Reminiscence of Engineering Indianization

Engineering has been the basis for

the development and progress of

humankind. Engineers of the future

will focus on applying rigorous

scientific analysis and synthesis of

multidisciplinary concepts to

develop sustainable solutions that

integrate economic, social, cultural,

and environmental systems. As a

diverse group of Engineering

Professionals, we have the capability

to solve complex interdisciplinary

engineering challenges to achieve the

common goal of service to society

and growth of the engineering

profession.

L V Muralikrishna Reddy, PhD, FIE

Immediate Past President,

The Institution of Engineers (India)

REMINISCENCE

OF

ENGINEERING

INDIANIZATION

REMINISCENCE OF

ENGINEERING INDIANIZATION

L V Muralikrishna Reddy, PhD

FIE, FIET(UK), FIIChE, FISTE, FIIPE, IEEE-HKN, IntPE, CEng(UK)

Immediate Past President, The Institution of Engineers (India)

President, Foundation for Educational Excellence

[email protected]

+91 98452 24134

Reminiscence of Engineering Indianization

L V Muralikrishna Reddy, PhD, FIE

Immediate Past President,

The Institution of Engineers (India)

India is a land of heritage structures, temples, forts and palaces,

and gigantic buildings; with the monuments tracing their lineage

to the history of civilization. Recognizable building and structural

activity can be traced to the Indus Valley Civilization.

Ancient temples, historical monuments and structures built

across the country in the previous centuries bear testimony to the

levels of excellence achieved by artisans in combining ingenuity

and skills with the application of technologies such as innovative

construction approaches, transportation methodologies, a wider

choice of materials that were propagated leading to the

development of structures with long-lasting value; and

significant historical and archaeological importance. Noted

structures include the Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh in therd3 century; Ajanta and Ellora Caves in Maharastra duringnd th th

2 - 6 century; Nalanda University in the 5 century;th

Sri Virupaksha Temple, Hampi in the 7 century; Temple ofth

Sri Padmanabhaswamy, Thiruvananthapuram in the 8 century; th

Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavaur in 10 century; Qutub Minar, th

Delhi in 1200; Sun Temple, Konark in Odisha in 12 century; th

Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai during 16 century;

Taj Mahal, Agra in Uttar Pradesh in 1632; Jantar Mantar,

Delhi during 1728-1734; are some of the heritage engineering

structures created in India by renowned yet unknown engineers.

Reminiscence of Engineering Indianiza�on

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India has had a glorious history of traditional knowledge, skills,

exceptional imagination, and the citizens' ability to work hard to

create a multitude of useful products that attracted foreigners

leading to cross-pollination of ideas, practices, and culture

resulting in a vibrant economy around the 1800s. In this period,

India was considered technically and economically a progressive

country, and was reckoned as a powerful entity in the global

comity of nations. Before colonization, India had reached high-

level of excellence in the trade of artefacts, textiles, ivory and silk

products.

The Industrial Revolutions during 1750 to 1850 in Europe

including Britain, Germany, France, and Italy; the United States of

America; and Japan that resulted in the widespread use of

machinery in manufacturing, the beginning of electrification, and

the deployment of modern organizational methods for operating

large-scale businesses led to the decline of artisan activities in

India, and has been widely referred to as De-industrialization.

De-industrialization of India led to the growth of the agrarian

economy with consequent development of “engineered”

irrigation and canal systems to support an exponential growth in

agriculture. Enhancing agricultural productivity required trained

engineering knowledge in the important areas of design and

development of sustainable irrigation systems, mechanized

agricultural operations, techniques for reclaiming land for

irrigation, amongst others.

The construction of the railway system from 1850s for

transportation and connecting centres of production of raw

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materials including cotton, coal, minerals, and agricultural

produce with the manufacturing centres including textile mills,

iron and steel plants, paper mills, and agricultural hubs for

promoting trade and commerce gave impetus to the

establishment of the engineering industry in India.

It may be useful to connect the establishment of the Corps of

Engineers of Indian Army with the raising of two pioneer

companies way back in 1780 in the erstwhile Madras Presidency

Army that led to the growth of the Military Engineering practice

in the country. Military Engineers included the Madras, Bengal

and Bombay Sappers who were primarily involved in building

roads, bridges, water supply lines, camps and other general

engineering works in order to help the soldiers and Military

operations. The needs of railways and irrigation projects were

met by drawing on the engineering resources of the Military

Engineers at that point of time.

The foundation of Indian Engineering has its roots in the

establishment of a substantial knowledge base across multiple

disciplines based on best practices developed by artisans and later

by the engineers from Military, Irrigation and Railways, resulting

in the nation achieving significant success in deploying

engineering concepts to transform natural resources into myriad

solutions that address societal needs and also initiated

Indigenization process of Engineering.

The contribution of Indian engineers has been more “sectoral”,

with examples including irrigation, water supply schemes,

transportation; than being restricted to the narrow definition


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based on the engineering discipline, highlighting the deep

understanding and practice of ‘interdisciplinary engineering’. A

pertinent illustration would be the contribution to the Built

Environment that includes advances in the development of

infrastructure including irrigation, water supply schemes to cities

and societal habitats, housing, roads, railways, and ports,

amongst others. Deployment of engineering concepts extended

from the use of natural materials including stone and timber, to

steel, concrete including pre-stressed and smart materials.

