Devendra Prasad Gupta (; 2 January 1933 – 26 December 2017) was an Indian pre-democratic political sufferer,

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. Accor ...

Early life and education

Hailing and raised from a family of Vaidhraj commonly termed as olden Ayurvedic physicians, he dynamically partook in Indian freedom movements of

Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

1942 as a result of which his studies were discontinued for years. At the age of eleven years he became a member of Congress Seva Dal from 1944 to 1947. During this period he had been trained as a volunteer and subsequently turned out to be the Nayak/comrade of one unit. He confronted bullets and suffered from gangrenous wound on the lower part of the left leg with bone exposed which temporarily incapacitated him for two months. The wound being stated was caused by the three bullets fired by British soldiers under their contingent military operation at Maheshkhunt, district of

Monghyr Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern ...

in August 1942. He was even incarcerated and held as one of the captives led by seizure for a year. On 24 August 1942 his grandfather Chulhai Sah faced the bullet of a British soldier in a raid at his house for extirpating railway track of Maheshkhunt station and met a martyr death. But in the midst of struggle and persistent hardship of all fellow-Indians they succeeded. A freedom fighter who had to flee his hometown to avoid arrest for hoisting the

Tricolour A triband is a vexillological style which consists of three stripes arranged to form a flag. These stripes may be two or three colours, and may be charged with an emblem in the middle stripe. Not all tribands are tricolour flags, which requires t ...

in his school during the Quit India Movement, he joined

Ranchi University Ranchi University is a public state university in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. It was established in 1960 by an Act of the Bihar legislature. Ranchi University offers degrees in undergraduate, post-graduate, M.Phil. and doctorate programs. History ...

after a brief stint at the

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern e ...

and

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Professional life

Gupta was former

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

. He strived for upliftment of local tribes and backward class. On his advice there was establishment of backward class student union. He commenced his academic career as demonstrator (August 1953 – August 1956) and went up to post graduate lecturer (September 1956 – March 1970), reader (April 1970 – January 1984), university professor (February 1984 till death), principal (June 1983 – January 1986) under Indian University. Gupta along with two professors co-founded and instituted special branch of

Microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

and

Plant Pathology Plant pathology or phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease ...

in Ranchi University, PG Department of Botany, currently operating under Institute of Basic and Applied Sciences. He was associated with many International conventions such as First International Congress of

, held in

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, International Conference of Phytochemical Society, held in

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, England and many others. He was one of the contributors from India who took part in the deliberation of the 3rd International Symposium on verticillium held in August 1981 in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, Italy. He was ex-councillor of Indian Phytopathological Society, New Delhi and former member of Bihar Intermediate Education Council, India. After retirement he served DPG-VeC. Genetics & Life Science, Nicaragua as a President and Bethany University,

Scotts Valley, California Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about south of downtown San Jose and north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2020 census, the city populati ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

with other research universities/institutions as an academician and researcher.

Death

Gupta died due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

with sepsis at his residence in

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

on 26 December 2017. He was treated at Medanta hospital for

femur fracture A femoral fracture is a bone fracture that involves the femur. They are typically sustained in high-impact trauma, such as Traffic collision, car crashes, due to the large amount of force needed to break the bone. Fractures of the diaphysis, or ...

and had a prolonged stay in the ICU and Suite for his fluid, electrolyte, blood sugar and BP management. After explained prognosis he was taken up for surgical intervention. He responded well and was discharged in stable condition on 6 November 2017. He was again re-admitted with complaint of poor oral intake and oral

sensorium A sensorium (/sɛnˈsɔːrɪəm/) (: sensoria) is the apparatus of an organism's perception considered as a whole. It is the "seat of sensation" where it experiences, perceives and interprets the environments within which it lives. The term ori ...

and was finally diagnosed with

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

and

. He improved and responded well to the treatment, finally was discharged in a healthy state on 20 December 2017. On 26 December 2017 his condition deteriorated and he finally died in a peaceful state, seven days before his 85th birthday.

Legacy

Devendra Memorial Science Fellowship (DMSF) was instituted by DPG-VeC. Genetics & Life Science,

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

to commemorate his contribution in the field of biology.

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* * *
MEMBERS OF THE R.U. SENATE

D.P. Gupta, Testimony From M. L. A., Patna (7 May 1951)

Devendra Prasad Gupta, Ranchi University, Testimony From Minister Of Law (9 February 1955)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Devendra Prasad 1933 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Indian botanists 20th-century Indian philosophers Alumni of King's College London People associated with Queen Elizabeth College People associated with the University of London Patna University alumni Academic staff of Ranchi University Vice-chancellors of Ranchi University Scientists from Bihar Scientists from Jharkhand People from Gurgaon Indian independence activists from Bihar Prisoners and detainees of British India Deaths from pneumonia in India