Friends, we are exploring the world’s most prestigious award, the Nobel award. This prestigious award was started in 1901 by the Noble Foundation, Sweden. It is given in memory of renowned Swedish scientist Alfred Bernhard Nobel. He was a great scientist, engineer, inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist. He bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize.
From 1901 to 2024, the Nobel Prizes and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel were awarded 627 times to 1012 persons and organizations. Some personalities were awarded this award more than one time. Some names who won the Nobel Prize twice are Marie Curie, John Bardeen, Linus Pauling, and Frederick Sanger.
Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize in 1913. He was a multifaceted personality, a great poet, musician, and painter. So far nine Indians have been awarded this prestigious award. Four persons of Indian linkage were also awarded Nobel Prizes.
This award is offered in six different fields, like Literature, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Peace and Physiology, or Medicine. The Nobel awardee is given a gold medal, a diploma, and a monetary award, but the person gets fame throughout the world.
Indians who were awarded the Nobel Prize for their distinguished works are as follows:
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
He was the son of Debendranath Tagore, a renowned philosopher and social reformer. In 1877, Rabindranath Tagore went to England to study and there he studied law and attended lectures on English literature. He wrote several novels, short stories, plays, letters, essays, and memoirs. He was also adept in musical compositions. He was one of the greatest poets of India and received the Nobel Prize for his poetry book “Gitanjali” in 1913. He also composed the national anthem for India.
Sir C.V. Raman (1888-1970)
One of the brilliant jewels of India, C.V. Raman won Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for discovering outstanding “Raman” effect. Raman Effect was discovered on 28 February, 1928 and thus on this day is celebrated as National Science Day in India. The day is observed to recognize and promote scientific temper, encourage innovation, and pay tribute to scientists whose work has shaped modern India.
Dr. Hargobind Khorana (1922-2011)
Dr. Khorana was awarded with Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 1968. Khorana has the distinction of producing the first man-made gene in a lab. He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize with Marshall Nuremberg and Robert Holley.
Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
Great social worker Mother Teresa was awarded with Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. This Yugoslavia-born great soul spent her entire life helping the poor and the sick through the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta.
Dr. Subramanian Chandrasekhar (1910-1995)
Dr. Subramanian Chandrasekhar was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983. It is noteworthy to learn that he was the nephew of Nobel winner, C. V. Raman. He won the Nobel Prize for his work on stars and their evolution.
Dr. Amartya Sen (1933- )
World-renowned economist, Dr. Sen won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998. He was awarded this prestigious award for his groundbreaking work in understanding poverty, inequality, and the role of social choice in economic development. He is of view that economic policies should focus not only on income growth but also on improving people’s quality of life and freedoms. Amartya Sen’s work has deeply influenced policies related to health, education, and human development worldwide.
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan(1952)
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2009 for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. His research revealed how ribosomes decode genetic information to synthesize proteins, a fundamental process for life. This discovery has advanced medical science.
Kailash Satyarthi (1954- )
Social worker Kailash Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Prize jointly with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan in 2014 – “for the struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.
Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee (21 February 1961)
Abhijit Banerjee is a Professor of Economics and was awarded this prestigious award together with his wife Esther Duflo and American economist Michael Kremer, for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”. In 2003 along with his wife Esther Duflo and Sendhil Mullainathan, he founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and remains one of the directors of the lab. Abhijit Banerjee has written a large number of articles and five books, including Poor Economics, which won the Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year, and Good Economics for Hard Times, both co-authored with Esther Duflo.
People of Indian linkage who were awarded Nobel Prizes
V.S. Naipaul (1932- 2018 )
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, a British writer of Indian origin was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. He was born in Trinidad.
Ronald Ross (1857-1932)
He was born in present Uttarakhand (Almora) in British India. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on the deadly disease Malaria. He carried out successful research on this disease and explained how parasites of malaria enter the body and infect it.
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay and received the Nobel Award for his contribution to Literature. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 for his outstanding writing, marked by imagination, vivid storytelling, and deep insight into colonial India.
Dalai Lama( 1935-)
The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), the supreme leader of Tibbet was awarded this award in 1989. He was born in Taktser, Tibet (now the People’s Republic of China)but has been living in India since 1959. He received the Nobel Prize for Peace and Freedom.