Archives: history

By Samyukhtha Sunil

Known as ‘The Father of Engineering’, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya left behind a legacy that fast-tracked India’s technological and infrastructural transition, paving the path for a modernised India through sheer perseverance and determination. It is in the celebration of his legacy that India observes September 15th as National Engineer’s Day.

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, fondly called Sir MV, was born to a poor Brahmin household on September 15th, 1860, in Muddenahalli near modern-day Mysore. It was believed that his father died when Sir MV was barely 15 years old. From then on, his journey in completing his school and college education was one that was filled with endless obstacles and hardships. He acquired a B.A degree from Central College in Bangalore. He went on to earn a scholarship for a civil engineering course from the College of Science in Pune which he completed as the valedictorian. Sir Visvesvaraya’s dedication towards his education was so strong that he would often study under the light of streetlamps late at night to catch up with his portions. During his time in college, he made a small sum of money by tutoring children after classes while still managing to top his university! He led a constant balancing act between earning for his family and trying to pursue his dreams in the field of engineering.

Soon, he was hired by the Public Works Department for the Government of Bombay where he began to develop a keen interest in water irrigation systems, drainage and water supply. Early in his tenure, he even built a structure he dubbed the ‘syphon’; it could redirect water from the Panjra river into the nearby drought-stricken village of Datari. He was deeply passionate about the water conservation system, and his ideas and thoughts were far ahead of the times that they lived in. They helped bring modern irrigation and conservation systems to developing India.

It is believed that, while Sir MV was working on his syphon project in Datari, there was a night of heavy rainfall that caused the river to breach its banks and overflow. Sir. Visvesvaraya took shelter with some locals in the vicinity for a couple of days, but on the third day, he yearned to get back to work. The man apparently swam back across the river with the help of the local workers! It’s safe to say that he was willing to go to any extent for the passion he had for his work!

Armed with immense experience and ideas aplenty, he was appointed as the Diwan of Mysore in 1909 under the post of a Chief Engineer. His instincts told him to take on larger infrastructure and education projects to ramp up development in Mysore, which the Government gladly agreed to. What followed was a massive transformation that revolutionized the state of Mysore forever.

His most significant project during this tenure was the construction of the famous Krishna Raja Sagara Dam, which is still regarded as an engineering marvel and attracts hordes of tourists every day. Not only was its design par excellence, but it also served many purposes for the people of Mysore and the neighbouring regions. It supplied power to the Kolar Gold Mines, it led through vast expanses of farmlands, providing ample irrigation to regions that did not receive enough rainfall, and it also put Mysore on the map as the location for the largest dam to be built in India at the time!

Sir M. Visvesvaraya’s vision was one that went above and beyond. He desired to leave behind a legacy that the rest of the country and the future generations could constantly resonate with. He constantly visited large scale factories and industries to review their work and share his thoughts and ideas with them. He realized the worth of good education and demanded that it be free to all, irrespective of their social or economic strata. This is why he made immense contributions in the field of academia. During his tenure as the Diwan of Mysore between the years 1912-1918, he almost tripled the number of schools and colleges, from 4568 educational institutions to 11,294! He built technical and engineering colleges across the state and introduced compulsory education for all, which became a fundamental right in the Indian constitution. He also set up the first Government Engineering College in Bengaluru, now known as the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering.

Sir MV had the creative vigour of a child throughout his life and did not shy away from questioning things and coming up with new ways to do things. It was believed that even at the age of 92, he walked to most places and did not take any assistance to do his own work. He was a man with a large heart and made generous donations to the people who worked under him; this was why he was left with only INR 36,000 in his final days. He was awarded the prestigious Bharat Ratna in the year 1955 for lifelong contributions to the field of science and engineering.

In 1962, at the grand old age of 102, he passed away peacefully at his home. His birthday was declared as National Engineers Day from 1968 onwards, and it continues to be celebrated not only in India but also in Sri Lanka and Tanzania! His innovations continue to ignite the minds of aspiring engineers everywhere, and has made engineering a desirable field of study for many Indians to this very day. His was truly a lifetime of sharing, nurturing and demonstrating that one should always push the boundaries of the ordinary!

