Khem Singh Gill (1 September 1930 – 17 September 2019) was an Indian academic,

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processes ...

, plant breeder and Vice-Chancellor of the

Punjab Agricultural University The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is a public funded agricultural university located in Ludhiana district of Punjab. It is a state agricultural university in India. It was established in 1962 and is the nation's third-oldest agricultur ...

. He was known for his contributions to the Green Revolution in India. Instrumental for breeding new strains of wheat, linseed, and sesame, he was the author of the book ''Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab'' along with several additional articles on the subject. He was also the vice-president of The Kalgidhar Trust and The Kalgidhar Society,

Baru Sahib Baru Sahib also known as the "Valley of Divine Peace" is located in Himachal Pradesh, India. History Baru Sahib, the land of meditation (tapobhoomi), is the realization of vision of Sant Attar Singh Ji, Mastuane Wale (1866–1927), who, in th ...

, which is one of the largest Sikh charities. ''A'' Sant Teja Singh Chair Professor in Sikhism of the Eternal Global University and a founding fellow of

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...

, he was a recipient of Rafi Ahmad Kidwai Memorial Prize, Team Research Award of the

Indian Council of Agricultural Research The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture. Th ...

(ICAR), FICCI Award, ICAR Golden Jubilee Award and Silver Jubilee Award of the Indian Society of Oilseeds Research. In 1992, the Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honor of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

for his contributions to science.

Biography

Born 1 September 1930 at Kaleke, a small village in the

Punjab State Punjab (; ) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(presently in

Moga District Moga district is one of the twenty-two districts in the state of Punjab, India. It became the 17th district of Punjab State on 24 November 1995 cut from Faridkot district. Moga District is among the largest producers of wheat and rice in Pu ...

), Khem Singh Gill graduated in Agricultural Science (BSc) from

Khalsa College, Amritsar Khalsa College ( pa, ਖਾਲਸਾ ਕਾਲਜ ''khālsā kālaj'') is a historic educational institution in the northern Indian city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab, India. Founded in 1892, the sprawling campus is located about eight ...

in 1949 and secured his master's degree (MSc) from Punjab University in 1951. He started his career as a research assistant at the Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab and later moved to

(PAU) as Assistant Oilseed Breeder before taking a break from work to pursue his doctoral studies at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

in 1963. After obtaining his PhD in genetics from the university in 1966, he returned to India and joined

as a professor and the head of the Department of Genetics (1966-1968). Dr. Gill later became a professor and the head of the Department of Plant Breeding (1968–79), Dean of the College of Agriculture (1979–83), Director of Research (1983–87), and Director of Extension Education (1987–89). He eventually earned the post of Vice Chancellor of PAU in 1990. Dr. Gill Served as Vice Chancellor until 1993. During his tenure at the university, he contributed to the development of the Department of Plant Breeding into a Center of Excellence. His contributions were also reported in the introduction of research programs the Hisar and

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. I ...

campuses of the institution. He headed the Wheat Improvement Program of the state government. On the research front, his work assisted in the development of improved cultivars of

linseed Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in W ...

, sesame, and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and in the genetic improvement of pearl millet,

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

and

triticale Triticale (; × ''Triticosecale'') is a hybrid of wheat (''Triticum'') and rye (''Secale'') first bred in laboratories during the late 19th century in Scotland and Germany. Commercially available triticale is almost always a second-generation ...

. His researches were documented by way of over 475 scientific papers and articles and many books, including ''Development of triticales for stability of yield and improved quality of grains: Final technical report'' and ''Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab''. He also guided 17 doctoral and 8 master's students in their researches. While serving as the head of the Department of Plant Breeding at PAU, Dr. Gill founded the Crop Improvement Society of India in 1974. He served as its president until 1979, while remaining a loyal patron ever since. He was associated with the

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (known - even in English - by its Spanish acronym CIMMYT for ''Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo'') is a non-profit research-for-development organization that develops im ...

as a member of its program committee and board of trustees (1988–93). He was the evaluator of two UNDP programs: sorghum and millets improvement program of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad (1981) and rice program of the

International Rice Research Institute The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI is known for its wor ...

(IRRI) in the Philippines (1983). Dr. Gill served as the Senior Vice President of the International Triticale Association from 1988 to 1994. He was a council member of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Acade ...

from 1983 to 1985. He was the founding board member of th
Kalgidhar Trust

, an international non-profit charitable organization along with Baba Iqbal Singh who was the President of the board. He was associated with Baba Iqbal Singh since early college days and they both found their mentor in Sant Teja Singh, (MA LLB AM Harvard). Since 1994, Dr. Gill served as chairman of 12
Akal Academies
under The Kalgidhar Trust/Society in the rural areas of Northern India.

Scientific Contributions

Dr. Khem Singh Gill worked with Nobel Peace Laureate

Norman Borlaug Norman Ernest Borlaug (; March 25, 1914September 12, 2009) was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple ...

in the 1960s to develop new varieties of wheat. Under his leadership, the Department of Plant Breeding received recognition at the international level. His main focus area, however, remained the wheat improvement program. Dr. Gill carried out excellent work in the development and identification of improved varieties of wheat, which revolutionized wheat production in Punjab and several other parts of India and Pakistan. He was one of the main contributors to the Green Revolution in India, which made India a self-reliant country with an added capacity to export grains to other countries. Dr. Gill has over 300 research publications and has authored many books in the area of his expertise (K. S. Gill, personal communication, 22 November 2016).

Awards and honors

Dr. Khem Singh Gill was a founder fellow of

(1974), as well as an elected fellow of the

(1981) and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1991). He was also a fellow of the Indian Society of Agricultural Sciences, Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Genetic Association of India and the Crop Improvement Society of India. The Indian Council made him a National Professor of Eminence in 1980 and the Eternal Global University conferred the ''Sant Teja Singh Chair Professorship in Sikhism'' on him in 2016. Dr. Gill received the

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award The Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award was created in 1956 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1956 to recognize Indian researchers in the agricultural field. The award is named after Indian Independence activist Rafi Ahmed Kidwai. Award ...

of the

(ICAR) in 1976 and a cash prize from Punjab Agricultural University in 1978. ICAR honored him again in 1981 with the Team Research Award and he was awarded the FICCI Award in 1985. He received three appreciations from the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington in 1981, 1987 and 1991 and two Wheat Research Medals from the

in 1973 and 1993. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of the

in 1992, the same year as he received the Golden Jubilee Award of the

. He was also a recipient of the Silver Jubilee Award of the Indian Society of Oilseed Research in 1993. In 2015, Dr. Gill was conferred Doctor of Science (honoris causa) by Punjab Agricultural University in

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and ...

Controversy

Dr. Khem Singh Gill was involved in a controversy in 1985 when his son, Ranjit Singh Gill, was indicted in the assassination of

Lalit Maken Lalit Maken was a Member of parliament, a political leader of Indian National Congress and a labour union leader. Maken was the son-in-law of late President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma. In the year of 1984, he was elected to the Lok Sabha as ...

and his wife, Geetanjali. Controversy surrounded Maken's alleged involvement in the massacres of Sikhs during the

1984 anti-Sikh genocide The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs ...

in New Delhi. Ranjit was convicted, despite his father's efforts, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003. His sentence was later commuted. Ranjit Singh Gill, after the release from incarceration, is involved in community and social development activities.

References

External links