Nainital, May 19
It has been just the break from the 24x7 schedule that US President Barack Obama’s Chief Agricultural Negotiator had craved for. Back “home” in Nainital, Dr ‘Isi’ Siddiqui is replenishing his mind, body and soul surrounded by family and friends. What makes his trip even more special is the honorary Doctor of Science degree he will receive from his alma mater, Pantnagar University, tomorrow.

Staying with his brother Rais Ahmed Siddiqui, Dr Islam A ‘Isi’ Siddiqui is here to visit his family. “It is only human to want to return to one’s roots. People take vacations but there’s nothing like coming home. It is very relaxing and replenishes the soul,” says the agriculture scientist, whose work on a variety of rubber that grows in arid lands is globally acknowledged and recognised. Since the particular rubber variety also provides fuel, various governments, including that of Australia, have sought to replicate Dr Siddiqui’s experiment.

“I was in India on a quick trip last August. I landed on Monday and was back on a flight to the US on Wednesday night after two days of hectic deliberations. This time, I’m here for my family...”

An alumnus of the first batch at the Gobind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Dr Siddiqui is looking forward to the convocation. “It is a great honor to receive such recognition from the institution where I made a humble beginning. It is a special moment,” he says, recalling how he almost didn’t join Pantnagar.

“I had to choose choice between joining the Indian Air Force or Pantnagar University. I chose the latter,” he reminisces. Dr Siddiqui did BSc in plant protection from the then Uttar Pradesh Agricultural University in Pantnagar and his MSc and PhD in plant pathology from the University of Illinois.

Dr Siddiqui has been a frequent visitor in the US power corridors right from the days when Bill Clinton was President. He remembers many long walks and discussions with Clinton. But it has not always been easy for Dr Siddiqui. His family recalls the tough days when electricity was a problem in their family home at Haldwani and ‘Isi’, the son of a businessman, used to study under the light from lamp posts.

Dr Siddiqui can’t help but marvel at the pace of change in India. “I see more prosperity in general. There is development and industrialisation, cars and vehicles. At the same time, there is more carbon dioxide and pollution. There is also poverty and there are places where things have not changed,” he says. There is a need to pull up those standing at the base of the growth ladder. “More attention must be paid to public health, education and poverty alleviation,” he says.