REMEMBERING DR D R BHUMBLA
Today (20th October 2022) is the Third Death Anniversary of Dr Dev Raj Bhumbla, a Pioneer Generation Icon of Indian Agriculture. Birth in a remote backward village, death of mother at the age of three years, entrenched poverty in the family, efforts of some persons to curtail his school education, and onerous responsibility of supporting a large joint family, could not deter young Dev Raj from achieving his life’s full potential through hard work, determination, and devotion to duty, without ever asking for a personal favour and fearlessly expressing his views on contentious issues.
Early Life
Dev Raj Bhumbla was born on 6th December 1921 at village Malewal in Balachaur Tehsil of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar in Choe-dissected, water scarce Kandi (hilly) region of Punjab (India). He completed Primary, Middle and High School education from Malewal, Sahiba and Garhshankar Schools, respectively, never forgetting the role of his teachers — Beli Ram, Chaudhary Fateh Mohammad, Lala Gurdas Ram, and Gulam Dastgir — in priming him for higher studies. Had it not been for quick thinking by the village Nambardar and uprightness of his Middle School Head Master, he may not have studied beyond Class 8 as the news of his inability to pay school expenses, had preceded him to the High School.
University Education
Bhumbla completed B.Sc. Agriculture from Agriculture College and Research Institute, Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan) in 1944, thanks to Rs 18 monthly merit scholarship and his elder brother Chaudhary Mant Ram working extra hours as a labourer (Rs 30 per month) in Lyallpur Grain Market to supplement his paltry Rs 15 monthly salary as a Munshi (record keeper) of local Arhtiya (commission agent). He completed M.Sc. from Panjab University. Bhumbla obtained Ph.D. from the Ohio State University (OSU), Columbus, USA in 1962. Decades later, his three Alma Maters decorated him with D.Sc. (Honoris causa) degree by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and ‘Distinguished Alumni Awards’ by University of Agriculture Faisalabad and OSU.
Humble Start, Meteoric Rise
Bhumbla’s first job was as a Chemical Assistant in Cereal Section of Agriculture College, Lyallpur in 1944. Of all people he worked with during his life time, he ranked Rai Bahadur Dr Ram Dhan Singh, Head of Cereal Section, at Number 1 as an administrator, scientist, and teacher. On the eve of partition of the country, Bhumbla was transferred to Karnal Agriculture Farm. Facing life threatening tense moments and horrors of communal riots traveling from West to East Punjab, he joined as Agriculture Assistant at Karnal on 21st August 1947. After quick and unsettling transfers to Ambala, Kurali and Naraingarh, he joined the newly established Agriculture College, Ludhiana in 1951. Next year, he was again transferred to Gurdaspur but with an assurance that he would continue his M.Sc. studies. Returning to Ludhiana after three years, he submitted M.Sc. thesis. On promotion as Reclamation Officer, together with Nirmal Tej Singh (Dr N T Singh), he laid out meticulously designed experiments at Isru Farm for reclamation of saline alkali soils. Leading American land reclamation expert Schoonover recommended adoption of their approach for salinity research in India.
On return from Ohio State University, Bhumbla joined the newly established PAU as an Assistant Professor in 1962 at Ludhiana. Learning about his exceptional performance at OSU, Founder Vice Chancellor P N Thapar quickly promoted him as Associate Professor and Professor & Head in 1963. Thapar, however, withdrew Bhumbla’s leave sanctioning power when he approved Shanti Khanna’s leave in the middle of a trimester. Collateral damage: Jagdev Grewal (Future Director, Potato Research Institute Shimla) had to postpone his wedding to trimester break. In 1964, Bhumbla shifted to PAU’s Hissar campus for developing Department of Soils. He was concurrently given Additional Charge of Director of Research, Agriculture Dean and Director Students’ Welfare to immediately assign responsibilities of key vacancies and calm frayed tempers.
Bhumbla did not apply for Agriculture Dean position at Hissar as he preferred working in the trenches, integrating teaching, research, and farmer outreach as Department Head. After persuasion and shifting the interview venue from Delhi to Hissar, Post-Graduate Studies Dean D Sundaresan convinced him to appear as a contact candidate. Subsequently, as Senior Most Dean, he attended PAU Management Board meetings.
