M. Visvesvaraya

Bharat Ratna Sir
M. Visvesvaraya
KCIE CIE

Sir M. Visvesvaraya in his thirties
19th Diwan of the Mysore Kingdom
In office
1912–1918
Monarch Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Preceded by T. Ananda Rao
Succeeded by M. Kantaraj Urs
Personal details
Born (1861-09-15)15 September 1861
Muddenahalli, Chickballapur, Kingdom of Mysore (now in Karnataka), British India
Died 12 April 1962(1962-04-12) (aged 100)
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Nationality Indian
Alma mater College of Engineering Pune
Profession Civil Engineer

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, KCIE (popularly known as Sir MV; 15 September 1861 – 12 April 1962)[1][2] was an Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918. He is a recipient of the Indian Republic's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good. 15 September is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India in his memory. He is held in high regard as a pre-eminent engineer of India. He was the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore (Now in Mandya district) as well as the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.[3]

Early years in Mysuru

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1861 in a telugu-speaking Brahmin family,[4][5] to Mokshagundam Srinivasa Shastry and Venkatalakshmamma in Muddenahalli village, Chickballapur District (Bifurcated from Kolar District), Mysore State (now Karnataka), India.[6] His father was a noted Sanskrit scholar.[7]

Mokshagundam village

His ancestors hailed from a village named "Mokshagundam". It is a small village between Giddalur and Podili towns on State Highway 53 (Andhra Pradesh) in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.

Visvesvaraya lost his father at the age of 12. He enrolled for the primary school in Chickballapur and attended high school in Bangalore. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Central College, Bangalore then an affiliate of the University of Madras in 1881 and later studied civil engineering at the prestigious College of Engineering, Pune.[8][9]

College of Engineering, Pune, where Visvesvaraya studied Civil Engineering.

Visvesvaraya took a job with the Public Works Department (PWD) of Bombay and was later invited to join the Indian Irrigation Commission. He implemented an extremely intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan area.

He also designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates that were first installed in 1903 at the Khadakvasla Reservoir near Poona. These gates were employed to raise the flood supply level of storage in the reservoir to the highest level likely to be attained without causing any damage to the dam. Based on the success of these gates, the same system was installed at the Tigra Dam in Gwalior and the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) Dam in Mandya/Mysore, Karnataka.

In 1906–07, the government of India sent him to Aden to study their water supply and drainage system. The project prepared by him was implemented in Aden successfully.[10]

Visvesvaraya achieved celebrity status when he designed a flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad. He was instrumental in developing a system to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion.[11] Visvesvaraya supervised the construction of the KRS Dam across the Cauvery River from concept to inauguration. This dam created the biggest reservoir in Asia when it was built.[12] M. Visvesvaraya gave his valuable technical advice for the location of Mokama Bridge over Ganga in Bihar. His age was more than 90 years when he undertook this work.[13][14]

He was called the "Father of modern Mysore state" (now Karnataka): During his service with the government of Mysore state, he was responsible for the founding of (under the patronage of the Mysore government) the Mysore Soap Factory, the Parasitoid Laboratory, the Mysore Iron & Steel Works (now known as Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited) in Bhadravathi, the Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Institute, the Bangalore Agricultural University, the State Bank of Mysore, The Century Club, Mysore Chambers of Commerce, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore and numerous other industrial ventures. He encouraged private investment in the industry during his tenure as Diwan of Mysore. He was instrumental in charting out the plan for road construction between Tirumala and Tirupati[15] [16] [17] . He was known for sincerity, time management and dedication to a cause. The Bangalore Press and the Mysore Bank were established during his tenure. A very important part of his nature was his love for his mother tongue, Kannada. He set up the Kannada Parishat for the upliftment of Kannada. He wanted seminars for Kannada lovers to be instituted and conducted in Kannada itself.[5]

Sir M.Visvesvaraya is known to have designed and planned the entire area of Jayanagar in South Bangalore. The foundation of Jayanagar was laid in the year 1959. It was one of the first planned neighbourhoods in Bangalore and at the time, the largest in Asia. It is believed that the locality, designed by Sir M Visvesvaraya, is one of the best-planned layouts in Asia.

Career timeline

Diwan of Mysore

Bust of Visvesvaraya at JIT

After opting for voluntary retirement in 1908, he took a foreign tour to study industrialised nations and after, for a short period he worked for the Nizam of Hyderabad, India. He suggested flood relief measures for Hyderabad town, which was under constant threat of floods by Musi river. Later, during November 1909, Visvesvaraya was appointed as Chief Engineer of Mysore State. Further, during the year, 1912, he was appointed as Diwan (second Minister) of the princely state of Mysore. He was Diwan for 7 years.

With the support of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, Maharaja of Mysore, Visvesvaraya made good contribution as Diwan to the all-round development of Mysore state. Not only the achievements listed above, but many other industries and public works owe their inception or active nurturing to him. He was instrumental in the founding of the Government Engineering College at Bangalore in 1917, one of the first engineering institutes in India. This institution was later named the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering after its founder. He also commissioned several new railway lines in Mysore state.

