The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) is saddened to learn of the death of Prof M. S. Swaminathan, the former Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and one of the pioneers of the Green Revolution strategy. Prof Swaminathan passed away in Chennai at the age of 98, and will be remembered for his seminal contributions to public policy which aimed at providing food security and benefits to farmers and agricultural workers. After his retirement he founded the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and was the chairperson of the National Report on Farmers Welfare (2005-06), which came to be known as the Swaminathan Commission Report.
Swaminathan’s lifelong work acknowledged the pivotal role of women farmers in agricultural and allied sectors like animal husbandry, forestry, fisheries etc. The MS Swaminathan Commission Report on Farmers Welfare, had a special section on the role of women in agriculture. In his death the democratic movement, and the women’s organizations have lost a great advocate for the legitimate rights of the peasants and working people.
The AIDWA pays its tribute to the memory and legacy of MS Swaminathan. It also expresses heartfelt condolences to his daughters, economist Madhura Swaminathan, former chief scientist of WHO, Soumya Swaminathan, and Nitya Rao, a scholar on gender and development.
