Science Desk

Janaki Ammal now stands as the inspiration for Savithri Preetha Nair, who recently authored the scientist’s biography ‘Chromosome Woman, Nomad Scientist: E K Janaki Ammal, A Life 1897-1984’. Today marks the 125th birth anniversary of Edavalath Kakkat Janaki Ammal, a pioneering botanist and the first Indian woman to be awarded a PhD in the botanical sciences. Janaki Ammal is known widely for her contributions to science – in the field of genetics, cytology, evolution, and more. She was recently the inspiration for Savithra Preetha Nair, who wrote the scientist’s biography ‘Chromosome Woman, Nomad Scientist: E K Janaki Ammal, A Life 1897-1984’. Who was Janaki Ammal? Born in Thalassery in Kannur district of Kerala in 1897, Janaki Ammal moved to Madras (now Chennai) to obtain her Bachelors and Honours degrees at the Queen Mary’s and Presidency College respectively. In 1925, at the University of Michigan in the USA where she did research on plant cytology (which focuses on the structure and function of cells), Janaki Ammal obtained a Master’s degree. She also had brief stints in teaching at the Women’s Christian College (WCC) in Madras as well as the Maharaja’s College of Science in Thiruvananthapuram. Her work as a geneticist took her to the Sugarcane Breeding Institute at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu from 1934 to 1939. According to scientist C V Subramanian’s research piece ‘Edavaleth Kakkat Janaki Ammal’, she worked on making several intergeneric and interspecific hybrids involving sugarcane and related grass species. These works were highly significant, as she is believed to have been responsible for creating sugarcane hybrids that yielded sweeter sugar. She then left for England and worked as Assistant Cytologist at the John Innes Horticultural Institution in London and as Cytologist at the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley during 1945-1951. Along with C.D Darlington, she authored ‘The Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants’ in 1945 which contained her work on many species. She returned to India in the 1950s. C V Subramanian’s research piece also states that Janaki Ammal was invited by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to reorganise the Botanical Survey of India in 1951, which explores the plant resources of the country and identifies plant species with economic virtue. The range of roles she worked at included serving as head of Central Botanical Laboratory in Allahabad and Officer Special Duty at Regional Research Laboratory Jammu & Kashmir. Her association with the Save the Silent Valley movement – a campaign to stop a hydroelectric project from flooding the Silent Valley forest in Palakkad district of Kerala – was well-known. According to Smithsonian Magazine, by the time she joined activists, she was an established voice in Indian science circles. She headed a chromosomal survey of the forest to assess and preserve botanical knowledge of area. The movement was successful when Silent Valley National Park later declared and project abandoned. An analytical biography of the botanist was authored by Savithri Preetha Nair. The book talks about Janaki Ammal’s life intersecting with various historical events like World War 2, rise of Nazi Germany, green revolution and Silent Valley project. The author also traces scientist’s interactions with personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru, biologists Cyril D Darlington and social activists Hilda Seligman  all of whom are known to have contributed to her worldview.