Indian Nobel Prize Winners

Nobel Prize Laureate from India

1. Rabindranath Tagore:

Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913

Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was the first Indian and first Asian to win Nobel Prize. He won Nobel Prize in Literature for his work on Gitanjali in English version, which was published on 1913.

Nobel Committee had said that "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with comsummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West", he was awarded the honourable award.

Tagore was also author of Indian National Anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' and Bangladesh National Anthem 'Amar Shonar Bangla'.

2. Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman:

Nobel Laureate in Physics (1930)

Sir CV Raman(7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was the first Indian Physicist and first Asian Scientist to win a Nobel prize for his works "on the molecular scattering of light and for the discovery of the Raman effect", which is named after him.

Ramam Effect explains the phenomenon that causes changes in the nature of light when it is passed through a transparent medium. The 'Raman Effect' has great relevance in understanding the molecular structure of chemical compunds. This effect led to the determination of internal sructure of chemical components and as well as helped in determination of structures of crystals. With discovery of Laser, Raman effect has become a powerful tool for scientists.

3. Dr. Har Gobind Khorana

Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 1968

Hargobind Khorana(Born: 9 January 1922) is an Indian American molecular biologist. In 1968, he was awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine field jointly with Robert W.Holley and W. Nirenberg for their work on "interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis". They all independently made contributions to the understanding of the genetic code and how it works in the cell. They established that this mother of all codes, the biological language common to all living organisms, is spelled out in three-letter words: each set of three nucleotides codes for a specific amino acid.


Dr. Khorana was responsible for producing the first man-made gene in his laboratory in the early seventies. He found out how to isolate DNA ligase, an enzyme which is used to link DNA pieces together. This process also helped in Cloning new plants and animals. Khorana was also the first to synthesize oligonucleotides[A short molecule (usually 6 to 100 nucleotides)of single-stranded DNA].




4. Mother Teresa:

Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979

Mother Teresa (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997) born in Skopje, Macedonia, Ottoman Empire [now in Republic of Macedonia] was originally named as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She considered August 27th as her original brithday, since that day she was baptised. She got Indian Citizenship in 1948.

She was awarded Nobel Prize for her Humanitarianism. That is, her dedication towards poor, sick, helpless and old peoples. She was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to the poor, particularly to the destitute of India. She also honoured with many honourable awards from all over the world. Her Missionary was set all over the world. After her death, she was Beatified by Pope John Paul II and given a title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

5. Subrahmanian Chandrasekhar:

Nobel Laureate for Physics(1983)

Subrahmanian Chandrasekhar(October 19, 1910 – August 21, 1995) was an Indian- American Astro Physicist. He was also Nephew of Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate Sir CV Raman, who like him, studied in Presidency College, Chennai. He also became neutralized citizen of USA in 1953.

The nobel citation stated that it was "for his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars". His work spanned over the understanding of the rotation of planets, stars, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. Chandrasekhar's most famous success was the astrophysical Chandrasekhar limit. The limit describes the maximum mass of a white dwarf star. He has written many books on his field Astrophysics and Stellar Dynamics.



6. Dr. Amartya Sen:

Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998

Amartya Sen (Born: 3 Novemeber 1933), is a Economist. He won Nobel Prize award for his contribution to welfare economics and social choice and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members.

He was best known for his work on the causes of famine, which led to the development of practical solutions for preventing or limiting the effects of real or perceived shortages of food.

His books have been transtlated into more than thrity languages. He is a trustee of Economists for Peace and Security. So far,he has received over 80 honorary doctorates.



7. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan:

Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan born in 1952, in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.
He done his B.Sc. in Physics from M S University in Baroda, Gujarat and later migrated to the US to continue his studies where he later got settled and attained US citizenship, now he currently residing in United Kingdom.

He received Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the studies of the structure and function of the ribosome, a cellular machine that makes proteins". He jointly receive this award with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath.

---

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT NOBEL PRIZE

Click here to know about Nobel Prize