Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1964-2016 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
47 files
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Pushpa Mittra Bhargava (22 February 1928 – 1 August 2017) was an Indian scientist, writer, and administrator. He founded the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, a federally funded research institute in Hyderabad. He was outspoken and highly influential in the promotion of scientific temper in India.
After completing his Ph.D. at Lucknow University, Bhargava moved to Hyderabad. From 1949 to 1958 he worked at Lucknow University, Osmania University, Hyderabad, the Central Laboratories for Scientific and Industrial Research, Hyderabad, the McArdle Memorial Laboratory of Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and the National Institute of Medical Research in London, United Kingdom. In 1958, he joined the Central Laboratories for Scientific and Industrial Research which by then had been taken over by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and named the Regional Research Laboratory (now known as the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology).
In 1977, Bhargava set up the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and served as its Director until 1990. He retired from the directorship of CCMB to join the CSIR Distinguished Fellowship from 1990 to 1993. He ran his own consultancy, Anveshna, after 1993. During his career, he published more than 125 works in scientific journals and books.
Bhargava was deeply involved in discussions on Indian government policies. He served as Vice-Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission, as Chairman of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) committee on DNA fingerprinting, and as a member of the first Scientific Advisory Council of the Department of Biotechnology. Bhargava was committed to promoting science and rationality and opposing superstition. He was closely involved with the Association of Scientific Workers of India (ASWI) which was established as a trade union of scientists. Bhargava received the Padma Bhushan from the President of India in 1986.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The papers in this series pertain to the estate of JBS Haldane and his wife, Helen Spurway Haldane. JBS Haldane died in 1964. Following Helen Haldane’s death in 1978, PM Bhargava and his wife, Manorama Bhargava, handled her estate and corresponded extensively with JBS Haldane's sister, Naomi Mitchison, and her grandson, Graeme J Mitchison. Included here are letters, notebooks, handwritten notes, share certificates, financial documents, JBS Haldane’s Last Will and Testament, Helen Haldane’s autopsy, and articles on the Haldanes by PM Bhargava and other researchers. Certain letters also pertain to the dispatch of JBS Haldane’s personal papers to his family in the United Kingdom. These are a combination of originals and facsimiles. This series includes one photographic print and a newspaper article announcing Helen Haldane's death. Note on subseries: The files within the Correspondence subseries have been organized based on the original order of subject-wise arrangement. Letters within each broad subject have been arranged alphabetically and then chronologically, except in special cases. Certain key documents, such as official records, were removed and kept in the Official Records subseries. The share certificates under the Official Records subseries are oversized and have not yet been boxed. The third subseries contains personal papers, possibly compiled by JBS Haldane himself. It includes a notebook, handwritten drafts of his last will and testament, and notes on his surgical history, along with correspondence. These drafts were written by JBS Haldane in November 1962, when he was preparing for an operation in London.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
- German
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Shelf 1 Racks 1-2
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
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Subject access points
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Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
2023-04-03
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
- Latin
