Hyderabad: Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was a great institution builder and helped to establish a large number of institutions in diverse fields. He was instrumental in establishing the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad.His father Ambalal Sarabhai was an affluent industrialist and owned many mills in Gujarat. Vikram Sarabhai was one of the eight children of Ambalal and Sarla Devi. ISRO tweeted remembering Dr. Sarabahi on his birth anniversary:-
He was greatly influenced by Mahatama Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, J Krishna Murthi, Motilal Nehru, V.S Shrinivasa Shashtri, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Maulana Azad, C.F Andrews, and C.V Raman. His home was often visited by these personalities and interaction with them helped him build a character and interest in varied subjects.
- Sarabhai matriculated from the Gujarat College in Ahmedabad after passing the Intermediate Science examination. After completing his college education, he went to England to study at Cambridge University where he passed the Tripos examination of Natural Sciences.
- In 1947, he got PhD for his work on photofission (Cosmic Ray investigation in Tropical Latitudes) at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge.
- He had a special interest in cosmic rays and thus his research is greatly influenced by this. He did research on cosmic rays for some time at the Poona Central Metrological Station and later went to Kashmir to continue his research.
- He also undertook research in cosmic rays under physicist Sir CV Raman at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
- Shortly after he returned from Cambridge, he established the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad. The Institute was devoted to the study of cosmic rays and outer space.
- In 1955, Sarabhai set up a branch of Physical Research Laboratory at Gulmarg in Kashmir. The Atomic Energy Department of the Government of India established a full-fledged High-Altitude Research Center at the same place.
- He was named as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of the Department of Atomic Energy of India. He is attributed to his contribution to taking India in space-age by expanding the Indian Space Research Organisation.
- The year 1957-1958 was designated as an International Geo-physical year (IGY). The Indian programme for the IGY had been one of the most significant ventures of Sarabhai. This gave him exposure to new vistas of space science with the launching of Sputnik-I in 1957.
- Sarabhai was also a pioneer of the pharmaceutical industry in India. He was among the very few in the pharmaceutical industry who recognized that the highest standards of quality should be established and maintained at any cost. It was Sarabhai who first implemented Electronic Data Processing and Operations Research Techniques in the pharmaceutical industry.
The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. He successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space program for a developing country like India after the Russian Sputnik launch.
Dr. Sarabhai emphasized the importance of a space program in his quote: "There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. " But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society."
Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, widely regarded as the father of India's nuclear science program, supported Dr. Sarabhai in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. This center was established at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the coast of the Arabian Sea, primarily because of its proximity to the equator. After a remarkable effort in setting up the infrastructure, personnel, communication links, and launch pads, the inaugural flight was launched on November 21, 1963, with a sodium vapor payload.