fellow | publisher=Indian National Science Academy }}</ref> In 1992, the Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honor of the [[Padma Bhushan]] for his contributions to science.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2016 |access-date=3 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>

== Biography ==
Born 1 September 1930 at [[Kaleke]], a small village in the [[Punjab State]] of [[India]] (presently in [[Moga District]]), Khem Singh Gill graduated in Agricultural Science (BSc) from [[Khalsa College, Amritsar]] in 1949 and secured his master's degree (MSc) from [[Punjab University, Chandigarh, India|Punjab University]] in 1951.<ref name="Fellow, Elected 1991" /> He started his career as a research assistant at the Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab and later moved to [[Punjab Agricultural University]] (PAU) as Assistant Oilseed Breeder before taking a break from work to pursue his doctoral studies at the [[University of California, Riverside|University of California]] in 1963.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> After obtaining his PhD in genetics from the university in 1966, he returned to India and joined [[Punjab Agricultural University]] as a professor and the head of the Department of Genetics (1966-1968). Dr. Gill later became a professor and the head of the Department of Plant Breeding (1968–79), Dean of the College of Agriculture (1979–83), Director of Research (1983–87), and Director of Extension Education (1987–89). He eventually earned the post of Vice Chancellor of PAU in 1990.<ref name="Fellow, Elected 1991" />

Dr. Gill Served as Vice Chancellor until 1993. During his tenure at the university, he contributed to the development of the Department of Plant Breeding into a Center of Excellence.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> His contributions were also reported in the introduction of research programs the [[Hisar (city)|Hisar]] and [[Ludhiana]] campuses of the institution. He headed the Wheat Improvement Program of the state government.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> On the research front, his work assisted in the development of improved [[cultivars]] of [[linseed]], [[sesame]], and [[wheat]] and in the genetic improvement of [[pearl millet]], [[barley]] and [[triticale]]. His researches were documented by way of over 475 scientific papers and articles<ref name="Gill, Khem Singh on WorldCat">{{cite web | url=http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n86871804/ | title=Gill, Khem Singh on WorldCat | publisher=WorldCat | date=2016 | access-date=20 May 2016}}</ref> and many books,<ref name="Fellow, Elected 1991" /> including ''Development of triticales for stability of yield and improved quality of grains: Final technical report''<ref name="Development of triticales for stability of yield and improved quality of grains: Final technical report">{{cite book | title=Development of triticales for stability of yield and improved quality of grains: Final technical report | publisher=Punjab Agricultural University | author=Khem Singh Gill | year=1985 | asin=B0007BGED4}}</ref> and ''Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab''.<ref name="Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab" /> He also guided 17 doctoral and 8 master's students in their researches.<ref name="Indian Fellow" />

While serving as the head of the Department of Plant Breeding at PAU, Dr. Gill founded the Crop Improvement Society of India in 1974.<ref name="Crop Improvement Society of India">{{cite web | url=http://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=publisher&type=138 | title=Crop Improvement Society of India | publisher=Indian Journals.com | date=2016 | access-date=20 May 2016}}</ref> He served as its president until 1979, while remaining a loyal patron ever since. He was associated with the [[International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center]] as a member of its program committee and board of trustees (1988–93).<ref name="Fellow, Elected 1991" /> He was the evaluator of two UNDP programs: sorghum and millets improvement program of [[International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics]] (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad (1981) and rice program of the [[International Rice Research Institute]] (IRRI) in the Philippines (1983). Dr. Gill served as the Senior Vice President of the International Triticale Association from 1988 to 1994.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> He was a council member of the [[Indian National Science Academy]] from 1983 to 1985. He was the founding board member of the [http://barusahib.org/ Kalgidhar Trust], [[Baru Sahib]],{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} an international non-profit charitable organization along with Baba Iqbal Singh who was the President of the board. He was associated with Baba Iqbal Singh since early college days and they both found their mentor in Sant Teja Singh,{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} (MA LLB AM Harvard). Since 1994, Dr. Gill served as chairman of 129 [http://akalacademy.in/ Akal Academies] under The Kalgidhar Trust/Society in the rural areas of Northern India.<ref name="Sannt Teja Singh Chair Professorship in Sikhism " />

== Scientific contributions ==
Dr. Khem Singh Gill worked with Nobel Peace Laureate [[Norman Borlaug]] in the 1960s to develop new varieties of wheat. Under his leadership, the Department of Plant Breeding received recognition at the international level. His main focus area, however, remained the wheat improvement program. Dr. Gill carried out excellent work in the development and identification of improved varieties of wheat, which revolutionized wheat production in Punjab and several other parts of India and Pakistan. He was one of the main contributors to the [[Green Revolution in India]], which made India a self-reliant country with an added capacity to export grains to other countries. Dr. Gill has over 300 research publications and has authored many books in the area of his expertise (K. S. Gill, personal communication, 22 November 2016).

