Letters: Borlaug's contribution

This refers to Devangshu Datta's column "The US biologist who changed India" (Quantum Leap, July 25). Professor Norman Borlaug's contribution saved India from a disaster. The food situation in India in the early sixties is perhaps not known to our current citizens, who no longer have to stand in long queues to collect a meagre amount of cereal.

The ground stock of wheat back then was hardly enough for a week in many parts of India. Back then, the US government allowed the import of wheat under the Public Law 480. If there were any delays in the arrivals of the ships at various ports, government agencies panicked. Food riots occurred at different places. The population of the country then was just a little over 400 million. Even then, the Indian farmers could not produce enough food.

Nirupam Haldar Kolkata

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