Jammu, Aug 17: CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu celebrated the 141st birth anniversary of Col R N Chopra, the Founder Director of IIIM, here on Thursday.
Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu along with scientists, technical & administrative staff, scholars and other workers paid respectful homage to the late Col Chopra by offering floral tribute over the statue.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Zabeer Ahmed recalled the mission and vision of “this great son of the soil” and said, “Col R N Chopra was a pride of Jammu known as the father of Indian Pharmacology, who at that time when no facilities were available had done quite remarkable work on cannabis and other potential medicinal plants. In 1964, he was the first to introduce Mentha arvensis, to India, later named as Mentha Shivalik and brought it under cultivation by which India became its largest exporter in the world.”
Dr Ahmed said that more than 80 years ago, Col R N Chopra established this institute of national importance in the area of natural products drug discovery and started the journey of science here. “The real tribute to this great scientist would be if we strive hard to accomplish his dreams of cutting-edge science which would have far-reaching impact nationally and globally as well,” he said.