== Awards and honors ==
Dr. Khem Singh Gill was a founder fellow of [[The World Academy of Sciences]] (1974), as well as an elected fellow of the [[Indian National Science Academy]] (1981) and the [[National Academy of Agricultural Sciences]] (1991).<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> He was also a fellow of the Indian Society of Agricultural Sciences, Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Genetic Association of India and the Crop Improvement Society of India.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> The Indian Council made him a National Professor of Eminence in 1980 and the Eternal Global University conferred the ''Sant Teja Singh Chair Professorship in Sikhism'' on him in 2016.<ref name="Sannt Teja Singh Chair Professorship in Sikhism " />

Dr. Gill received the [[Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award]] of the [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]] (ICAR) in 1976 and a cash prize from Punjab Agricultural University in 1978.<ref name="Fellow, Elected 1991" /> ICAR honored him again in 1981 with the Team Research Award and he was awarded the FICCI Award in 1985.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> He received three appreciations from the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington in 1981, 1987 and 1991 and two Wheat Research Medals from the [[International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center]] in 1973 and 1993.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1992,<ref name="Padma Awards" /> the same year as he received the Golden Jubilee Award of the [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]]. He was also a recipient of the Silver Jubilee Award of the Indian Society of Oilseed Research in 1993.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> In 2015, Dr. Gill was conferred Doctor of Science (honoris causa) by Punjab Agricultural University in [[Ludhiana]] in [[Punjab, India]].

== Controversy ==
Dr. Khem Singh Gill was involved in a controversy in 1985 when his son, Ranjit Singh Gill, was indicted in the assassination of [[Lalit Maken]] and his wife, Geetanjali.<ref name="Sukhbir holds closed-door meet with Ranjit Singh Kuki, in Ludhiana">{{cite web | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/sukhbir-holds-closed-door-meet-with-ranjit-singh-kuki/story-tvMQtIVR10XHTfucB3TRyK.html | title=Sukhbir holds closed-door meet with Ranjit Singh Kuki, in Ludhiana | newspaper=Hindustan Times | date=8 October 2015 | access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> Controversy surrounded Maken's alleged involvement in the massacres of Sikhs during the [[1984 anti-Sikh riots|1984 anti-Sikh genocide]] in New Delhi. Ranjit was convicted, despite his father's efforts,<ref name="Tatla2005">{{cite book|author=Darsham Singh Tatla|title=The Sikh Diaspora: The Search For Statehood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Amq_oOeDZNUC&pg=PA237|date=8 August 2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-36744-2|pages=237–}}</ref> and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003.<ref name="Gill Gets Life for Maken's Murder ">{{cite web | url=http://www.sikhtimes.com/news_022403a.html | title=Gill Gets Life for Maken's Murder | work=The Sikh Times| date=24 February 2003 | access-date=20 May 2016}}</ref> His sentence was later commuted.<ref name="Ranjit Singh 'Kuki' Gill" /> Ranjit Singh Gill, after the release from incarceration, is involved in community and social development activities.<ref name="Ranjit Singh 'Kuki' Gill" />

== See also ==
* [[Khalsa College, Amritsar]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quU7AnV--WM | title=Interview with Dr. Khem Singh Gill | publisher=The Harpreet Singh Show | work=[[YouTube]] video | date=7 June 2013 | access-date=20 May 2016}}
* {{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NweASBk99o | title=Dr. Khem Singh Gill's speech - Part 1 | publisher=Apsumal61 | work=[[YouTube]] video | date=23 May 2009 | access-date=20 May 2016}}
* {{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQaCJl8KClE | title=Dr. Khem Singh Gill's speech - Part 2 | publisher=Apsumal61 | work=[[YouTube]] video | date=23 May 2009 | access-date=20 May 2016}}

{{Authority control}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1990–99}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Khem Singh}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering]]
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:Scientists from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:University of the Punjab alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Punjab Agricultural University]]
[[Category:University of California alumni]]
[[Category:Fellows of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:Indian geneticists]]
[[Category:Indian agriculturalists]]
[[Category:Indian botanical writers]]
[[Category:Plant breeding]]
[[Category:Heads of universities and colleges in India]]
[[Category:TWAS fellows]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biologists]]
[[Category:People from Moga district]]

Khem Singh Gill - Revision history

TimeStampBot at 15:44, 3 October 2023