Mina Swaminathan

( Mar 29 1933 - Mar 14 2022 )

Other Detail

Achievements

Mina Swaminathan (Tamil: மீனா சுவாமிநாதன்; 29 March 1933 – 14 March 2022) was an Indian educationist in the field of pre-school education. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, a 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. Swaminathan died from natural causes at her home in Teynampet, Chennai on 14 March 2022, at the age of 88.

Profession

Indian educationist

Address

Delhi, India