CM Bhajanlal Sharma Pays Tribute to Dr. Homi Bhabha on Birth Anniversary
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On the birth anniversary of the man who gave India its nuclear spine, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Friday, October 30 offered heartfelt homage to Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha, saluting the physicist's unparalleled contribution to making the nation self-reliant in science and atomic energy.
In his post, CM Sharma wrote: 'Bhartiya parmaanu karyakram ke janak... Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha ji ki jayanti par unhe koti-koti naman!' ('On the birth anniversary of the father of India's nuclear programme... I offer a million salutes to Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha!'). He added that Bhabha's extraordinary contribution to making the nation self-reliant and empowered in the fields of science and nuclear energy 'will remain unforgettable forever.'
The architect behind India's nuclear foundations
Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha is celebrated as the father of India's nuclear programme — a distinction rooted in concrete institutional action, not just honorary tradition. In 1945, he founded the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), creating India's first serious home for advanced scientific inquiry. When India gained independence, he was appointed the first chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, established in 1948, to build indigenous nuclear capabilities from the ground up.
He also established what would become the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) — today the nerve centre of India's civilian nuclear research. For his services to science and the nation, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honours.
A birth anniversary that echoes through national policy
Indian leaders across administrations have consistently marked October 30 — Bhabha's birth anniversary — to reinforce the country's commitment to self-reliance in nuclear science. The tribute is rarely just ceremonial: it arrives against a backdrop of successive atomic energy policies since independence, each building on the three-stage nuclear programme Bhabha himself envisioned. The word CM Sharma used — 'aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) — consciously echoes both Bhabha's original vision and the current national emphasis on indigenous capability-building.
For Rajasthan, the resonance is not merely philosophical. The state is home to the Rawatbhata nuclear power plant, one of India's oldest operating atomic energy facilities, making Bhabha's legacy a lived, functional reality within the state CM Sharma governs.