About a dozen surviving members of IIT Kharagpur’s first batch who walked into its
hallowed turf in 1951 have not been invited for the diamond jubilee celebrations
on August 21, which will be attended by the prime minister
They are a batch which witnessed technological history being
made 60 years ago. And they saw India’s premier engineering institute emerge under
the guidance of stalwarts like Prof JC Ghosh and Prof Keshav Murthy from their lecture
theatres. Even as their alma mater is about to observe its 60th anniversary, they
feel slighted and ignored.
About a dozen surviving members of IIT Kharagpur’s first batch who walked into its
hallowed turf in 1951 have not been invited for the diamond jubilee celebrations
on August 21, which will be attended by the prime minister. Deeply hurt at the treatment
meted out to them, the septuagenarians have written to IIT director Damodar Acharya,
reminding him of his promise to involve them in the event and that ignoring the
first batch students will be an injustice to the historic institution.
An email to the director has elicited no response. When the alumni called Acharya
last month, he allegedly refused to speak to them. It is extremely disheartening
and humiliating for us. The IIT system started with us and developed into the leading
technological education provider of the country. We are the only group which was
there when it all began. It pains to know that none at IIT Kharagpur wants us to
share those early experiences. Or, that despite being witness to the institutes
birth and its first students, we are not considered important enough to take part
in its diamond jubilee celebrations, said Mihir Biswas, a member of the first batch
of mechanical engineering. About 10 of them have been meeting at a restaurant in
Ballygunge every Sunday morning for the last 50 years. None of their teachers are
alive.
Biswas, who has written to the director on behalf of his batchmates, pointed out
that the group had been similarly ignored during IIT Kharagpurs golden jubilee in
2001. We had virtually gate crashed on that occasion. The authorities didn’t seem
too pleased about it but later organized a pioneer’s meet for us. It was, however,
done as an afterthought and was not a spontaneous move, said Biswas.
Last year, the alumni met Acharya and offered to help organize the diamond jubilee
meet. We told him that we would be honoured to play a part and could even chalk
out an event plan. The director readily agreed and told us that he would get in
touch in due course. Months passed but nothing happened till we came across this
announcement on the IIT website. It had the schedule for the celebrations and left
us heart broken. Later, we came to know that other batches have been invited for
the programme, including some alumni from abroad, but we were left out yet again.
We had really expected an invitation this time, added Biswas.
His batch mate Bhimchandra Mandal, who topped the first batch and was awarded the
first Presidents gold medal, recalled how Jawaharlal Nehru an eager patron of IIT
had taken a personal interest in having him sent abroad for further studies. Since
I had topped, he wanted me to go to Germany for a master’s degree. Eventually, the
Germany stint didn’t materialize but he took the initiative to send me to USA. We
had teachers like Dr. Seth, Prof Kraus and Keshav Murthy at IIT who were legends.
Teaching was a mission for them and for us they were all father figures. It’s sad
that all that don’t seem to count any more, said Mandal, a former director of Mecon.
The Kharagpur campus, the first IITians recalled, was a vast, open space with a
couple of buildings. There was just one hostel building the Patel Hall and all 210
students were huddled in it. We learnt and grew up together. The bond still exists
and IIT remains our home. We feel insulted by this exclusion, said 78-year-old Jnanomoy
Majumdar, a civil engineer who served as a director of NPCC Ltd. The feeling is
shared by his batch mates Arun Kumar Ray, Pabitra De Sarkar and Tarun Sen.
Efforts to contact IIT director Damodar Acharya failed. When ToI called his office,
officials said Acharya will not be not taking unscheduled calls till the event on
August 21. Dean of alumni affairs Amit Patra, however, denied that former students
have been invited for the meet. We are just holding the convocation on August 21
and kicking off the diamond jubilee celebrations on that day. Alumni meet will be
held in January for which invitations are going to be sent to all former students,
including those of the first batch, said Patra. He added that members of the 1951
batch were welcome to attend the convocation. Unfortunately, we shall not be able
to accommodate them at our guest houses which are going to be packed. But we shall
arrange seats for them at the hall and they can also join the convocation lunch,
provided they let us know in advance. We are not inviting the alumni, said Patra.
The group is still expecting a call. Its unfair, said the alumni, to club
them with the rest of the former students. They are a part of the IITs history which
warranted an invitation, they felt. If it doesn’t come through, the elderly gentlemen
might just walk into the campus on August 21, doing an encore of 2001. We risk being
stopped at the gates for security is going to be tight. It would be humiliating
if we are made to return, but we are willing to risk the embarrassment since this
could be our last chance to take part in an IIT event, said Biswas.
Courtesy: Times of India
