September 15 marks the birthday of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (1861-1962), celebrated for his pivotal role as a civil engineer and administrator during colonial India.
About M. Visvesvaraya
- Early life: Visvesvaraya began his education in his hometown after starting out there as a child. He was born on September 15, 1861, in the Karnataka village of Muddenahalli.
- Academic pursuits: He enrolled in the University of Madras’ Bachelor of Arts program before beginning a diploma program in civil engineering at the College of Science in Pune.
Career Achievements
- Engineering Pioneer: Visvesvaraya began his career as an assistant engineer in the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Government of Bombay at the age of 22 after completing his engineering education at Poona College of Science.
- Projects of Note: One of his first initiatives was to build a pipe syphon over a channel of the Panjra River.
- He joined the Mysore service as the Chief Engineer in 1909 and finally rose to the position of Dewan of Mysore, the 19th.
- Voluntary Retirement: Visvesvaraya retired voluntarily in 1918 because he opposed the idea of allocating state posts based on caste.
- Committees and Contributions: After retiring, he chaired or participated in a number of committees, including the Cauvery Canal Committee, the Bombay University Committee for Promoting Chemical Industries, and the Bombay Technical and Industrial Education Committee.
Significant Works
- Block System of Irrigation: He improved the fair distribution of irrigation benefits among multiple communities in 1899 by introducing the block system of irrigation in the Deccan canals.
- Water Quality Improvement: In Sukkur, a city on the banks of the Indus River, Visvesvaraya addressed the issue of “muddy and discoloured” water.
- He created automatic gates to control the water flow in reservoirs, and he received a patent for this invention.
- Implementation at Krishnaraja Sagar Dam: In the 1920s, the Karnataka-based Krishnaraja Sagar Dam became the first to use these gates.
Global Perspective
- International Study: Visvesvaraya visited different nations to research various facets of their political systems. He looked at irrigation and drainage issues and soil erosion issues while visiting Italy.
- He argued against the notion that only British officers could supervise complex engineering projects, pointing out that Indian talent was valuable provided it was backed up by training and commitment.
Impact on education
- The importance of education in influencing an economy was realized by Visvesvaraya on his 1898 tour to Japan.
- He was instrumental in creating the University of Mysore in 1916 while serving as the Dewan of Mysore, stressing the importance of educational institutions reflecting real-world circumstances.