Irrigation-Water Delivery Systems

In the context of the diversity and range of climate, rainfall and

weather conditions across the country, irrigation systems are

extremely important to minimize the dependency on rainwater

for agriculture. Irrigation of cultivable land has been practiced in thIndia for many centuries. Kautilya's Arthashastra (4 century) is a

repository of information on construction of dams, canals, and

management of canal water. Earthen and masonry dams were

constructed in large numbers, sometimes going into thousands, nd thduring the 2 -17 century. Earthen dams erected during

n d r d2 - 3 century include those in Poonary, Veeranum,

Chembarumbakkam, Cauverypakkam (in modern-day Tamil

Nadu), Cumbam (present-day Andhra Pradesh), Nuggar (today's

Karnataka), amongst others.

It is a well-known fact that Water was a focus area during the

British rule, and irrigation schemes were the ‘colonial inventions’

and important engineering discipline of Hydraulics. The

irrigation strategies of the colonial times, while influenced by the


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political and economic context of the then period, had their core

intent based on the crucial aspects of famine avoidance;

development of crops and technologies for overcoming food

shortage; promotion of water harvesting technologies with the

objective of environment protection. It is essential for the present-

day engineers to revisit the projects of yester-years to understand

the approaches developed then to address critical issues

including flood control; development of drainage, sewage and

sanitary systems for habitats; management of wetlands, and use

of water bodies for navigation, aqua culture, drinking water; and

evolution of policies for water usage.

The British has constructed a series of irrigation Canal Systems in th

the 19 century after millions of people died due to famine in

various parts of the country. By the end of the 1850s, Godavari and

Cauvery Canal Systems; Bari Doab Canal in Punjab; Ganges

Canal in the North West India; and the Krishna Delta System came

into operation. In next 25 years Four Canal systems in the Bombay

province including Mutha and Nira, Two in Bengal including

Sona Canal; Lower Ganges and Agra Canals; and Chenab and

Sirhind Canal Systems were added subsequently.

A British General and Irrigation Engineer, Sir Arthur Thomas

Cotton devoted his life to the construction of irrigation and

navigation canals. To his credit, Anicuts (dams made in streams

for maintaining and regulating irrigation) across Godavari nd

(Godavari is 2 largest river after Ganga) river at Dowleswaram

in 1852 became very popular. In 1858, Sir Cotton developed

ambitious proposals for connecting almost all major rivers of


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India and suggested drought relief measures by interlinking of

canals and rivers. He is responsible for making the Godavari

districts the “Rice Bowl” of India, and was widely known as the

“Delta Architect”.

In 1880s, there was a policy conflict and debate amongst the

British rulers on the need to focus on developing Irrigation

projects for food safety and famine protection, or to develop

Railways for connectivity to facilitating passenger commutation

and trade activities. However, more investments are prioritized

for Railways and also given importance to Irrigation Water

Projects.

The multi-fold increase in agriculture in the last century has been

possible through significant addition of vast tracts of land

hitherto remaining unused due to water scarcity through

Irrigation Systems. In 1899, Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, as

Executive Engineer of Poona Irrigation District, Bombay

Presidency (now State of Maharashtra), introduced for the first

time in Bombay Presidency, the “Block System of Irrigation”, an

entirely novel system of rational as well as economical

distribution of water from the Irrigation canals in the Deccan tract.

The concept and development of perennial canal systems in the

country were novel technologies that were utilized for harnessing

fluid environment; and were well-operated through a framework

of social rules, and rational economic practices that resulted in a

synergistic relationship being built between water and land

through an interdisciplinary practice of “Irrigation

Engineering”.


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Canals constructed through the deserts of Punjab and Sind clearly

produced large gains in terms of net output. A major aim of canal

system irrigation contemplated by engineers was to decrease the

“ravages of scarcity”. In its design, modes of operation, and

intended effects, canal irrigation was ultimately a cultural

expression representing the priorities and aspirations of their

architects and was inextricably intertwined with vital aspects of

British rule.

As far as irrigation was concerned, at a policy level it was linked

simultaneously with famine prevention, expansion of cultivation,

improved cultivation practices, extended cultivation of cash

crops, minimizing disputes across tribes and social groups,

revenue stability, enhanced taxable capacity, and political

stability. The constraints and difficulties confronting the

pioneering engineers and the related experiments, controversies,

and resolution methodologies led to the evolution in design and

construction of technically feasible and functionally effective

systems of canal irrigation.

Brilliant Hydraulics Design Engineers have since 1850s been

responsible for building engineering marvels in irrigation, canal

systems including drinking water supply schemes, dams and

barrages across the important rivers in the country to extend

usage of river systems for irrigation, power generation,

navigation, and transportation.