Bhumbla joined as the Founder Director of Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) Karnal in 1969. He was elevated as Deputy Director General (DDG) (Soils, Agronomy and Engineering) in 1974. From 1978 to 1980, he was Agriculture Commissioner and Additional Secretary to Government of India.
Talent Spotter, Mentor and Institution Builder
Bhumbla had an eagle eye for identifying and nurturing brilliant, hardworking, and future-ready students and young faculty, without any consideration to caste, creed, and family background. He rewarded merit and competence, often at the cost of annoying his contemporaries and friends. As PAU Soil Science Head, he assembled a team of brilliant scientists from diverse backgrounds forged in the crucibles of leading foreign and Indian universities. He continued this approach at CSSRI and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Following in his footsteps, his successors — N S Randhawa and G S Sekhon at PAU, and I P Abrol and N T Singh at CSSRI, groomed their mentees and colleagues for future leadership roles. Bhumbla could not have left behind a better legacy!
Research on soil fertility, soil physics, land reclamation, soil survey and water management was strengthened at PAU during Bhumbla’s time. Path-breaking work on gypsum application and other aspects of reclamation at CSSRI paved the way for cost effective technology packages for amelioration of saline sodic lands. He worked with the Governments of Punjab, Haryana and UP to establish Land Reclamation Corporations which served as Nodal Agencies for reclaiming large tracks of barren sodic lands. As DDG, he established Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute Dehradun and National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning. With funding from United Kingdom and Canada, he gave a major push to research on dryland agriculture.
Policy Interventions
Bhumbla put knowledge from research in public policy for raising food production. This included: (i) 50% subsidy on gypsum for reclamation of barren sodic lands, (ii) reduction in prices of phosphatic fertilizers to popularise their use during early stages of green revolution, (iii) subsidy on farm machinery/implements for improving sowing, fertilizer placement, and threshing, (iv) development of Early Warning System for Rainfed Areas, and (v) halting construction of Nitro Phosphate Factory at Nangal. By ensuring timely availability of new seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs across states, as Agriculture Commissioner, he gave a major boost to foodgrain production. As Chairman of Environment Committee for Major River Valley Projects, Bhumbla mainstreamed the framework for mandatory pre-project assessment of environmental and social impacts of large dams.
Helping Poor and Lauding Supporting Staff
As a classic case of “Putting his own money where his mouth was” Bhumbla spent his lifetime’s savings to purchase and reclaim 5 acre barren sodic land adjoining CSSRI. An Agriculture Sub Inspector (ASI) requested him to help his relative, who did not have the money for his daughter’s marriage, by buying 1.5 acre barren land. He gave the poor father his savings. Subsequently, he purchased the adjoining 3.5 acre barren land. Post-retirement, he happily lived in his modest farmhouse for several years. Can there be a better strategy to achieve resource-poor-farmer buy-in for a technology which ‘unbelievably’ transformed barren lands into verdant paddy and wheat fields in 2–3 years?
The last time Bhumbla visited CSSRI Karnal was in 2019 to participate in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Institute he had painstakingly developed from a barren patch of National Dairy Research Institute Farm. Another reason: he was keen to see the Institute Receptionist. She is the daughter of Beldar Naffe Singh. He always praised the hard work and dedication of ASI Som Nath and Beldar Malkit Singh at Isru Farm, where land reclamation work was initiated in 1957.
Despite facing horrors of partition and near-death-encounters with Muslim mobs escaping West Punjab in 1947, Bhumbla did not hold any grudge against the community. Three decades later as Agriculture Commissioner, he realized that a deserving Muslim Dr Rizvi has been denied promotion for long. He ensured Rizvi was promoted and got his dues, although several Hindu and Sikh officials were not pleased.
Quitting HAU, Foreseeing PAU Woes, Candour and Simplicity
By assuring full support, Haryana Chief Minister persuaded Bhumbla to become Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) in September 1981. Side lining ambitious Pro Vice Chancellor, with his team of trusted officials and his stature as an able administrator, he deftly handled many volatile situations in the faction-riddled University. The HAU started functioning as an efficient organisation.
