<Tr> <Th> Other notable students </Th> <Td> Raj Chandra Bose C.R. Rao </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Signature </Th> </Tr> <P> Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis OBE, FRS (29 June 1893--28 June 1972) was an Indian scientist and applied statistician . He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure and for being one of the members of the first Planning commission of free India . He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India . He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to the design of large - scale sample surveys . </P> <P> Mahalanobis belonged to a family of Bengali landed gentry who lived in Bikrampur (now in Bangladesh). His grandfather Gurucharan (1833--1916) moved to Calcutta in 1854 and built up a business, starting a chemist shop in 1860 . Gurucharan was influenced by Debendranath Tagore (1817--1905), father of the Nobel Prize--winning poet, Rabindranath Tagore . Gurucharan was actively involved in social movements such as the Brahmo Samaj, acting as its Treasurer and President . His house on 210 Cornwallis Street was the center of the Brahmo Samaj . Gurucharan married a widow, an action against social traditions . </P>

Who is known as the father of statistics in india