Janaki Ammal “ In Full Bloom ”
at the University of Michigan where she received a PhD in Botany . Janki became an expert in cytogenetics - the study of chromosomes and cell behaviour - and was particularly interested in breeding plants . While later working for the Sugarcane Breeding Station at Coimbatore , India , in the 1930 ’ s , Janaki developed her own high-yield sugarcane hybrid that freed the country from its reliance on importing sugar .
Janaki Ammal was born in Kerala , India , in 1887 . Her mother was a daughter , born out of wedlock , to a British official and of the Thiyya caste ( today , the Thiyya caste is categorized by the Indian government as ' Other Backwards Class ' which denotes any caste that has been historically or currently disadvantaged in terms of education and social opportunities ).
In 1897 , being a girl , of her particular caste , and of mixed racial identity , in India , meant that statistically Janaki would be unlikely to go to school or marry into a prosperous family . Lucky for Janaki , the schools in Kerala were attached to the local Christian mission system and she was able to attend school and graduate university with a Masters in Botany , in 1923 .
In 1924 , Janaki received the Balfour Scholarship and left India to study
Janaki spent WWII in England , working with Cyril Dean Darlington , compiling the ‘ Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants ’, and recording the chromosome number of approximately 100,000 plants . She then worked as a cytologist at the Royal Horticultural Society where they named a variety of magnolia that she created , as ‘ Magnolia Kobus Janaki Ammal ’.
In 1954 , Janaki returned to India to lead their agricultural program at the request of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru . She earned notoriety for leading the 1970 ’ s movement to save ‘ Silent Valley ’, a government plan to flood 64 square kilometers of tropical forest to create a hydroelectric plant .
Janaki went on to receive many of India ’ s highest honours . Most importantly though , she showed her country what could be achieved by an individual despite the constraints of gender , caste , and race .