PROLOGUE

 

What makes IIT Delhi the Dream-destination of Millions of our Under-graduates

What is it that makes IITs what they are? Is it the brilliant faculty, or their laboratories? Or, are the aspirants enamored by the highly subsidized fee structure? If you ask me, all these factors are relevant, but the most significant cause is the image built by the ‘IITians’. Over the years, the students who have graduated from the portals of these ‘institutes of national importance’ have performed so well, that employers reach out to them with open arms. What was it like to be in the first batch of IIT Delhi, when it was founded as ‘College of Engineering & Technology’ in 1961.   A trust was registered for the purpose and the foundation stone by laid by HRH Prince Phillip in Jan 1959. The College was affiliated to the University of Delhi.

 

The first admissions were made in Aug 1961 and the College was formally inaugrated by Prof. Humayun Kabir, Minister for Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs . In 1963, it was declared as an Institute of National Importance by an act of Parliament and renamed as Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The institute is an autonomous body with its own academic policies, and awards its own degrees.

 

Initially, five branches of Engg were started: Mechanical, Electrical. Civil, Chemical and Textile Technolgy,and about 125 boys were admitted. Due to some attrition, only around 103 students completed their BTech in the stipulated period of five years.

 

The first batch was unique in many ways. They had the risk taking ability to join a new college without an established brand and with no publicity except the mandatory admission notice. The buildings were yet to come up and whatever had come up was having teething problems. There were no traditions and no guidelines…Schoolboys had turned collegiate without quite knowing how to. There were no extra-curricular activities and no hobby clubs. We set them up ourselves.

 

That was both a drawback and an asset. It gave us the opportunity to do it ourselves..and we dare say we did it well. We set-up a lot many clubs, Hiking,Music, Photograhy, and various other activities.

To go down memory lane, we assembled in Delhi to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of our graduation in December 2016. Forty nine of our batch-mates came. As many as thirty came from over-seas especially for this event. Given below is a brief account of the re-union, along with some pictures.

It was fun!

  

 

 

  The IIT Delhi Building, which we can never forget!

 

 

 

AN UNFORGETTABLE GET-TOGETHER

 

We saw our buddies, we met, and it was a journey down memory lane…

Ours is a well-knit group. The knots were tied when we pursued our BTech Course at IIT Delhi during the span of time from 1961 to 1966. The knots remained intact thanks to the Yahoo e-mail group in which almost all 103 boys were members. There have been several reunions of the group at various places in Delhi but Golden Jubilee Reunion of 2016 was one with a difference. It was the  Herculean effort of Harinder that made this event memorable. He left no soul unstirred, no stone unturned and here is what it finally turned out to be.

 

A warm reception at the check-in counter of the Taj Vivanta set the ball rolling. The 2 Ks, Karnani and Kataria handed over a welcome kit that contained, among other things, a souvenair entitled ” Everything you wanted to know about IITD 66 Batch” .It was the result of two research oriented PhDs, Suresh and Sood. They were the brilliant ones of our batch and settle for nothing less than perfection. The immaculate planning of the 2 Vs, Vijay and Vinod was visible in all that followed for the next three days.

 

Then began the fun:

 

 

There was Harinder Ahluwalia singing away with his melodious voice now matured like seasoned wine. The more he sang “Tumse Milna Acha Lagta Hai” the better we felt.

 

There was Harish Kalra singing ” Tasveer Banata  Hoon” like he did 50 years ago… The Tasveer is still not ready.

 

There was Bachcha Arora wanting to sing “Those were the days my friend…we thought they would never end.” His bad throat prevented him from singing.

 

There were the 20 Year young students from IIT Delhi singing Ghazals like 70 year olds with the older 70 year old veteran singing Bhangra tunes

 

There was the Bengali Prof PKSen singing ” Peke Jaan Waliyee…” in Punjabi.

 

There was Rami Sandhu dancing like a girl one third her age.

 

There was Lalit as loud as ever

 

There was Suraj Puri struggling with his You-tube presentation that was slow to open.It was difficult to decide whether the Doctor was more learned or Suraj.

 

There was Jyothi ( Shortys wife) having a dig at both his height and at Chinese Language.

 

There was Shivalik Hostel with prominently displayed letters ESTD 1961.

 

And finally the summing up by  Ms Pala Chowdhry…who said that it was all nothing but a four letter word LOVE that held the group together.

 

The man who was missed most was IS Gill. More than 100 times, I was asked : ” Why has IS not come?” All I could answer was: “Come to Chandigarh and we will fix up a get-together with him”. That is the best that I can do.

 

The offer is a standing invitation from me to all my batch-mates.

Now, let us see some pictures. They tell the story better than words!

 

Brig Surinder Singh

2135, Phase 7, Mohali

Phone 919592092712 e-mail : surinder2135 [at] gmail.com

 

 

This is the group of ‘boys’ who attended the Golden Jubilee Re-union in Dec 2016 (Average age 72 yrs). They plan for the next re-union in 2019 when we turn 75.