Post Independence, Dr. Kanuri Lakshmana Rao (Dr. K.L. Rao);

Padma Bhushan Awardee, and Minister in the Government of India

for Irrigation was a renowned Engineer has initiated large water


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projects in free India. An alumnus of University Birmingham, UK

with a Ph.D. and a Past President of the Institution of Engineers

(India), Dr. K.L. Rao designed many Hydro-electric projects

including the world’s largest masonry dam across River Krishna

in Telangana namely Nagarjuna Sagar, a water monument, and

was well-known for his belief that to feed a growing population

and envisaged India needs to invest on increasing the area under

cultivation by enhancing the irrigation facilities. He also

conceptualized the interlinking of all the rivers in the country

through a “National Water Grid”. His book “India’s Water

Wealth” is considered as a reference book even today.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister coined the

phrase “Dams are Temples of a Resurgent India” in the context of

dams providing water and electricity to large population groups.

With the knowledge acquired from earlier periods, the

Government of India has planned and executed high technical

value-add dams including the Tehri Dam, a multi-purpose rock-

earth-fill embankment dam on river Bhagirathi; Bhakra Dam a

Concrete Gravity Dam across the Sutlej River; Hirakud Dam

across the Mahanadi River; Sardar Sarovar Dam, a gravity Dam

on the Narmada River; and the Koyna Dam and Hydroelectricity

Project in Maharashtra. Currently, India is ranked third in the

world in dam building after the USA and China. India has

emerged a prolific dam builder in the context of the National

Register of Large Dams in the country maintained by the Central

Water Commission, enumerating 4877 completed large dams and

313 in various stages of construction.


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India's first hydroelectric power project started generating 4.5

MW of electricity in 1902 for mines in Kolar Gold Fields in Mysore

State (now Karnataka) from river Cauvery, Karnataka and has

since expanded to include the large hydroelectric projects

including Khopoli in 1915, Bhivpuri in 1919, Bhira in 1922,

amongst others. Hydropower plants have the unique advantage

of producing power that is both renewable and clean, and are thgaining impetus with India’s ranking as the 7 largest producer

of hydroelectricity power with the present installed capacity of

43,000 MW. Technologies have been developed to harness

power from Small, Mini and Micro Hydel projects from mountain

rivers & canals.

With growing concerns in the context of water scarcity and

increasing food demand, the pressure is started mounting on

Engineers to manage water efficiently through Canal Systems,

Dams and Barrages. Technological advancements and

innovations are being deployed to enhance water management

through effective irrigation facilities, watershed development,

and water conservation methodologies. It is essential to adopt

emerging technologies including camera and sensor-loaded

unmanned aerial vehicles for crop monitoring; big data, remote

sensing; genomics, amongst other technologies to double food

production in the next 25 years for long-term inclusive

sustainable development.

Engineers should articulate and highlight the positive social and

economic impact of water development system including

irrigation hydropower, flood control, navigation, rural


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development, amongst others. The knowledge and technology

expertise accrued over a large number of years to design and

operate irrigation systems without environment damage is

sizable; and the country has the indigenous capability and

capacity to address future challenges of water availability for

irrigation and meeting future human needs, without foreign

expertise.

The Impact of Railway Engineering

In 1845, a large amount of foreign capital was invested in India

through the East India Railway Company and then by the

Colonial British Government, primarily to move troops for their

wars, and also to transport cotton for export to the newly

established mills in the United Kingdom. Introduction of the

Railways system in India revolutionized the process of

Industrialization in the country resulting in the transport of

goods, including raw materials and produce destined for export.

Various Industries such as cotton, plantations and mills; coal

mining; paper; iron and steel were established in different areas of

the sub-continent, and the railway network expanded across the

country.

Railway operations in India began in 1853, ten years after the

presentation of a detailed proposal by Charles Blacker Vignoles, a

Railway Engineer and a Professor of Civil Engineering at the

University College, London. In the first decade of the Railways

operation in India it had a network of 3756 kilometers, and by

1900, it expanded to 40,000 kilometers across the Indian Sub-

continent attaining the distinction as the world’s fourth largest


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Railway System. At the time of the Sesquicentennial celebration of

Indian Railways in 2003, the network had expanded to about

64,000 kilometers of route length and currently stands as the

world’s largest Railway Network with a network of 67,000

kilometers.

Railways has emerged as an important programme introduced in

the Colonial India that resulted in transfer of technology from the

industrialized West to the East. It created a significant impact not

only in the sphere of engineering and technology, but also on the

socio-economic, trade and commerce, political, and cultural life of

the people of Indian Subcontinent.

Even though the British created the Indian Railway network for

moving raw materials and mobility of the Army personnel and

equipment, they left behind a fully functional railway system and

considerable talent-pool of skill and expertise. Today, the Indian

Railway system is acclaimed to be the second largest in the world

with a workforce of about 1.75 million, and the daily running of

about 11,000 trains (over 7000 passenger trains), thus emerging as

the lifeline of the Nation. Indian Engineers are working in the

Himalayas to build the world’s tallest railway bridge over the

Chenab river.

