Remarks by HE Mr Ajai Malhotra, Ambassador of India to the Rusian Federation, at the funeral meeting at Russian Academy of Sciences, March 27, 2013, on the occasion of the demise of Academician G. I. Marchuk
Respected Olga Nikolaevna, Academician Osipov, dear friends,
It was with much sadness that I learnt of the demise of Academician Gury Ivanovich Marchuk. He was a remarkable human being, a versatile personality, and an eminent and very highly respected figure in the world of science.
Academician Marchuk’s professional career scaled many heights. A widely acclaimed scientist and author, he had more than 350 scientific publications to his name, covering fields such as computational and applied mathematics, atmospheric and oceanic physics and even immunology. At various stages he held the distinguished posts of the Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, Chairman of the USSR State Committee on Science and Technology and President of the prestigious USSR Academy of Sciences. He won wide international recognition for his scientific work, receiving many high awards, titles and other honours. He was a foreign member of the Indian National Science Academy.
Academician Marchuk was also a very dear and highly admired friend of India, where he had many good friends. He was a pillar of our bilateral cooperation in Science and Technology. He was the first co-Chair of the flagship Integrated Long Term Programme for cooperation in Science and Technology between our two countries. His friendship and guidance contributed greatly to nurturing strong and mutually beneficial scientific ties between India and Russia. India acknowledged the contribution of this great scientist in 2002 by conferring on Academician Marchuk one of the highest Indian civilian awards, ‘Padma Bhushan’.
I was privileged to know Academician Marchuk as a friend for 31 years, since 1982, and was absolutely delighted to meet up with him once again on my return to Moscow in 2011. We will always remember him with utmost admiration and deep respect. The gap he has left behind will certainly be impossible to fill.
On this sad occasion I would like to convey heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Government of India, the people of India and on my own behalf. Our prayers are with the grieving family of the departed soul as indeed with the Russian scientific fraternity and the people of Russia. May God give everyone the strength to bear this irreparable loss.
