Dr Thakur gets Padma Shri

Jotirmay Thapliyal 

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 28

Dr Vikram Chandra Thakur, former director of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), the only one from Uttarakhand this year to feature in the list of Padma Shri awardees that was announced on the eve of Republic Day.

Dr Thakur is the second WIHG luminary after eminent geologist KS Valdiya, who was awarded with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan in 2007 and 2015 respectively. Settled in Dehradun, Dr Thakur, who originally hails from Dharmshala, Himachal Pradesh also has its roots in the Kumaon division of Uttarakhand, from where his forefathers migrated to Himachal Pradesh. 

An MSc from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and a Phd from London University, Dr Thakur has worked extensively in structure tectonics. His specialisation has been on Himalayan geology, structural geology and tectonics. He has worked extensively in unravelling the regional framework and tectonics of the remote regions of Ladakh, Zanskar, Chamba, Garhwal, Kumaun and Arunachal Pradesh.

He has nearly hundred and thirty research papers to his credit. His book Geology of Western Himalaya by Pergamon Press, Oxford in 1992 was widely appreciated. He joined Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in 1972 and rose on to become the Director. Dr Thakur was at the helm of affairs at WIHG for over a decade, when he held the post of director at the institute. Even after his retirement, he was awarded emeritus scientist of the CSIR, since then he has been working in several research projects on active tectonics of the Himalayan frontal zone. He is also a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and recipient of the National Mineral Award in 1984.

Scientists’ fraternity particularly geologists’ in Dehradun are anxiously waiting for his return, who is presently on a visit to Mumbai and will return back to Dehradun in the first week of February. Uttarkhand State Council for Science and Technology’s Director General Dr Rajendra Dobhal said it was an honour for scientist community of Uttarakhand that an eminent geologist has been bestowed with Padma Shri. He said the award would certainly encourage budding young scientists.