Satyendranath Bose: The Greatest Bangali of All Time

Satyendranath Bose: The Greatest Bangali of All Time

By

Mo Chaudhury

July 06, 2012

Satyendranath Bose: The Greatest Bangali of All Time

It is definitely one of the proudest moments of my lifetime, as a Bangali and as a student of Dhaka University, Bangladesh.

CERN, a research organization in Switzerland, has very recently proclaimed the discovery of a sub-atomic particle known as Boson or more popularly referred to as God's Particle. Much of the world is, however, oblivious to one of the principal theorists after whom the sub-atomic particle is named as Boson. His name is Satyendranath Bose, a Bangali born in West Bengal, and later a professor of Dhaka University, Bangladesh. 

As a student of Dhaka University, nothing has been more exhilarating than seeing the affiliation of Professor Bose as Dacca University in his much acclaimed journal paper (http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/jaa/15/3-7.pdf) that lays down the mathematical and logical foundation of the subatomic particle discovered at CERN, Switzerland. The journal publication was reportedly made possible by none other than Albert Einstein [Professor Bose had correspondence with Einstein and met him in Berlin]. It is widely believed that Boson is the most fundamental building block of the cosmos and hence the name God's Particle arises.

What makes a Bangali the Greatest Bangali of all time may depend on the personal perspective of the evaluator and for sure there are many sentimental favorites like Robindranath, Nazrul, Subhash Bose (Bangali but born in Orrisha), Surya Sen, and Sheikh Mujib.. However, the great contributions of these great Bangalis have mostly been felt in the cultural and political arenas, and then again by and large amongst the Bangalis and the people of the Indian sub-continent. In sharp contrast, the contribution of Professor Bose is in fundamental science that underlies the cosmos, the grandest of arenas. It is unimaginable how bigger of a contribution a human being can make than providing a logical basis for our very physical existence. Therefore, undoubtedly Professor Bose is the Greatest Bangali, if not the Greatest Human Mind, of all time.   

Also enclosed is biographical information

(http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/snbose.pdf) about Professor Bose that I found surfing the web (degree of authenticity is not known to me). It seems that Professor Bose was also quite active, as a student, in Swadeshi movements, perhaps one of the potential factors behind the lack of due global recognition (like Nobel Prize), historically or even now, for his celebrated work. Lastly, in his personal life, he seems to be the perfect progressive Bangali, marrying a Bangali girl of his mother's choosing but conditional on no dowry, playing musical instrument Esraj, and yes, having a whole bunch of kids!