Railway Engineers have emerged as one of the pillars of Indian

Engineers along with Military Engineers, Works Engineers

(PWD) and Irrigation Engineers. It is a fact that Railways has

created a huge demand for Engineering and Technical Personnel

in British India. Engineers overcame several challenges while

building the rail network, including indigenization and local


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manufacture of rolling stock, the construction of bridges to span

water courses, managing unpredictable river-courses, and track

alignment; with successes highlighting the Indian ingenuity and

expertise. Railway Engineers in India accomplished several

milestones including fording some of the major rivers in the first

decade of construction. The technology of railway engineering,

nature of its operations and the background of its construction in

a colonial environment were to lay the foundation for the

development and capacity building of a different kind of

Engineering and Architecture.

The early period of Railways in India may not be directly related

with establishment of engineering colleges in India, but the

engineers graduating from those colleges found appointments in

the Railways, and subsequently continued their service to the

Railway community through teaching and administrative

assignments in the then fledgling engineering colleges and

institutions.

The rapid growth of India’s Population has put enormous strain

on all transportation systems including Railways.By 2050, around

75% population of world will live in urban areas, resulting in the

emergence ofMega and Metro Cities. These megatrends will have

global impact in terms of mobility and transport infrastructure;

and Railway system will play an important role in technology

development and innovation.

Metro Rail Systems have emerged to be highly efficient mass-

transit systems in terms of low energy consumption, high

volumes of commuters transported, flexibility to increase peak-


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hour, peak-direction trips, and significant reduction in commute

time, and the adoption of these systems in several cities are

resulting in India slowly emerging as leaders in Urban Mobility

Rail Transportation Systems.

Sustainable transport networks are the need of the hour for

developing economies to connect population centres with

industrial hubs to facilitate rapid economic growth. Several key

engineering areas to be explored and progressed including

vehicle and track designs;shape optimization of high-speed trains

for improved aerodynamic performance, use of non-conventional

technology like Magnetic Levitation, Digital Signaling, Light-

weight rolling stock, and Autonomous Coaches, amongst others.

Industrial Renaissance in India

In the middle of nineteenth century, India used to export cotton to

the United Kingdom, and then reimported the textile. Cotton

exports grew during the American Civil War, when supplies from

the USA were interrupted. Indian entrepreneurs provided the

impetus for founding a cotton industry with the first Indian

cotton mill, "The Bombay Spinning Mill", being opened in 1854 in

Bombay by Cowasji Nanabhai Davar. In next 25 years, it spread to

Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Sholapur, Kanpur, Calcutta and Chennai

with 70 mills being established by end 1895. Jamsetji Nusserwanji

Tata and Morarjee Goculdas were pioneers in establishing and

growing the cotton industry in the country by setting up textile

mills.

thTowards the second half of the 19 century, due to political

compulsions, India became more of a raw material supplier to the


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European countries where finished goods were produced due to

the large-scale industrialization in Europe resulting from the

Industrial Revolution. Textiles and steel were the mainstays of the

British Industrial Revolution that had their origins in India.

Industrial history shows that one of the earliest industries

relocated from India to Britain was textiles and it became the first

major success of the Industrial Revolution, with Britain replacing

India as the world's leading textile exporter. Historical records

show that rust-free steel was an Indian invention, and it remained

as an Indian skill for centuries. The much-acclaimed Sheffield

steel from the United Kingdom was Indian crucible steel. It has

often been quoted that leading scientists from Europe worked for

decades to reverse-engineer how Indians made crucible steel, and

through this extensive learning, modern alloy design and

physical metallurgy developed in Europe.

Iron and steel industry has its origin in 1907 with the

establishment of the Tata Iron and Steel Company in Jamshedpur,

Bihar; Iron and Steel Company in 1908 at Hirapur in Bengal; and

the Mysore State Iron Works at Bhadrawati in Mysore in 1923.

While analyzing the engineering sector landscape with reference

to the timeline, we notice that in the period 1930-1950, Indian

engineering focused on the deploying engineering practices and

methods for production of sugar, textiles, chemicals and steel. The

diminishing inflow of remittances from Britain encouraged

Indian entrepreneurs to seize the initiative for pursuing new

opportunities for establishing private enterprises with focus on

import substitution.


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Attempts at large-scale import substitution created demand for

capital goods resulting in the structural transformation of the

nascent Indian industrial economy leading to the production of

sophisticated machinery, aircraft, ships, locomotives, other

capital goods and machinery, automobiles, development of

machine tools; drugs and pharmaceuticals; ships; metals and

industrial controls and instrumentation with the objective of

enhancing productivity, technology indigenization and achieving

self-reliance.

Walchand Hirachand, a legendary engineer and industrial

entrepreneurs promoted Hindustan Aircraft Limited with the

help of Mysore Government at Bangalore in 1940. At the

beginning of the operations, Walchand mobilized 300 Indian

engineers highly trained in machines and machinery along with

2000 skilled workmen under the leadership of 22 American

technicians. The state of Mysore and in particular Bangalore was

indeed a key source of Indian engineers and technicians for

Hindustan Aircraft Limited. Soon after, HAL began assembling

Harlow PC-5A, a two-Seater; and its first aircraft was delivered in

8 months’ time of establishment. A year later, HAL had built and

carried out a test flight of its “First Indigenous design” a Nine-

Seater troop-carrying glider of wood-and-fabric construction.

