Homi Nusserwanji Sethna - Geological Society of India

HOMI NUSSERWANJI SETHNA 433
Homi Nusserwanji Sethna
(1923-2010)
Homi Nusserwanji Sethna, one of the great pioneers who laid the foundation of nuclear
power in India, passed away at Mumbai on 5 th September, 2010. Born at Mumbai on August 24,
1923, he belonged to the small group of migrants who arrived at Naosari on the west coast of
India, very near Surat. This small group (recognized as Parsis) has made India glow with pride
by their massive contributions to its heritage of art, culture and science. Names like Jamshetji
Tata, Dadabhai Naoroji, Phiroze Shaw Mahta and Homi Bhabha are illustrious examples. Sethna
had his early education in Mumbai and obtained a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from
the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, USA. He later joined the Imperial Chemical Industries,
UK, as a trainee. Posted to India in 1949 as Head of the Indian Rare Earth Division at Alwaye,
Kerala, he had his first introduction to atomic energy minerals.
Bhabha and the Founding of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)
Meanwhile another luminary appeared on the horizon – Homi Bhabha, a brilliant young
physicist, who came to Bangalore as lecturer at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He was
destined to hear the impressive speech of C.V. Raman delivered on the occasion of his 60 th birthday.
Replying to the felicitations Raman had said: “the three watch words which have helped my career
are: Ambition, Courage and Endeavour – Ambition to achieve something great, Courage to feel
that you have the ability for it, and Endeavour, putting in the hard work”. Bhabha was inspired by
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these words to do something great himself and using his close friendship with Pandit Nehru, the
Prime Minister of India, and the substantial funds of money which the Dorabji Trust promised, he
started planning the establishment of a Research Institute of the country – the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research (TIFR) at Mumbai. He was convinced that the prevailing system of
university education could not produce young men of the requisite talent and started searching for
such young ones, H.N. Sethna, Raja Ramanna, M.G.K. Menon, M.R. Srinivasan and P.K. Iyengar
were some of the young men picked out for his proposed institute.
The new recruits became the forerunners of new technologies and heralded the beginning of
an extensive atomic energy programme. Cosmic ray research, the special field of Bhabha, continued
with vigour and other new branches of study followed with the assistance of experts from abroad.
The first computer was fabricated.
There were changes in the programme of research at the new Institute. Instead of individuals
working on separate items, team work formed the pattern. Groups of brilliant young men engaged
themselves in these newer fields of research. Bhabha himself was interested in cosmic rays, while
the study of nuclear energy was taken up by Sethna and Ramanna. Bhabha sent Ramanna to Kings
College, London, where he secured a doctorate degree in nuclear physics. Atomic energy has
made big strides as the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrated. The world was
astounded at the extent of destruction produced. More particularly, the development of nuclear
energy for the production of enormous amounts of power, so badly need had impressed the group
working at TIFR. Government of the day led by Indira Gandhi lent support to the promotion of
nuclear project and the first bomb was planned and executed by the team headed by Ramanna and
Sethna. The Atomic Minerals Division was set up with Dr. D.N. Wadia as the Geological Adviser,
to locate deposits of uranium in the country.
Director of BARC (1972-1983)
Sethna who had joined the Atomic Energy establishment at Trombay as Chief Scientific
officer was soon made the Director of the Engineering Group. He was responsible for the design
and construction of the plutonium plant at Trombay. When Bhabha suddenly died in an air accident
in 1966, Sethna was appointed as Director of the Atomic Research Centre (BARC) named after
Bhabha.
At about the same time, a separate division, known as the Power Projects Engineering Division,
was created under the Department of Atomic Energy. This division was responsible for the design
and construction of nuclear power projects. Sethna was appointed Director of this all important
division, in addition to his responsibilities as Director of the BARC.
Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission
Sethna became Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, in 1972, after the death of Dr. Vikram
Sarabhai and continued in that post till his retirement in 1983.
Sethna’s special field was chemical engineering. However, he had an interest in other areas
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of technology in general. One of the most important events, when he was at the helm of affairs,
was the peaceful nuclear experiment at Pokhran on May 18, 1974.