Sudden death of J C Sharma in February 1982 necessitated appointment of a new Director of Extension Education (DEE). Haryana Chief Secretary and other Management Board Members toeing his line, were keen to appoint the senior most professor as DEE. Bhumbla argued that being a veterinarian, he was not suitable for this position. Being HAU’s Chief Liaison Officer with the farming community, the DEE should be a good communicator from hard core agriculture production discipline. While the matter was being discussed, an imprudent comment by the Chief Secretary that the VC may say what he likes but he cannot function without the support of the State Government, upset Bhumbla. He decided to quit. Efforts by the Chief Minister and the new Chief Secretary Caprihan could not change his decision. Such were the courage of conviction, ideals, and ethics of Bhumbla.
When everyone was gung-ho about PAU and Punjab agriculture, heading a review of PAU in mid-1980s, Bhumbla emphasised (Bhumbla Committee Report) the urgency for the Punjab Government (and ICAR) to raise spending on agriculture research and education to 2% of the State Domestic Product from Agriculture (SDPFA), to maintain Punjab’s Numero Uno position in the country. This was not done (present level 0.5% of SDPFA), and the results are obvious. Punjab is struck with low value, high volume, natural-resource-depleting rice-wheat for the last five decades, and the biggest challenge for the PAU is to regain its salience in Indian agriculture.
In his trademark way, Bhumbla always called the spade, a spade. He was annoyed when some persons made a mindless representation against the selection of a Soil Chemist, and the VC changed the selection of Director of Research as he was Expert Member of both selection committees. Often, he acerbically said “Real Bhumbla is dead.”
As Agriculture Dean, I invited Bhumbla to preside over Alumni Association Meet in 2000. Despite the offer to send a car to pick him up from Karnal, travelling by bus and Rickshaw he reached PAU. Approaching 80 and having occupied eminent positions, that speaks volumes about the simplicity and tenacity of this Legend of Indian Agriculture. Any fatigue from bus travel dissipated as he was overjoyed listening hilarious incidents narrated by my classmate turned entrepreneur Dinesh Mahajan who had started B.Sc. Agric. studies at Hissar when Bhumbla was the Dean and then migrated to Ludhiana.
Awards and Honours
The long list of awards and recognitions received by Bhumbla included Guinness Award for Scientific Achievements (by Commonwealth Scientific Organization), Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award, Indian Agricultural Universities Association Plaque, Fellowship of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Honorary Membership of Indian Society of Soil Science, and the awards by his three Alma Maters.
After superannuation in 1980, Bhumbla regularly received pension. Courtesy Inder Mohan Chhibba, around 2016 he learned that he was being under paid as per a newspaper report. He wrote a letter for revision of pension, attaching the newspaper clip but did not follow it up. Months later, he was pleasantly surprised to receive Rs 72 lakh pension arrears. This perhaps was the reward by the grateful nation for his lifelong hard work, sincerity, and truthfulness, including the compensation for the sufferings of his wife and children who had to relocate to remote Banga Bet village from Ludhiana while he pursued Ph.D. studies in USA without salary from College of Agriculture!
Dr D R Bhumbla Regional Research Station for Kandi Area and Bhumbla Endowments
Bhumbla relentlessly lamented degradation of Kandi belt due to uncontrolled grazing, lopping and other human interventions in forest and other protected areas due to relaxations in the Land Preservation Act (Choes Act) 1900. He was the force behind establishing Ballowal Saunkhari Research Station for developing location specific technologies to improve livelihoods and restore biodiversity in this poverty stricken, ecologically fragile region of Punjab. The PAU has aptly named it after him.
Bhumbla believed that quality education, which is often beyond the reach of the poor, can transform struggling families. To support meritorious students and perpetuate his memory, his sons — Devinder, Virendra and Rabinder — have established the following Endowments for awarding Dr Dev Raj Bhumbla scholarships:
- Rs 60 lakh for College of Agriculture (PAU), Ballowal Saunkhari
- Rs 20 lakh for Gujjar Education Society, Nawanshahar
- Rs 10 lakh for Government Senior Secondary School, Malewal
What distinguishes Dr D R Bhumbla from an also-ran is not intellect but other qualities that define a successful leader — his sense of place, values and drive, outlook on life, how he treats people, and commitment to the larger purpose beyond his own.
Acknowledgements: Devinder Bhumbla provided valuable inputs for this piece which also benefitted from PAU Biography Series “Dr Dev Raj Bhumbla: The Pulse of Indian Agriculture” by Narinder Pal Singh and Ashoo Toor. The photos are courtesy Manjit Singh and Virendra Bhumbla.
