I Have a Dream (Inspiring Indian Entrepreneurs) by Bansal Rashmi

Author:Bansal, Rashmi [Bansal, Rashmi]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Nonfiction
Publisher: Rashmi Bansal
Published: 2011-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

THE SCIENTIFIC

SOCIALIST

Madhav Chavan,

Pratham

Madhav Chavan was born and brought up in Bombay.

“My grandfather was a judge in the princely state of Kolhapur. My father had the advantages of education, environment… but at 17 he became a communist and threw himself into the freedom struggle.”

Madhav’s parents met in 1942, when his father was an underground political worker, hiding in her house. Later, he became a trade unionist.

“I am the only child but I grew up among many adults. Our house was popularly called a commune, which means his colleagues -sometimes their families - all lived in one place.

By night it was a residence, by day it was an office where hundreds of people came in and out...”

Madhav’s father belonged to the Lal Nishan Party – well known in political and trade union circles.

“I was introduced to social, political thought very early. After high school, I started participating in leftist political work, student activities. This was in the early 70s.”

Madhav joined Jai Hind College, for FY and Inter Sc. While most of his friends went into engineering and medical, he went to the Institute of Science on Madam Cama Road.

“But that too was not very serious. It was just something that you... finish your graduation. My main preoccupation used to be student union work or other political work.”

After completing his BSc, Madhav worked for a year with the Lal Nishan party. But then, Emergency was declared and for a variety of reasons, he decided to go back to college for further studies.

“By this time I had decided I did not want to work full time in politics.”

Madhav enrolled for an MSc in Inorganic Chemistry. Not very serious in the first year, he applied himself in the second and got a distinction.

Then the question was ‘what next?’ Madhav applied to IIT for a PhD but was rejected. Meanwhile the US seemed to be inviting anybody and everybody who wanted to do a PhD, even offering scholarships.

So it was that the student union leader who was demonstrating outside the US consulate in 1973 lined up for a student visa outside the same consulate in 1978.

“I completed my PhD from Ohio State University which was considered ‘top 10’ for Chemistry. I can’t say I could have won a Nobel prize but I understood chemistry much better in those years than I did before.”

More importantly, Madhav’s entire world-view changed. He became aware of issues in Latin America, Vietnam, China. And found himself challenging long-held beliefs.

“Imperialism, capitalism – these are words to describe the system. But when you meet people on a daily basis, you realise they have no real meaning.”

What impressed Madhav the most about America was the sense of ‘equality’ in everyday life and interactions. And yet, after completing the PhD, securing a faculty position and even a ‘green card’, Madhav felt the urge to return to India.

“I faced a simple choice. Live in the US and face the challenges of US society or come back to India and face the challenges of Indian society. I chose to come back.

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