Devendra Prasad Gupta (; 2 January 1933 – 26 December 2017) was an Indian pre-democratic political sufferer,

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

Early life and education

Hailing and raised from a family of Vaidhraj commonly termed as olden Ayurvedic physicians, he dynamically partook in Indian freedom movements of

Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". H ...

1942 as a result of which his studies were discontinued for years. At the age of eleven years he became a member of Congress Seva Dal from 1944 to 1947. During this period he had been trained as a volunteer and subsequently turned out to be the Nayak/comrade of one unit. He confronted bullets and suffered from gangrenous wound on the lower part of the left leg with bone exposed which temporarily incapacitated him for two months. The wound being stated was caused by the three bullets fired by British soldiers under their contingent military operation at

Maheshkhunt Maheshkhunt is a village in Khagaria district of Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to i ...

, district of

Monghyr Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern ...

in August 1942. He was even incarcerated and held as one of the captives led by seizure for a year. On 24 August 1942 his grandfather Chulhai Sah faced the bullet of a British soldier in a raid at his house for extirpating railway track of Maheshkhunt station and met a martyr death. But in the midst of struggle and persistent hardship of all fellow-Indians they succeeded. A freedom fighter who had to flee his hometown to avoid arrest for hoisting the

Tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

in his school during the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

, he joined

Ranchi University Ranchi University is a public state university in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. It was established in 1960 by an Act of the Bihar legislature. Ranchi University offers degrees in undergraduate, post-graduate, M.Phil. and doctorate programs. Histo ...

after a brief stint at the

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern ...

and

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

Professional life

Gupta was former

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

. He strived for upliftment of local tribes and backward class. On his advice there was establishment of backward class student union. He commenced his academic career as demonstrator (August 1953 – August 1956) and went up to post graduate lecturer (September 1956 – March 1970),

reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

(April 1970 – January 1984), university professor (February 1984 till death), principal (June 1983 – January 1986) under Indian University. Gupta along with two professors co-founded and instituted special branch of

Microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, ...

and

Plant Pathology Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, ...

in Ranchi University, PG Department of Botany, currently operating under Institute of Basic and Applied Sciences. He was associated with many International conventions such as First International Congress of

, held in

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, International Conference of Phytochemical Society, held in

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

, Scarborough, England and many others. He was one of the contributors from India who took part in the deliberation of the 3rd International Symposium on verticillium held on August 1981 in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

, Italy. He was ex-councillor of Indian Phytopathological Society, New Delhi and former member of Bihar Intermediate Education Council, India. After retirement he served DPG-VeC. Genetics & Life Science, Nicaragua as a President and Bethany University,

Scotts Valley, California Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles (48 km) south of downtown San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Moun ...

, U.S. with other research universities/institutions as an academician and researcher.

Death

Gupta died due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

with sepsis at his residence in

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area o ...

on 26 December 2017. He was treated at Medanta hospital for

femur fracture A femoral fracture is a bone fracture that involves the femur. They are typically sustained in high-impact trauma, such as car crashes, due to the large amount of force needed to break the bone. Fractures of the diaphysis, or middle of the fem ...

and had a prolonged stay in the ICU and

Suite Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite ...

for his fluid, electrolyte, blood sugar and BP management. After explained prognosis he was taken up for surgical intervention. He responded well and was discharged in stable condition on 6 November 2017. He was again re-admitted with complaint of poor oral intake and oral sensorium and was finally diagnosed with

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

and

. He improved and responded well to the treatment, finally was discharged in a healthy state on 20 December 2017. On 26 December 2017 his condition deteriorated and he finally died in a peaceful state, seven days before his 85th birthday.

Legacy

Devendra Memorial Science Fellowship (DMSF) was instituted by DPG-VeC. Genetics & Life Science,

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

to commemorate his contribution in the field of biology.

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* * *
MEMBERS OF THE R.U. SENATE

D.P. Gupta, Testimony From M. L. A., Patna (7 May 1951)

Devendra Prasad Gupta, Ranchi University, Testimony From Minister Of Law (9 February 1955)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Devendra Prasad 1933 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Indian botanists 20th-century Indian philosophers Alumni of King's College London People associated with Queen Elizabeth College People associated with the University of London Patna University alumni Academic staff of Ranchi University Vice-Chancellors of the Ranchi University Scientists from Bihar Scientists from Jharkhand People from Gurgaon Indian independence activists from Bihar Prisoners and detainees of British India Deaths from pneumonia in India