There was only one hostel, when we joined; Shivalik Hostel estd 1961. Here, you see Karnani, Surinder, “Shorty” Venkatramanan and Arora. Surinder is almost a six-footer, so you can estimate the height of Venkat, who retired as CMD of L&T

 

This is an informal social gathering, to give you a view of the ‘better halves’

 

 

 

Harinder Ahluwalia, receiving a silver salver from the Director, IIT D, Prof VR Rao

 

 

Four friends: Jhingran, Karnani, Surinder and HV Chadha

 

 

Now, a few scenes from the party: A Haryanvi dance by Harsh Vardhan Chadha

 

 

 

Next, PK Sen singing ‘Peke jaan valie’ with Harinder Ahluwalia looking on.

 

 

Punjabi dance by Rami Sandhu and partner. Looking on is Shorty ( K Venkataramanan)

 

 

Clapping…The performances received a standing ovation

Satish Manocha, who hails from our village, Faruka (Dist Sargodha, now in Pakistan) at the Taj, in Delhi. He is a family friend. Satish rose to an apex level in ITI, Ltd

                                                    

 

And finally, a picture of the author, Brig Surinder Singh, with his wife, Satinder

 

But the story does not end here. The editor and his friend  has something to say, after you have seen another facet of the architecture of IIT Delhi

 

 

 

*

 

EPILOGUE (From the Editor’s Desk)

An Unfair Comparison

We are four brothers. The eldest, Air Vice Marshal Manjit Singh was in the third batch of IIT Kharagpur (1953-57) The second (the Late) Mr Manmohan Singh (Chief Engr, Pb Irrigation) followed him in IIT Kgp. And my younger brother, Brig Surinder is the author of the above piece. I joined the NDA in Jan 1958, have a compulsive urge to compare my life with my siblings. I must add here, that the army was kind enough to depute me to IIT Delhi for an M Tech in 1975-77. And so I got an opportunity to compare the two career options.

I was commissioned in 1961, and we celebrated our ‘Golden Jubilee’ in the IMA in 2011. After speaking to Surinder, and reading the above story, I find the following differences. (Though, at the very outset, it must be admitted that comparing the two streams is like comparing chalk with cheese!)

• The IITians met as equals, and made no attempt to compare their performance with each other. We, on the other hand carried our ranks. And those who had risen to higher ranks expected a ‘preferential’ treatment.

• Nearly every IITian wants his grandchild to vie for a seat in an IIT. I cannot say that about my military comrades.

• The erudite amongst us spend a lot of time and effort to say that the military has been given a raw deal by the government. I have not seen a single article written by an IITian to express discontent.

• All IITians do not rise to similar positions in the industry. Some climb to apex levels, like CMDs and Presidents of corporations, others fall on the way. But they do not complain. Makes me wonder whether our selection process is fair.

• IITs neither assure a job or even a career. The military provides job security as well as a pension. Yet, it is more than obvious, that IITs are the preferred option in the society.

• Many IITians feel so indebted to their alma-mater that they come back and donate millions to the Institute. This very batch has pledged a sum of Rs Fifty Lakhs to IIT Delhi. In sharp contrast, military officers feel that they have neither been paid well nor given the due respect.

• I am given to understand that of the 103 students who graduated in 1966, about 13 have passed away. Our course-mates were about the same age as the IITians. However, when we met for our Golden Jubilee, in 2011, nearly one-third had died. Whilst some had fallen in the wars, many more had succumbed to natural causes. A study carried out on this subject by experts reveals that the life expectancy of soldiers is significantly less than that of civilians. The causes need to be examined. 

In sum, it appears to me that the alumni of the IITs have done a better job of projecting the image of their Institute than us!

*

Wing Commander J Thomas’ Views on the Subject

(My NDA course-mate, Wg Cdr Joseph Thomas,VM,  is an alumnus of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilots School, now called the USAF Test Pilots School.  On his return to India, he started the IAF Test Pilots School which trains the nation’s flight test engineers and test pilots.  When started in 1973, it was only the 5th such institution in the world and the first in a developing country.  Even today there are globally only 7 flight test training institutions.)

Comments on Epilogue

Yes, it is unfair to compare IITs with NDA.  NDA is in a different league altogether.  The training includes a lot more professional and field activities.  Military training takes up the major time.  NDA produces officers and gentlemen.  IITs produce mathematicians who move on to finance and general management.  The actual engineering in India is led by the Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs), now called National Institutes of Technology.  

We need to distinguish between NDA as an institution and the career path open to its graduates.  NDA graduates face a dead end career, thanks to closing of exit options.  Worldwide, the norm is a five year bond for graduates of military officer training academies.  India imposes a lifelong bond.

The Indian military officer is in a cage of his own making.  They have not been “given a raw deal by the government.”   It has been a raw deal imposed on themselves.

Yes, the military “provides job security as well as a pension.”   And the military clamours for more job security and more pension.  Proof enough that the Indian military has developed a  babu mentality.

Given below is a recent picture of be-medalled Thomas, at a veterans’ function, to remind you of him.

 

Wing Commander Joseph Thomas, VM (XIX NDA, E/H Sqn)