Commercial operations at the Tata's steel works and the

establishment of Bombay's metallurgical workshops heralded the

era of technological maturity for car manufacture resulting in

Ghanshyamdas Birla creating Hindustan Motors in 1942, and

Walchand Hirachand establishing Premier Automobiles Limited


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in 1944. This led to Premier Automobiles establishing its own

ancillary industries, and the establishment of India Pistons in

1952.

The passing and adoption of the Industry Policy Resolutions in

1948 and 1956 led to India becoming a mixed economy. These

Industry Policy Resolutions articulated the role of the public and

private sector, with the public sector focusing on developing

heavy and basic industries, and establishing social and economic

infrastructure, while the private sector was entrusted with the

establishment of consumer goods industries. Hindustan

Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited,

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Indian Oil

Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Bharat

Electronics Limited were some of the leading public sector

enterprises created in the early years.

Expansion of Engineering Education

Engineering Education came to India in 1794 with the

establishment of the first survey school at Madras to serve British

natives to study Indian land revenue maps, resulting in civil

surveying becoming a branch of knowledge and a profession in

India. Engineering was not yet classified into several disciplines at

that time; the term meant engineering for civil purposes as

distinct from military functions. Civil Engineering as a discipline

of education for Indians started receiving emphasis in 1840s in

order to have experienced staff undertake and complete the

envisaged road and irrigation projects.


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James Thomson of North-Western provinces had proposed to

extend execution of Ganga Canal, and envisioned the

establishment of a School at Roorkee in 1847. This later came to be

known as the Thomson College of Civil Engineering in 1854, and

became the Roorkee University and now is known as IIT Roorkee.

After Roorkee, colleges have come up at Shibpur, Poona (Pune)

and Madras (Chennai) as a way to produce intermediate-grade

engineers for the Public Works Department with limited

curriculum focused on Civil Engineering based on British policy

at that time.

During colonial rule in India, engineering activity was primarily

initiated and managed through organizations including the

Military Engineering, Geological Survey of India, Public Works

Department, and Indian Universities; with the knowledge, and

expertise of Engineering remaining confined to the Officers and

Staff of these Departments. Almost all the PWD officers came

from the Military Engineering Services, and Principals and

Faculty of the newly-established colleges were domain experts in

Military Engineering. This gave engineering a strong, disciplined,

standardized, structure to the engineering curriculum of that

period.

In the context of the larger number of complex engineering

projects envisaged to be taken up by the India Public Works

Department (IPWP), the colonial government was forced to

establish a Civil Engineering College in August 1871 at Coopers

Hill in Surrey named the Royal Indian Engineering College

(RIEC) with first batch intake of 49 students. This improved the


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recruitment process of qualified Civil Engineers in IPWD. The

exacting standards of contemporary Civil Engineering

recruitment can be seen from the enrollment pattern in 1877 that

comprised 18 from Royal Engineers, 45 from Cooper’s Hill and 12

from the Indian colleges.

In 1880 there were 257 Cooper’s Hill Graduates serving IPWD of

whom 65 were in Irrigation, 67 in Railways, 18 in Telegraph

Offices and 107 in the Provincial Services. However, two factors

that continuously bothered Cooper’s Hill were the exorbitant cost

burden on the Government of India and IPWD, and the

requirement of Civil Engineers, and their intake into Cooper’s

Hill.

The Colonial Rulers were of the opinion that continuing the

programme would impose significant financial burden on

revenues from India, and a decision was taken to close down the

RIEC. The college produced 816 engineers at the time of closure in

1906 after 35 years of its existence. It is doubtless that the college

made a significant contribution to the development of

engineering education in India and has been a vital factor in

raising the standard of engineering practices education

positioning the RIEC as a premier engineering college.

The colonial state and its entities ceased being the only

‘custodians’ of engineering in early 1900s; Indians were attending

US Universities including the renowned MIT (USA); largely

based on individual and private initiative getting funding from

outside the British Indian state. In 1908 MIT trained Ishwar Das

Varshney set up a Glass Factory in Poona under the umbrella of


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Nationalist Organizations, called the Paisa Fund Glass Works.

The Paisa Fund, so called because it raised money by asking for

donations of paisa each (a paisa was sixty-fourth of a rupee at that

time) was founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak to develop indigenous

Indian Industries. The Paisa Fund Glass Works had successfully

laid a foundation for the development of glass industry in India,

leading to the All India Glass Manufacturers' Federation, Central

Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, and the Ishwar Das

Technical Institute.

thPersuasion by the Swadeshi movement in the early 20 Century

and the evolving British policies led to private participation in

establishing institutions for Science and Engineering education in

the country. Notable initiatives included the establishment of the

Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore in 1909 by Jamsetji

Nusserwanji Tata in partnership with the Mysore Government,

Banaras Hindu University in 1916 (College of Engineering added

in 1919) by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (becoming an IIT in

2013).

