“There are occasions that demanded that I should leave the test tube to attend to the call of the country…”.
Acharya P C Ray on Rowlatt Act, 1919
Acharya, as he was respectfully called by his students, Prafulla Chandra Ray was a larger-than-life inspiration, a sage-scientist defined by indomitable courage and patriotism, who achieved a high level of perfection in his times. Ray is regarded as the first Indian who started the integration process of vast ocean of ancient Indian chemistry with realms of emerging modern sciences, a researcher who led India towards modern chemistry, played a pivotal role in educational reforms, and a startup entrepreneur who established India’s first pharmaceutical industry. Fondly acknowledged as the Father of Modern Chemistry in India, he is an idol worth worshipping by young generations for his scientific integrity and nationalist feelings.
Young days
Prafulla Chandra Ray was born on August 2, 1861, in the village of Raruli-Katipara, Jessore, presently in Bangladesh. His parents Harish Chandra Ray and Bhubanmohini Devi, appreciated higher education and had an extensive library at home. His education started at the school founded by his father and was later completed in Calcutta. Halfway through his BA studies, he won the Gilchrist scholarship (1882) and at the age of 26, was awarded a D.Sc. in Inorganic Chemistry (1887) from Edinburgh University.
A nationalist, Ray was determined to see India regain its former glory. He mentioned many times in his autobiography that
India was glorious but contemporary Indians needed to adapt and compete with the changing times. In 1885, he participated in an essay competition announced by Sir Stafford Northcote, Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh, on the topic: “India Before and After the Mutiny.” He was not awarded but he wrote, ‘The prize was awarded to my rival competitor, but my essay as well as another’s was bracketed together as proxime accessit (nearest approach to the best).’ To spread the message of atrocities being carried out back in India by the British, he fearlessly distributed copies of his essay with an appeal to liberate India from colonial bondage. The Scottish newspaper, The Scotsman, remarked, “It contains information in reference to India which will not be found elsewhere, and is deserving of the utmost notice.’
Struggle for a job
On his return to India, Ray applied for a job at Indian Educational Service (IES) but despite his accomplishments, he remained jobless for a year. He was presented with testimonials and recommendations which mentioned highly of his achievements in the field of chemistry by the likes of Professor Cum Brown, Sir William Muir and Prof C H Tawney.
In those times, jobs were limited and mostly reserved for the British. Having letters of recommendations was mandatory to get a job under the IES of the British. There were two classes in IES: Imperial and Provincial. The Imperial service was mostly reserved for Europeans with better pay and privileges. Ray was appointed a temporary Assistant Professor at Presidency College with a meagre salary of Rs 250, an absurdly low pay for someone with his qualifications. He went to Darjeeling to meet British Officer Croft, Director of Public Instruction, to discuss the injustice meted out to him. Ray’s complaint infuriated Croft, who exclaimed, ‘There are other walks of life open to you. Nobody compels you to take this appointment.’ Ray protested against this humiliation but accepted the job due to his passion for research and teaching.
In 1916, he joined the University College of Sciences, Calcutta, where he was able to carry out research with his students and is credited for shaping it into a centre of excellence. It was during this time that his students started addressing him as ‘Acharya’.
A Teacher & Researcher
As a teacher, Ray believed in the philosophy as elucidated in a Sanskrit shloka, which stated: ‘Wish for victory everywhere except from your son and from your disciple.’ He wrote in his autobiography about his students, ‘The bonds existing between them and me were as subtle as those of chemical affinity. I used to visit them often in their hostel rooms and they were my constant companions in my maidan walk in the evenings.’
From 1921 onwards, he stopped accepting salary and requested Calcutta University to spend that money on development of laboratories. Many students, mainly the poor, lived with him and for achievers he established scholarships like the Nagarjuna award and Ashutosh Mukherjee award. On his retirement, he donated a huge sum to Calcutta University for extension and development of facilities.
Ray was a synthetic inorganic chemist with active interest in thio-organic compounds and his famous work was on the chemistry of nitrites. In 1894, he began an analysis of rare Indian minerals in his quest to discover new elements to fill the gaps in the Periodic table. He soon reported the first ever synthesis of previously unknown compound of Mercurous Nitrite, Hg2(NO2)2, which he narrated as ‘the discovery of mercurous nitrite opened a new chapter in my life’. This compound was a fascinating example of two relatively unstable ions combining to form a stable substance. The Nature magazine wrote in its issue of May 28, 1896, ‘A paper by Dr. P. C. Ray…on mercurous nitrite, that is worthy of note…’. This series of work laid the foundation of the first research school of modern chemistry in India.
Scientist for the Nation
Ray was aware of the highly developed Indian industries existing before the arrival of the British, who deliberately destroyed the native manufacturers to promote their interest. Under an outsider and aggressive rule, gradually Indians lost the inspiration and endeavour to set up any new venture.