By Samyukhtha Sunil

Over the years, Teachers’ Day has become a symbol of appreciation and acknowledgement of educators across the country for the countless hours they put into guiding and moulding India’s younger generations. This is why, on the eve of every Teachers’ Day, the National Teachers Awards are given to the country’s best teachers by the President of India. But did you know that Teachers’ Day also marks the birthday of former Indian president Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a philosopher, academician and educator par excellence? 

Dr Radhakrishnan’s immense contribution to post-independent Indian society has been lauded by leaders across the globe. Dr Radhakrishnan was no ordinary guru. His clarity and creative methods of imparting knowledge brought him into the spotlight as a teacher extraordinaire. He was a popular philosopher, a scholar and an influential diplomat. Such was his vision and wisdom that he is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century.

Born on September 5th, 1888, to a poor Brahmin family in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruttani village, Dr Radhakrishnan’s parents decided to dedicate their meagre income to educate him. His dedication and passion towards learning were undeterred since childhood, but after he completed his secondary education, he was requested by his parents to discontinue his studies and assist them by working as a priest at the local temple. It was after a very long and arduous struggle that Dr Radhakrishnan was able to avail the luxury of higher education. A devoted student of philosophy, he began focusing on Hindu schools of thought, which he soon gained immense prowess over. He then expanded his area of interest to include Buddhist teachings and theories, and was soon studying the works of ancient and modern Western thinkers, from Plato to Karl Marx.

He was appointed as the key lecturer of philosophy in the University of Mysore in 1918 where his teachings became wildly popular for how precise and thought-provoking they were. It was during his tenure here that he wrote his best work, ‘The Philosophies of Rabindranath Tagore’. He was invited to Oxford University in London in 1926, where he delivered his famous lecture on Hindu philosophy. His contribution towards the Indian freedom struggle was very unique, becoming a beacon of hope and an academic icon that the rest of the nation resonated with. Dr Radhakrishnan preferred the power of words to fight his battles, and used his lectures as a platform to highlight India’s cause for freedom.         

He was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University in 1931, serving for five years. Here, his exemplary work played a huge role in restructuring the crumbling systems of the institutions. The changes he had brought about were so powerful that, by the end of his term, it became one of the most robust and well-known alma maters in the country. 

After India attained independence in 1947, Dr Radhakrishnan was assigned to chair the University Commission in 1948. His committee played a pivotal role in shaping an education system based on India’s needs at the time. In 1949, he became the ambassador to the USSR in the middle of the Cold War. Through his peaceful diplomatic brokering, he successfully established a cordial relationship between India and the Soviet Union. Between 1952 and 1962, he served as the first vice president of the country, and in 1962, he was elevated to the highest office in the country, that of the President of India. 

He was a man of many accolades. Dr Radhakrishnan was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954. In addition to this, he was nominated a total of 16 times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and 11 times for the Nobel Peace Prize! 

Dr Radhakrishnan was also immensely loved by his students. When Dr Radhakrishnan was enroute to the railway station from Mysore University, his endearing students had arranged for a grand flower-decked carriage that they pulled up till his destination! Now that’s a teacher-student bond like no other! 

After he became the President in 1962, Dr Radhakrishnan’s students requested to observe his birthday as “Radhakrishnan Day”, to which he responded by saying that he would like to collectively share this day with every teacher in the country for their commendable work and sacrifices. He regarded it to be a ‘privilege’ to celebrate this day as Teachers’ Day and this is how the first Teachers’ Day came to be celebrated.

Read one of Amar Chitra Katha’s latest miniseries ‘Inspiring Teachers’ which has stories extracted from our iconic titles, compiled for readers who enjoy short reads. Now available exclusively on the ACK Comics app and Kindle. 