Awards and honours

The Bharat Ratna medal
The Knight Commander of The Indian Empire medal

Visvesvaraya was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1911.[21] In 1915, while he was the Diwan of Mysore, Visvesvaraya was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by the British for his myriad contributions to the public good.[22] After India attained independence, he was awarded the nation's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955.[23] Sir M.V. was awarded honorary Membership of London Institution of Civil Engineers.[24] He was also awarded a fellowship of the Indian Institute of Science (based in Bangalore). He was awarded several honorary doctoral degrees including D.Sc., LL.D., D.Litt. from eight universities in India. He was president of the 1923 Session of the Indian Science Congress. He was the most popular person from Karnataka, in a newspaper survey conducted by Prajavani.

Recognition

Visvesvaraya has received recognition in various fields, most notably the education sector and the engineering sector. Visvesvaraya Technological University which is based in Belagavi, the University to which most engineering colleges in Karnataka are affiliated to, has been named in his honour, as well as prominent colleges like University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore, Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore and Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. College of Engineering, Pune, his alma mater, has erected a statue in his honour.[25] The Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, a museum in Bangalore is named in his honour.

Memorial at Muddenahalli

The Samadhi of Sir M.V. at Muddenahalli

The Visvesvaraya National Memorial Trust manages a memorial of Visvesvaraya at his birthplace Muddenahalli. The memorial exhibits his awards, titles and personal belongings, including his living room, spectacles, cups, books and a block with which his visiting cards were printed. Models of the Krishna Raja Sagar dam, which Visvesvaraya designed and supervised the construction of, are also exhibited. The memorial is located adjacent to his house, which was refurbished and regarded as a temple by the locals.[26][27]

Works

Political offices
Preceded by
T. Ananda Rao		 Diwan of Mysore
(1912–1919) 		Succeeded by
M. Kantaraj Urs

References

  1. ↑ Sir M. Visvesvaraya | Sir MV | Karnataka Personalities. Karnataka.com (1 October 2007). Retrieved on 30 December 2013.
  2. ↑ Complete biography of Dr. M. Visvesvaraya Retrieved on 14 October 2016
  3. ↑ "How M Visvesvaraya Made Hyderabad Flood Free: Lessons For Smart Cities".
  4. ↑ M.Visweswaraiah Biography on "The Famous People:Society for recognition of famous people
  5. 1 2 Nath, Pandri (1987). Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya: life and work. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 37,47,49,91.
  6. ↑ Byappanahalli once belonged to Visvesvaraya's ancestors - Bangalore Mirror
  7. ↑ Karnataka News : Remembering Karnataka's icon – Sir. M. Vishveshvarayya. The Hindu (15 September 2010). Retrieved on 30 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Kannada Anubhava. Bangalore: Department of Kannada, RV College of Engineering. 2010.
  9. ↑ http://www.coep.org.in
  10. ↑ Gupta, Jyoti Bhusan Das, ed. (2007). Science, Technology, Imperialism and War. History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization. Volume XV, Part I. Pearson Longman. p. 247.
  11. ↑ "Visvesvaraya's services recalled". The Hindu. 16 September 2006. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  12. ↑ Husain, Dildar (1966) An Engineering Wizard of India, Institution of Engineers (India) AP, Hyderabad.
  13. ↑ "Sir's inimitable vision".
  14. ↑ "THE JEWEL OF KARNATAKA".
  15. ↑ Sree Venkateswara Ghat Rd, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
  16. ↑ Tirumala-Tirupati Ghat Roads Tirumala ghat roads
  17. ↑ tirumala to tirupati ghat road
  18. ↑ Sinha, Arindam (23 September 2014). "How a relentless R&D approach propelled Tata Steel to the zenith". The Financial Express. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "44th Sir M Visvesvaraya Memorial Lecture by Dr. Amit Chatterjee" (PDF). Advancement of Engineering in India in New Millennium: A Compilation of Memorial Lectures presented in Indian Engineering Congresses (2001–2010): 12–13. December 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Mahanti, Subodh. "The Most Celebrated Indian Engineer: Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya". Vigyan Prasar Science Portal. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  21. ↑ "No. 28559". The London Gazette. 8 December 1911. p. 9363.
  22. ↑ "No. 29180". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1915. p. 5329.
  23. ↑ "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2007)" (PDF). Ministry of Home affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  24. ↑ "Welcome to Chikballapur District – Visvesvaraya". Chikballapur.nic.in. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  25. ↑ "Engineer's Day 2010 Celebrations". Today24news. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  26. ↑ "MV memorabilia give glimpses of a genius". DNA India. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  27. ↑ Kamath, Vijesh (8 September 2009). "For locals, Vivesvaraya's house is a place of worship". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
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