Raja Ramanna was an Indian physicist who is best known for his role in India's nuclear program during its early stages.
24 Facts About Raja Ramanna
2.
Raja Ramanna expanded and supervised scientific research on nuclear weapons and was the first directing officer of the small team of scientists that supervised and carried out the test of the nuclear device, under the codename Smiling Buddha, in 1974.
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Raja Ramanna was associated with and directed India's nuclear program for more than four decades, and initiated industrial defence programmes for the Indian Armed Forces.
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Raja Ramanna was a recipient of Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian decoration, in honour of his services to build India's nuclear programme.
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Raja Ramanna was born in beginning of 1925 to Rukmini and Ramanna in Tumkur, in the princely state of Mysore Ruled by British.
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At Madras Christian College, Raja Ramanna obtained a BSc in physics from the University of Madras and gained a BA degree in classical music in 1947.
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Raja Ramanna was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship, and travelled to Great Britain in 1952 to complete his doctorate.
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Raja Ramanna attended London University's King's College and enrolled in a doctoral programme there.
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In 1954, Raja Ramanna obtained a PhD in Nuclear Physics and a LRSM from King's College London.
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In 1956, Raja Ramanna was invited by the National College of Arts and National Academy of Performing Arts to perform and lecture on the classical piano with a live ensemble and received jubilant praise and honour for his performance.
11.
The exact dates are unknown, but Raja Ramanna chose and began the underground construction of nuclear test site at an Indian Army base, the Pokhran Test Range.
12.
Raja Ramanna, serving as the CDO of BARC, began to take initiate to develop the first nuclear weapon.
13.
Indira Gandhi verbally gave permission to Raja Ramanna to carry out the test, and preparation was taken under Raja Ramanna.
14.
Raja Ramanna immediately travelled to Pokhran to pay a visit to the nuclear site that was constructed under his guidance.
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In 1978, Saddam Hussein approached Raja Ramanna for help to build an Iraqi nuclear bomb.
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The offer came while Raja Ramanna was in Baghdad for a week as Saddam's personal guest.
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Raja Ramanna was given a tour of the capital and Iraq's main nuclear facility at Tuwaitha.
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Later in his career, Raja Ramanna advocated for the strict policies to prevent nuclear proliferation.
19.
Raja Ramanna travelled to Pakistan, where he attended the annual International Physics Conference to deliver a lecture on nuclear physics, notably lectures on nuclear force.
20.
Raja Ramanna began lobbying for peace process between India and Pakistan, and was a leading force to prevent nuclear escalation in the region.
21.
Later in the 1980s and 1990s, Raja Ramanna served as Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation and as scientific adviser to the Defence Minister of India in 2000.
22.
Raja Ramanna joined the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1984 where he served as the President of the 30th General Conference of the IAEA.
23.
Raja Ramanna was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 1997 to 2003.
24.
In 2000, Raja Ramanna was the first director of National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.