Govind Swarup, radio astronomer, pioneer and builder of telescopes

In over four decades, he took Indian radio astronomy from nothing to a large community with a substantial presence in the world.

Nearly six decades ago, a young radio astronomer called Govind Swarup came to India from Stanford University and joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). He was doing well in Stanford, enjoying all the facilities and the generous funding that a scientist could expect in an American university. India was a new country with no radio telescopes or a community of astronomers at that time. It had emerged as a new nation and was struggling to get its economy on its feet. Govind Swarup responded to the situation by taking a courageous decision: to build a telescope that would