Tribute to Dr. G. R. Das, a pioneer scientist of high yielding rice variety ‘Gitesh’, writes Dr. Bishakha Das Sarma

March 6: Of late, the Dept of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Assam Agriculture University, and Regional Agricultural Research Station, Titabar organised Dr. G. R. Das Memorial Lecture to show honour and gratitude towards his contribution in Agriculture in Assam and Assam Agriculture University. Dr. Das has extraordinary contribution in developing high yielding rice varieties in Assam; and laid the foundation stone in streamlining rice research and achieving the present status. Late G R Das had evolved several high yielding rice varieties of rice and was a name to reckon with in rice research.

Inaugurating the programme, the Vice Chancellor of Assam Agricultural University (AAU) Dr. Ashoke Bhattacharjee told that Dr. G. R. Das is the perfect example of a name who should be recalled on waking up in the morning. In 2018, a rice variety called ‘Gitesh’ was named after Dr. Gitesh Ranjan Das by AAU, the VC informed.

Dr. Das joined as a farm manager at Rice Experimental Station, Karimganj in 1967. Later, he joined Regional Research Station, Titabar (Jorhat) in 1968. He also worked as a teacher in Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat. Then he went to Indian Agriculture Research Institute, Pusa (New Delhi) for doing Ph.d. He joined as Senior Rice Breeder in Karimganj in 1979. In 1982, he joined as Chief Scientist at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Titabar. In 1987,he joined as Chief Scientist at Regional Agricultural Research Station (Akbarpur), Karimganj and worked till his retirement in 1997.

To honour Dr. G. R. Das and his contribution in the field of Agriculture, being one of the most prolific scientist, a rice variety was dedicated in his name ‘Gitesh’ which was released in CVRC in 2018, and is popular amongst the farmers of Assam.

Dr. Madan Kumar Bhattacharya, Professor, IOWA State University, USA, a former student of Dr. Das, delivered the memorial lecture on “Plant Breeding to meet the needs of 21st century”. A student of Dr G R Das, Bhattacharyya said that genetic gain in crops was a sure indicator of breeding success and should be taken up in right earnest to meet the needs of the 21st century. Acting Vice Chancellor, Dean faculty of Agriculture, Chief Scientist RARS Titabar, HOD, Dept of Plant Breeding and Genetics, scientists and scholars were present in the occasion.

Dr. Bishakha Das, youngest daughter of late Dr. G. R. Das proposed to institute an award and memorial lecture every year in her father’s honour with a view to celebrate the life and works of the eminent scientist and at the same time to enrich and inspire the rice scientists of Assam in particular. She also gave an insight into her father’s life and recalled that her father was also a flutist liked to sing songs.

(The writer is a scholar in linguistics who has done her Ph. D in endangered language from JNU and also teaches French in Delhi.)