From 1900-1930, thousands of Indians studied in Great Britain to

prepare for careers in India as Barristers, Civil Servants or

Engineers. Dr. Anant Pandya, MIT trained, earned his Master’s

and Doctorate in 1933 in Civil Engineering, and in 1939 he became

Principal of Bengal Engineering College in Shibpur, the first

Indian-origin Principal holding the position of greater

responsibility in India at the age of 30 years. His position as one of

the India’s leading engineers was affirmed in 1941 by the Indian

Science Congress.


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But by 1947, the relative educational importance of these two

countries (Britain & US) to India switched with a larger number of

Indians pursuing Engineering Education in the United States of

America (the USA). Foreign trained Indian engineers would play

a large role in building independent India and these engineers

were increasingly American rather than British trained. India has

sent 600 Engineers and Scientists during 1946-47 to Europe and

North America to get trained in engineering fields including Coal,

Mining, Aeronautics, Metallurgy, Cement, Chemicals, Textiles,

Tools, Food, Fertilizers, Petroleum, amongst others. After their

return, engineering progressed in many fields with pioneering

experience gained during their period of training and internship

in the USA and many of the Research Institutes & Industries

established and benefitted large.

Post-Independence, about 900 Indian students went to the United

Kingdom and close to 1200 students went to the USA to gain

advanced engineering skills to take up more challenging

assignments in Indian Industry and Research Labs.

The rapid industrialization and development plans of the

Government of independent India led to a spurt in the setting up

of Engineering Institutions during 1950-60 to meet the growing

demands for Indian Engineers. Privately Sponsored Institutions

have played important role in development of Engineering

Education in the country.

In the first fifty years of Independence, US-returned graduates

attained most of the highest level positions in the Indian

Engineering community. The lives of US-trained Indians


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suggested confidence that they could use their MIT education to

build India according to their interests, integrate with the country

and jointly progress for the nation’s success.

India’s Programmes and Development of Engineering and

Technological prowess is due to not just its connect with British

and US education systems, but is also based on the legacy of

Engineering being the national industry.

Currently India with 1.5 million enrolments for engineering

programmes through IITs, NITs, Private and Public Technical

Institutions and Universities numbering over 4,000, presents with

a unique advantage of attracting huge number of engineers to

utilize their engineering knowledge and skills for addressing the

challenges of a rapidly growing economy requirements.

As engineering activity spans planning, research, design,

implementation and operations, it is imperative for students to be

acclimatized to the practical operational context of typical

contemporary industries. It is therefore essential for the

educational system to enhance the academic learning through

internship programmes that focus on capacity building through

practical training in collaboration with the industry; promote

interdisciplinary teaching in addition to conventional

engineering subjects; build the research culture in academic

institutions and research collaborations; and strengthen industry-

academia-students’ engagement to solve real world engineering

challenges.


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Sir M Visvesvaraya’s Contribution to Engineering

The Institution of Engineers (India) has adopted India’s Engineer

Statesman, Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya as the

role-model for Indian engineers, and is celebrating his Birthday,

15 September as ‘Engineers’ Day’.

Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya, born on 15 September 1861 was a

renowned Indian engineer from Karnataka. His contributions

have played a major role in transforming the nation into a modern

India. His contributions to engineering were substantial, and

have been acclaimed as an eminent engineer of pre-independent

India. A multi-faceted personality, Sir M Visvesvaraya was

recognized as a great Engineer, an efficient Administrator, and a

visionary Engineer Statesman. His contribution as an

Educationist, Economist, and a Social Worker have been

significant, and recalled with affection by renowned leaders of

that era.

M Visvesvaraya’s exceptional technical skills demonstrated by his

first rank in the Licentiate in Civil Engineering (LCE) helped him

to earn the appointment as Assistant Engineer, Public Works

Department of the Government of Bombay. He started his

engineering career at the entry level, and swiftly received

promotions based on his contributions and accomplishments. His

engineering career spanned more than three decades during

1884-1919.

His engineering skills and expertise were sought by several states

of pre-independent India including Hyderabad, Baroda, Gwalior,

Indore, Kolhapur, Bhavanagar, Sangli, Akalkot, Phaltan,


23

Wankaner and Morvi. He undertook consulting assignments

from Bombay, Nasik, Sukkur, Karachi, Surat, Dhulia,

Phandarpur, Dharwar, Bijapur, Nagpur and other municipalities

to address important aspects of water supply; flood control and

management; sanitation; and town planning.

At Sukkur, he worked on the construction of water works of

Sukkur city and completed the work in August 1895. In opening

the works the Governor H. E. Lord Sandhurst observed, “it shows

that you took great care to obtain the services of the most able

engineer that you could provide yourself with.” – (Times of India

16th Dec. 1895)

Visvesvaraya prepared a memorandum on the irrigation works in

Bombay Presidency to be considered by the visiting Indian

Irrigation Commission, appointed by the Government of India, to

tour throughout the country and advice Government on

measures to be taken to expand cultivation of irrigated crops. In

the memorandum, the distinctive features of the Bombay

irrigation, changes proposed in the system of administration,

assessment and management with a view to improve the

irrigation method, increase the area of crops and revenue, and

expand irrigation were covered.