As expected, this had its own effect on the nuclear energy programme, especially nuclear
power. It was here that Dr. Sethna showed his courage and determination to go ahead, in spite
of heavy odds. His firm view was that India should take care of its own needs indigenously.
His contribution was substantial and crucial. He was bold and always took quick and positive
decisions.
Exploration of Atomic Minerals
It is important to recall here his deep personal interest in organizing the entire fuel cycle –
more importantly in the area of exploration for atomic minerals. To this extent, he gave all necessary
facilities and encouragement to the geologists and other scientific staff of the Atomic Minerals
Division (now Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research). He kept himself abreast
of the results of these investigations at regular intervals. The atmosphere that prevailed in the
group of young enthusiasts engaged in nuclear studies was one of reliance on their ability to do
great things without seeking any type of assistance from other sources. Sethna and Ramanna were
champions of this new school.
Sethna took an important part in the building of reactors, the first one to be built at Tarapur,
Bombay was appropriately named ‘Apsara’. Ramanna records that it was the first reactor to go
into operation in Asia outside the Soviet Union. The Indian nuclear energy establishment was
thus firmly in place within only a few years after gaining independence, which speaks volumes for
the ability of the few young men who took up the task. Sethna was at the centre of all these
activities.
He was first engaged in the extraction of Rare Earth monazite-rich beach sands at Alwaye in
Kerala. Later in 1958 he took charge of producing pure thorium extracts at Trombay; thorium
nitrate from the plant at Trombay and three years later producing uranium metal at Trombay in
1959 and 1964. Another major assignment was the processing of ore at Jaduguda and producing
uranium metal. These plants, coming one after another in quick succession, established his
reputation as the builder of uranium plants. He also assumed heavy executive responsibilities of
the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC – 1966-1974). The momentous explosion
of an atomic device at Pokharan in Rajasthan on May 18, 1974, was a landmark in his career.
This unbelievable achievement shook the rest of the world by surprise, leading to imposition
of sanctions by advanced countries and the virtual cessation of supply of all raw materials required
for the atomic plants. It was here the true mettle of Sethna and his assistants was revealed. Undeterred
by the unfriendly action, he and his assistants, with their intelligence and individual capabilities
piloted these projects from initial planning to final execution, assuming full responsibility earning
great respect and admiration of the entire establishment.
Sethna had great admiration for Bhabha and considered him as equally responsible for ushering
India into a world of scientific independence.
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Sethna was a humanist par excellence. This will be evident from the experience of B.
Yegnanarayanan, a Scientific Officer of the Atomic Minerals Division (AMD) of the Department
of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. Yegnanarayanan was working in AMD’s Northern
Circle at New Delhi. He had a son suffering from cancer and requested Sethna to give him a
posting in the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Bombay so that he could get his son
treated in the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital (TMCH). Sethna immediately issued orders
transferring Yegnanarayanan from the AMD, New Delhi, to the BARC, Bombay. Sethna also gave
Yegnanarayanan to and fro air fare from Bombay to London (for both father and son) to get his son
treated in a reputed hospital in London.
Last Days
Sethna died at the age of 86 from lung fibrosis. Not much is known about his activities after
retirement but he continued as a member of the Board of Directors of many companies and engaged
himself in philanthropic activities. However, he kept in close touch with developments, as revealed
by his critical reaction on the Indo-US proposal and its specific safeguards which took away the
independence of India specializing in its own indigenous way.
The Earth science community should be grateful to Sethna for his special zeal in promoting
the Atomic Minerals Division and in processing of indigenous mineral and material much of it
low grade and requiring special intelligent skills to make India’s nuclear programme wholly
independent of outside sources. This aspect needs to be emphasized, specially at the present,
where least prominence is being given to the field of development of individual progress and
promoting the doctrine of self-help, using the resources of the country to its best advantage and
not exporting it in the raw state. He demonstrated that the making use of a mineral is as important
as finding it.
It is worth recalling the words of J.N. Tata: “What advances a Nation or community is not so
much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members, as to lift up the best and most gifted
so as to make them of the greatest service to the country”.
Email: kkitts@gmail.com
B.P. RADHAKRISHNA
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