Virendra Kumar Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection is arranged into 5 series.
Series 1: Correspondence - Contains letters in English and Hindi from Kumar's collaborators, mentors, students and peers. Also includes drafts of Kumar's responses.
Series 2: Alaknanada Floods - Includes Kumar's notes, research and letters regarding a review and assessment of the Alaknanda Floods which were seen as a result of ecological degradation due to tree felling in the valley.
Series 3: Chipko Movement - Contains letters, notes, pamphlets, research references and reports on the Chipko unrest.
Series 4: Academic work, research and notes - Includes Kumar's PhD thesis, writings on environment, floral diversity, project proposals and reports and a set of media clippings.
Series 5: Slides - Contains 35mm slides of images taken and annotated by Kumar during his travels, documenting flowers, landscapes, environment, and slides for teaching and lectures.
Dates
- Creation: 1962 - 1992
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for access unless mentioned in specific folders of the finding aid.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright may not have been assigned to Archives, National Centre for Biological Sciences. Permission for reproduction or distribution must be obtained in writing from the Archives at NCBS (archives@ncbs.res.in). The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. The user must obtain all necessary rights and clearances before use of material and material may only be reproduced for academic and non-commercial use.
Biographical / Historical
Virendra Kumar was a botanist and scholar. He is the author of the book, Chromosome Atlas of Flowering Plants of the Indian Subcontinent. Kumar had set up the botany lab at Zakir Hussain College and established the Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Studies of Mountain and Hill Environments (CISMHE; Delhi University). His work was centered on Himalayan floral diversity and he had recommended restoration and a ban on further degradation of the Himalayan flora, especially the rhododendrons which Kumar had extensively documented. He had headed a goverment commission that looked into the Chipko civil movement and was a member of the Planning Commission looking at the environmental and social impact of economic/development projects.
Full Extent
1.5 Linear Feet (3 Archival Boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Hindi
Arrangement
The intellectual arrangement strives to preserve provenance and original order of the papers. Where an original order could not be found, the Archives has applied an order, and folders within sub-series are arranged usually in chronological or alphabetical order. See Scope and Content section for details.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Archi Kulkarni, Archival Intern, Archives at NCBS along with Anjali Ramachandran.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Archives at NCBS Repository
National Centre for Biological Sciences - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Bangalore Karnataka 560065 India
+9180 6717 6010
+9180 6717 6011
archives@ncbs.res.in