When 32-year-old Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, king of Mysore, fell ill and died, his son was still a minor. It was also the year when a severe epidemic of bubonic plague struck the city. This was when his wife, Maharani Kempa Nanjammani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana, took over as queen regent and ruled Mysore for eight memorable years.

During her rule, Bangalore and Mysore saw great progress. Asia’s first hydroelectric project was commissioned at Shivanasamundram. Drinking water to Bengaluru was provided from the Hesaraghatta Reservoir. Many schools for girls were started with more than 12000 girls getting access to education. The Rani laid great stress on pre- and post-natal care for women and opened several hospitals and dispensaries. She also donated 372 acres of land to start the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru.

Rani Vani Vilasa will always be/ remembered as a dynamic ruler who contributed greatly to the welfare of the people of Karnataka.

Dhyan Singh was born on August 29th, 1905 in Allahabad (present-day Prayagraj). His father, Sameshwar Singh, was in the army, and he had two brothers – Mool Singh and Roop Singh. On his 17th birthday, Dhyan Singh followed in his father’s footsteps and got enlisted in the British Indian Army. 

When Dhyan Singh first joined the military, he didn’t know anything about hockey. In fact, the closest he had ever come to hockey was hitting balls along the streets of Jhansi. However, Dhyan had a natural flair for the game. 

Dhyan Singh’s superior, Subedar-Major Bale Tiwari, saw potential in him that no one else did. He took it upon himself to train Dhyan, and, in no time, his efforts paid off. Dhyan Singh was indomitable. At the end of each day, the sepoys would be dead tired, but one man would still stand strong, playing hockey into the wee hours of the morning. It was this night-time habit of his, practising hockey under the moonlight that earned him the name Dhyan Chand! 

Dhyan Chand was a dedicated player, and soon, his skills caught the eyes of the British. He got the chance to visit New Zealand to play hockey against the locals there. By the time he and his team were back, he was already a star! Word of his marvellous exploits on the hockey field had spread like wildfire. 

Things were looking up for the hockey wizard. Soon, the International Olympic Association decided to include hockey as one of its sports. There were trials held in the nation to form the best team. Dhyan Chand swooped through the qualifiers without breaking a sweat. In no time, he was selected to represent India in the Olympics. When the team was ready to leave, there were only three people who had come to see them off. The players, while disappointed, didn’t lose hope and knew that they had to give their best.

At the Olympics, Dhyan Chand showed his exceptional skill in the sport and beat teams left and right. India first got into a fierce battle with the Austrians where they managed to beat them effortlessly. Then, they played against Belgium and won nine to nothing, bringing them up against Denmark. In each of the games, Dhyan Chand would swiftly break through the opponent’s defences and score goals. It was almost as if the game seemed incomplete without Dhyan Chand’s goal. India slowly progressed through the rounds, and started garnering a lot of attention and appreciation from foreigners, something that their own fellow countrymen failed to give them. 

Despite being a little under the weather, Dhyan Chand managed to play the finals against the Netherlands and emerged victorious! While the press and public in Britain paid no heed to India’s victory, things were different this time around back in India. Dhyan Chand and his team were welcomed by a large crowd at the harbour. On arrival, he was greeted by the Mayor of Bombay and several parties were thrown in the team’s honour. 

From there onwards, Dhyan Chand went on to become the captain of the Indian Hockey team and got a chance to represent India once more in the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, striking gold yet again, this time against Germany. In a career that spanned 22 years, from 1926 to 1948, he scored over 400 goals! Dhyan Chand breathed his last breath on December 3rd, 1979. 

Even today, Dhyan Chand is known as a legendary figure in the world of Indian sports. The 20th National Award 2012, the Gem of India was awarded posthumously to Dhyan Chand, received on his behalf by his son, Ashok Dhyan Chand. He has also been honoured with a Padma Bhushan, which is the third-highest civilian honour in the country. Dhyan Chand is also the only hockey player to have a stamp in his honour. He truly was one of a kind.

Read a detailed account of the hockey legend’s life story in Amar Chitra Katha’s Dhyan Chand, now available on the ACK Comics app, as well as major e-tailers.