In the matter of drinking water supply schemes, Sir M

Visvesvaraya extended complete, independent schemes to many

cities and towns in India, recommending additions and

alterations to existing schemes and offering suggestions to

remedy specific defects. These were at Dhulia in Khandesh, Surat,

Poona and Kirkee Cantonment, Nasik City, Dharwar, Bijapur,


24

Belgaum, Kolhapur, Akalkot, Gwalior, Indore, Goa, Rajkot,

Bhavanagar, Baroda, Sangli, Pandharpur, Ahmednagar and

Orissa.

In the memoirs of his public life, Sir M.V. had forecast the effect of

the various schemes propounded by him, in the following words:

“When the improvements suggested by me were carried out

and the city was equipped with clean houses, flush-down

lavatories, dustless roads, paved footpaths, and a plentiful

provision of open spaces, parks and gardens, Hyderabad

would be able to hold her head high among her sister cities in

India.”

No account of the construction of the Dams on the Musi river

would be complete without mentioning the fact that when the

scheme for the construction of the flood control reservoirs was

under the active consideration of the Government during the

Prime Ministership of Maharaja Sir Kishen Prasad, Sir M.V.

received a notable compliment from Mr. Rosco Allen, expert Chief

Engineer of Hyderabad, and later Consulting Engineer and

member of the Indian Irrigation Commission in his letter

addressed to one of the Coopers Hill product, Mr. Fazil Mooraj,

Secretary, PWD, in 1919,

“I would congratulate Hyderabad, firstly in their wisdom

in taking steps to turn this dire misfortune into a positive

blessing, and secondly on their selection of an engineer

whose designs are what one might expect from the

distinguished engineer who drew them up.”


25

Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi had dreamt Independent

India to be a place where there would be no poverty, no disease,

no ignorance, and no depravity. This dream can only materialize

when every citizen solemnly resolves to discharge his duties with

all his wisdom and might.

“The Nation is what the citizens are; the Citizen is the Unit

of the Nation”.

- Relevance of Sir M V’s Ideals in Present-day World

There is a convergence between the views articulated by the

Father of the Nation; Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya and the

Founding Fathers of the Indian Constitution who articulated

duties including humanism; the spirit of inquiry and reform;

developing the scientific temper; and striving towards excellence

in every spheres of collective and individual activity so that the

nation continuously rises to higher levels of endeavour and

achievement.

Through his life, Sir M V had set an example that it is possible to

achieve the peak of success by practicing engineering with

conscience, integrity, dignity and honour.

IEI: Excellence in Engineering

The Institution of Engineers (India) [IEI] is the largest professional

body of engineers with membership strength close to one Million,

encompassing 15 engineering disciplines and provides engineers

a global platform to share their professional interest. It also has

the distinction of producing the maximum number of engineers

in the core engineering disciplines, thus augmenting the nation-


26

building efforts. The Institution was established in 1920 and is the

only professional body in the country bestowed with the Royal

Charter in 1935.

In consonance with the authority vested with the Institution

under the Charter, the Institution has been conducting Sections

A & B Examinations (popularly known as AMIE Examination) in

different engineering disciplines since 1928. This non-formal

engineering education programme has produced close to

3.5 Lakhs of engineers to address the country’s need for efficient

engineers; emerging as perhaps the largest number of alumni of

Engineers in the world created by any single institution.

IEI has had the immense fortune of having eminent stalwarts as

Presidents including Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee, KCIE, KCVO, a

leading industrialist with significant contribution to Industry,

Railways, and the Construction sectors including the Victoria

Memorial Building, Kolkata; Raja Jwala Prasad, Eminent

Engineer from Uttar Pradesh who have prepared the Ganga

Canal Grid Scheme in 1924; Dr. A.N. Khosla, Padma Vibhushan

recipient with momentous contribution to the development of

waterways and navigation, engineering education, and public

service; Dr. M.S. Thacker, Padma Bhushan recipient with

substantial contribution to Power, Education, Science and

Technology sectors; amongst other leading engineering

luminaries; Dr. Triguna Sen, Past President, IEI was an eminent

educationist focused on imparting quality education in diverse

disciplines including engineering, technology and science.


27

Contemporary Engineering

Starting from the early beginnings of the setting up of the Indian

National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962,

India has emerged as one of the six largest space agencies in the

world, maintaining one of the largest fleet of communication

satellites (INSAT) and the remote sensing satellites (IRS) to

facilitate integration and connectivity across the length and

breadth of the country and efficient and reliable earth

observation. India has the unique distinction of achieving self-

reliance through the development and standardization of cost

efficient and reliable launch systems, the Polar Satellite Launch

Vehicle (PSLV), and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch

Vehicle (GSLV) heralding an era of spectacular international

collaboration.

In the recent years, engineering has been used to create the

networked world through computers, information technology,

and the internet with spectacular innovations in automating

repetitive activities, freeing human mindshare for analysis and

research to expand the frontiers of engineering and technology.

