Mina Swaminathan

Mina Swaminathan (Tamil: மீனா சுவாமிநாதன்; 29 March 1933 – 14 March 2022) was an Indian educationist in the field of pre-school education.[1] As a teacher at St. Thomas's School, New Delhi, she developed methods using drama in education and language learning, both inside and outside the classroom. [2] In children's drama, she developed techniques for creative improvisation, and in writing and production of documentary mime plays. Meena Swaminathan was married to Indian Agricultural Scientist, and "Father of Green Revolution" M.S. Swaminathan, whom she met in 1951 while they were both studying at Cambridge.[3]

Mina Swaminathan
Born(1933-03-29)29 March 1933
Delhi, British Raj
Died14 March 2022(2022-03-14) (aged 88)
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materDelhi University
Cambridge University
OccupationEducationist
Spouse
​
(m. 1955)​
ChildrenThree; including Soumya

Early life

Swaminathan was born on 29 March 1933 to Mathuram and Subrahmanya Bhoothalingam. Her mother was a novelist and playwright who wrote in Tamil and English under the penname Krithika, while her father was an Indian civil servant and economist.[4][5]

She earned her B.A.(Hons) in 1951 from Delhi University and B.A.(Hons) in 1953, Cambridge University. Her M.A.(English) in 1958 from Panjab University, earned her B.Ed. in 1956 from Central Institute of Education. She earned her M.A.(Cantab) in 1961 Economics from Cambridge University.[6]

Career

Swaminathan was an educator who focused on early childhood education and gender and development studies. She was the chairman of the committee that studied development of the pre-school child that was set up by the Indian Central Advisory Board of Education in 1970. The committee's recommendations became the basis for Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), a program that targeted interventions in early childhood care and development.[7][8]

Swaminathan was a consultant to UNESCO on early childhood care and education, as well as to UNICEF when she undertook assignments in Vietnam and Kampuchea.[7] She was Secretary and later President of the Indian Association for Pre-school Education, as well as Editor of its journal, and a Member of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE). She was also part of the board of trustees in the non-profit M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.[7]

She also focused her efforts on studying gender equality as an activist and also as a founding member of the Centre for Women's Development Studies, a woman and gender development organization, in 1980. She served as the center's vice-chairperson from 1987 through 1993.[8][7] Her research focus included gender equality, women farmers' rights, rural poverty and its impact on women in rural communities, in addition to early childhood growth and education.[9]

Swaminathan was the author of several books on the subject of drama and child development and contributed articles to leading publications. Her publications included manuals for teachers and day care workers on care and education of children below six, a study of day care for poor working women in India. She was a recipient of the Homi Bhabha fellowship in 1973.

Select works

Personal life

Swaminathan was married to Indian agricultural scientist, M.S. Swaminathan, whom she met in 1951 while they were both studying at Cambridge. She was studying economics at Newnham College while he was pursuing his PhD at the school of agriculture in the same university. The couple married in 1955 after their return to India.[3][9] They lived in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and had three daughters and five grandchildren. Their daughters include, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the Chief Scientist at WHO, Dr. Madhura Swaminathan, Professor of Economics at the Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore and Nitya Rao, a Senior Lecturer in Gender Analysis and Development at the University of East Anglia.[8][10]

Swaminathan died from natural causes at her home in Teynampet, Chennai on 14 March 2022, at the age of 88.[11]

References
  1. "Silent dimensions". The Hindu. 18 February 2001. Archived from the original on 17 January 2002. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "It is manmade tragedy, says Swaminathan". The Hindu. 29 October 2006. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007.
  4. "ECCE TN Forces - Trainer Manual - Volume 1" (PDF). Foryouchild.org. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  5. Staff Reporter (19 December 2015). "Author's birth centenary marked". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. "Mina Swaminathan". www.ichdbd.org. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. "Mina Swaminathan passes away". The Indian Express. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. "Mina Swaminthan, of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, no more". The Hindu. 14 March 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. Kesavan, P. C. (6 April 2017). M.s. Swaminathan: Legend In Science And Beyond. World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-320-011-1.
  10. "Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation". bmfawards.org. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. "Mina Swaminthan, of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, no more". The Hindu. 14 March 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
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