Recently, I learned about Jagadish Chandra Bose, and upon digging deeper into his life, I discovered many remarkable events.

Jagadish Chandra Bose is one of the most prominent figures in history. He made significant contributions during a time when the country was struggling for freedom, racism was rampant, and Indians were not treated as equals alongside other British subjects. But Bose faced all these problems and spread his knowledge to the world. When everyone was commercialising their inventions, Bose believed in truth over fame. He also fights against inequality, despite it not being his responsibility.

Jagadish Chandra Bose was born on 30 November 1858 in Mymensingh, then part of British India. His father, Bhagawan Chandra Bose, was a respected civil servant and reformist who believed deeply in education rooted in Indian culture. Bose’s father sent Bose to a Bengali-language school for his early education, as it was important to him that his son should study in his native language and culture before studying in English. Once, Bose described the effect of education in his life: “At that time, sending children to English schools was an aristocratic status symbol. In the vernacular school, to which I was sent, the son of the Muslim attendant of my father sat on my right side, and the son of a fisherman sat on my left. They were my playmates. I listened spellbound to their stories of birds, animals, and aquatic creatures. Perhaps these stories created in my mind a keen interest in investigating the workings of Nature. When I returned home from school, accompanied by my school fellows, my mother welcomed and fed all of us without discrimination. Although she was an orthodox old-fashioned lady, she never considered herself guilty of impiety by treating these ‘untouchables’ as her own children. It was because of my childhood.”

He started teaching at Calcutta’s Presidency College after graduating. However, Bose received only one-fourth of the British professor’s pay. At the time, Indian professors were paid less than British professors due to a rule. Bose continued teaching for three years without a salary. This demonstrates Bose’s strong mindset. He didn’t give in to the racism towards Indians. After three years, the British gave in to Bose’s demands and agreed to pay the full salary in one lump sum. Additionally, we are corporate slaves who submit to any demands made by businesses. We have become like Bose and always fight for the right amount we deserve. Many corporates are taking advantage of this, and they always hire people who agree to less. This results in lower average salaries for employees.

Bose was the first to produce microwaves at a wavelength of 5 mm. He never patented this invention. After some time, Marconi built on this work and received all the credit for microwaves. But Bose always valued truth over fame. In 1901, Bose demonstrated the plant’s response to an external stimulus. Everyone at the demonstration mocked Bose for his demonstration. The British press used humor, such as images of “petting their fire irons (metal tools).” His enthusiasm for his work, however, never wavered. There are so many wonderful things about Bose that I may not be able to cover them all in one article; it would take a whole book to describe this great man.