India is one of the fastest developing nations with about 64 per

cent of the population being in the working age group, below the

age of 35 years. Leveraging this advantage requires channelizing

this demographic dividend to effectively enhance national

productivity and intellectual property through contemporary

engineering education. India at 2% of the world economy and

15% of the world population, India has to build giant modern

economy, engineers and engineering will play decisive role with


28

Passion, entrepreneurial zeal and build manufacturing

capabilities, productivity and competitiveness.

The future of an independent and resurgent India, having

emerged from the shackles of colonialism and foreign rule seven

decades ago, is brimming with opportunities. India with a

population of about 1.34 billion inhabitants will have to leverage

engineering and technological innovations for sustainable

growth and development in the context of availability and

limitations of natural resources. Bridging the gap between India's

global ranking in terms of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and

the Human Development Index (HDI)-9th in the former, and

130th in the latter requires large-scale adoption of inclusive and

sustainable living practices to meet the basic necessities while

minimizing disparities and enhancing equality of outcomes.

The Indian Engineering fraternity with substantial contribution

by the 'Indian Engineers', has made several strides to overcome

international and domestic challenges and leverage a large,

skilled workforce to address critical requirements spanning Food,

Water, and Energy security; Affordable Healthcare; and

Economic Transportation, and has positioned India as a global

hub for Information Technology Services, and Business

Outsourcing. These developments and advances owe their origin

to the strong engineering base laid in the 1900s.

In Conclusion

It is important to capture lessons learned from the rich history of

engineering innovation in society. By an honest appraisal of the

case-studies of the past, we would be able to identify vital lessons


29

and best practices that when integrated with contemporary

technological advances, would help us to strengthen the

probability of success to bequeath a legacy of “successful

engineering marvels” for the succeeding generation.

Engineers and Engineering will continue to play a significant role

in building tomorrow’s society. Contemporary Engineering has

taken on the development of systems of mammoth scale and

increasing complexity. Engineers will need to integrate social,

economic, and cultural perspectives while taking cognizance of

societal and public policy constraints. These challenges are multi-

disciplinary in nature, and developing solutions for these would

require inputs from multiple disciplines of engineering and

natural sciences; and also from social sciences and humanities. It

is therefore essential to adopt a Systems’ Perspective.

Innovation occurs at the interface between disciplines, and it is

essential for the engineering workforce to develop expertise to

work effectively in the ‘innovative tension’ arising from the

confluence of multiple disciplines. These problems underscore

the need for engineers of the highest calibre driven by the passion

to be the ‘catalysts’ of tomorrow. Single-minded pursuit of

excellence, is imperative to address these pressing social needs,

and expanding thought to include societal progress is the need of

the hour.

In the years to come, Engineers will serve as master creators,

environmental stewards, innovators, integrators, and leaders in

shaping public policy translating dreams, ideals, hopes and

aspirations into reality for the betterment of society.


30

Considering the present day problems faced by our society and

Planet Earth today, and the constraints expected to arise out in the

future, the Engineering Profession must revisit its mind set and

adopt a new mission statement, to contribute to the building of a

more sustainable, reliable, and equitable world.

Sustainable Development is impossible without the full support

and inputs by the engineering profession that can happen

through a more holistic approach to engineering amalgamate

economic, social, cultural, and environmental perspectives.


Dr. Reddy was the President of the Institution of Engineers (India) for

the session 2014-2015. He has the singular distinction of attaining

multiple credentials recognizing highest professional engineering

achievements-International Professional Engineers (IntPE) and

Chartered Engineer (CEng,UK). He has been inducted into the IEEE Eta

Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN), that recognizes individual excellence in

education and meritorious work in professional practice, and recently

elected Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Sciences

(WAPS), in recognition of his commitment and contribution to the

discipline of Productivity Science across the globe. He currently holds

the IEI Chair, Interdisciplinary Research at NDRF. Current Academic &

Research Interests are Medical Device Development, Institutional

Building, Chemical, Energy and Engineering Education.

Dr. L V Muralikrishna Reddy

I likes to thank all my professional organizations including The IEI, IEEE, IIPE,

IET(UK), ISTE, IIChE, ASME, TTF, FARE, EDAF and ITC and large number of

Engineering Institutions and Universities, that are enlarged my perspective and

have extended support to this global initiative of energizing Engineers through

this publication.

Special thanks are due to Mr. P K Subraya Holla for research and compilation,

Mr. Srinivas Durvasula for editorial support and Mr. S Shanmugam for

publication support and Mr. K. Vijaya Reddy for Logistics Support.

Acknowledgements

Contributors

(Alphabetical Order)

Dr. K. Brahmaraju

Dr. Enti Ranga Reddy

Dr. K. Gopalakrishnan

Dr. T.V. Govindaraju

Er. D.V. Nagabhushan

Er. D.V. Pichamuthu

Dr. S.K. Prasad

Er. K. Rajanikanth

Dr. K. Ramachandra

Dr. Ing. B.V.A. Rao

Er. P.K. Thiagarajan

Prof. R.M. Vasagam

Dr. K. Venkata Subbaiah

Dr. Wooday P. Krishna

Foundation for Educational Excellence

Bangalore – 560 071.

[email protected]

www.feeindia.org

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Reminiscence of Engineering Indianization