Bengal went through a tumultuous phase between 1880 and 1925, with its partition in 1905 invoking the spirit of Swadeshi among its educated citizens like Ray, who believed in modernising education, ushering industrial revolution in Indian products, and imparting skills to students to enable them to compete with the fast changing world.
He constantly felt the need for a system of scientific self-reliance which would be run by educated Indians dedicated to the service of science. He continued to create and develop new opportunities, establishing the first research laboratory at Presidency College, the Indian Chemical Society in 1924, and the first research journal of India, The Journal of Indian Chemical Society. He affiliated himself with the Swadeshi-inspired National Council of Education(NCE).
In the charged political atmosphere of the times, he tasked himself to revive the industrial economy. With an initial investment of Rs 700, he set up India’s first pharmaceutical company with an in-house research laboratory, called the Bengal Chemicals (now Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceutical Works Ltd (BCPWL)). This Swadeshi venture proved successful and created new job opportunities. Encouraged, he set-up and supported new ventures like Acharya Prafulla Chandra Cotton Mills, Bengal Salt Manufacturing Company, Bengal Potteries, Bengal Enamel Works, Bengal Steam Navigation, Bengal Paper, Bengal Canning and Condiment, National Tanneries, Chuckervertty, Chatterjee & Company Ltd (Publishing House) and Bharati Scales and Engineering Company. Even as the owner of various industries, he never took any salary.
A visionary, Ray understood the importance of amalgamation of ancient and modern science. His book, A History of Hindu Chemistry is a critically acclaimed treatise and strongly attracted the attention of western scientists towards Indian alchemy, and led to the globalisation of fundamentals of Rasashastra.
Independence Struggle
During the peak of the Non-cooperation Movement of Mahatma Gandhi, Ray delivered the famous inspiring quote, “Science can afford to wait but Swaraj cannot…”
Although he was not in active politics, Ray could not keep himself aloof from the struggle for independence sweeping through the nation at that time. He criticised the British for their failure to understand the nationalist feelings of Indians and cautioned the British on the build-up of inevitable anger against their administration. The political and economic mayhem created by them would cost them dearly, he prophesised.
A practising Gandhian, Ray actively participated in making arrangements for Gandhi’s first public appearance in Calcutta during his visit to the city in 1901. In the book My Experiments with Truth (Part 3, Chapter 17), Gandhiji wrote, ‘Of these the one who stands foremost in my memory is Dr. (now Sir) P. C. Ray. He lived practically next door and was a very frequent visitor. This is how he [Gokhale] introduced Dr. Ray: ‘This is Prof. Ray, who having a monthly salary of Rs. 800, keeps just Rs. 40 for himself and devotes the balance to public purposes. He is not, and does not want to get, married.’
When British introduced the norm of separate election of Hindus and Muslims (Indian Councils Act, 1909or Morley-Minto Reforms) to the legislative councils, Congress remained indifferent but Ray opposed nationalism on the basis of religion. He criticised the opportunist policy of the then Congress leadership, which he believed could lead to communal divide.
He severely criticised Gandhiji for his blunder of the Khilafat Movement of 1919 and was also vociferous in his support for Subhash Chandra Bose, when the Congress was divided on the election of Netaji to the president’s post the second time in 1938. During the World War II, when Nazi Germany attacked Russia in 1941, Ray along with prominent Indians, issued a manifesto urging Indians to express full ‘sympathy and solidarity with the USSR…’
The government records of that time mention Ray as a ‘Revolutionary in the garb of a Scientist,’ as they believed he was sympathetic towards the revolutionaries and would make arrangements for their shelter and food at his factories. After his death, many revolutionaries and his colleagues mentioned about his indirect support in manufacturing explosives.
The great astrophysicist Meghnad Saha narrated a memorable incident about Ray, which goes like this: ‘Sir P C Ray was invited to Lahore University to deliver a course of lectures on Hindu Chemistry, after the publishing of his path breaking book, the History of Hindu Chemistry. While he was addressing, amongst the audience, a young English professor was apparently not very much impressed and could hardly suppress his sneers. Ray noticed it and was apparently annoyed. After the apparatus had been described, he took in his hand a lump of Makaradhwaja, (resublimed mercuric sulphide) which was used as a medicine. Sir P C Ray took the lump in his hand and said: “Look here, my friends! With such crude apparatus, the Indians, two thousand years ago used to prepare such a fine chemical and used it to alleviate human sufferings and this at a time when the ancestors of our friend over there were eating raw berries and wearing raw hides”. The Englishman was left red-faced and rushed out of the hall. Later on, he became a great follower of P C Ray.
The views of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray continue to be relevant even today. He wanted Indian students to learn new skills and techniques, and try to become independent entrepreneurs and not just obtain degrees for a comfortable job. No words could have been truer.
*The writer is Associate Professor of Chemistry, ARSD College, University of Delhi
