Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore

Sir Mokshagundam Vishweshvarayya KCIE, FASc[1] also spelled as Sir Mokshagondam Vishweshwarayya, popularly known as Sir MV (15 September 1861 – 12 April 1962)[2][3] was an Indian chief civil engineer, scholar, statesman, politician [4] and the 19th Diwan (Governor) of Mysore, who served from 1912 to 1919.[5] He received India'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 the North-West suburb of Mysuru city and chief engineer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.[6]

Early years [ edit ]

Mokshagundam Vishweshvarayya was born on 15 September 1861.[7] His father, Mokshagundam Srinivasa Sastry, was a school teacher and a noted Sanskrit scholar,[8] while his mother, Venkatalakshamma, was a homemaker. Vishweshvarayya was born in Muddenahalli village (now located in Chikkaballapura District, but part of Kolar district at the time of his birth) in the princely state of Mysore (now Karnataka), India.[9]

Vishweshvarayya lost his father at the age of 12. He attended primary school in Bandahalli Primary school, Chickballapur and high school in Bangalore. In 1881, he received a BA degree from Central College, Bangalore, (then an affiliate of the University of Madras), a rare accomplishment in India of that era. He then enrolled at College of Engineering, Pune.[10][11] He received LCE (Licenciate in Civil Engineering) equivalent to DCE (Diploma in Civil Engineering) from the University of Bombay to which the College of Engineering was affiliated.

Career [ edit ]

Vishweshvarayya took a job with the PWD of Bombay and later was invited to join the Indian Irrigation Commission. He implemented an extremely intricate system of irrigation in Deccan.

He designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates that were first installed in 1903 at Khadakvasla Reservoir near Pune. These gates were employed to raise flood supply level of storage in 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 Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) Dam in Mandya/Mysore, Karnataka.

In 1906–07, Government of India sent him to Aden to study water supply and drainage systems. The project prepared by him was implemented in Aden successfully.[12]

Vishweshvarayya achieved celebrity status when he designed a flood protection system for city of Hyderabad. He was instrumental in developing a system to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion.[13] This dam created the biggest reservoir in Asia when it was built.[14] Vishweshvarayya gave his valuable technical advice for the location of Mokama Bridge over Ganga in Bihar. At the time, he was over 90 years old.[15][16]

He was called "Father of Modern Mysore State" . During his service with the government of Mysore State, he was responsible for founding of (under the patronage of the Mysore government) Mysore Soap Factory, Parasitoid Laboratory, Mysore Iron & Steel Works (now known as Vishweshvarayya Iron and Steel Limited) in Bhadravathi, Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic, Bangalore, Bangalore Agricultural University, State Bank of Mysore, Century Club, Mysore Chamber of Commerce (presently known as the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI) the apex Chamber of Commerce in Karnataka, University Vishweshvarayya 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.[17][18]

He was known for sincerity, time management, and dedication to a cause. Bangalore Press and Bank of Mysore were established during his tenure. A very important part of his nature was his love for 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.[7]

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

Career timeline [ edit ]

Bust of Vishweshvarayya at JIT

Joined service as assistant engineer in Bombay, 1885; served in Nasik, Khandesh and Pune

Services lent to municipality of Sukkur in Sind, 1894: designed and carried out the water works of that municipality, 1895

Executive Engineer, Surat, 1896;

Assistant Superintending Engineer, Pune, 1897–99; visited China and Japan, 1898

Executive engineer for Irrigation, Pune, 1899

Sanitary engineer, Bombay, member, Sanitary Board, 1901; gave evidence before Indian Irrigation Commission, 1901

Designed and constructed automatic gates patented by him at Lake Fife Storage Reservoir; introduced a new system of irrigation known as the "Block System", 1903; represented the Bombay Government at the Simla Irrigation Commission, 1904; on special duty, 1905

Superintending engineer, 1907; visited Egypt, Canada, USA, and Russia, 1908

Services lent as consulting engineer, Hyderabad, to supervise and carry out engineering works in connection with the Musi floods, 1909

Retired from British service, 1909

Chief engineer and secretary to the government of Mysore, 1909

Dewan of Mysore, PWD and Railway, 1913

Board of directors of Tata Steel, 1927–1955[19][20][21]

Diwan of Mysore [ edit ]

Visvesvaraiah on a 1960 stamp of India

After opting for voluntary retirement in 1908, he took a foreign tour to study industrialised nations. 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 by the Musi river. During November 1909, Vishweshvarayya was appointed as chief engineer of Mysore State. Further, during 1912, he was appointed as diwan (second minister) of the princely state of Mysore. He was diwan for seven years.[5]

With the support of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, Maharaja of Mysore, Vishweshvarayya 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.[22] This institution was later named the University Vishweshvarayya College of Engineering after its founder. He commissioned several new railway lines in Mysore state.

Awards and honours [ edit ]

Vishweshvarayya was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1911.[23] In 1915, while he was the Diwan of Mysore, Vishweshvarayya 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.[24] After India attained independence, he was awarded the nation's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955.[25] Sir M.V. was awarded honorary membership of the London Institution of Civil Engineers.[26] He was 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.

On 15 September 2018, to celebrate his 157th birthday anniversary Vishweshvarayya was honored with Google Doodle.[27]

Recognition [ edit ]

Vishweshvarayya has received recognition in many fields, most notably the education and the engineering sectors. Vishweshvarayya Technological University which is based in Belagavi (to which most engineering colleges in Karnataka are affiliated) has been named in his honour, as well as prominent colleges like University Vishweshvarayya College of Engineering, Bangalore, Sir M. Vishweshvarayya Institute of Technology, Bangalore and Vishweshvarayya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur.

College of Engineering, Pune, his alma mater, has erected a statue in his honour.[28]

The Vishweshvarayya Industrial and Technological Museum in Bangalore is named in his honour.

Two metro stations in India, one in Bengaluru on the Purple Line (Sir M. Vishweshvarayya Station, Central College), and another one in Delhi on the Pink Line (Sir Vishveshwaraiah Moti Bagh), have been named after him.[29]

Memorial at Muddenahalli [ edit ]

The Samadhi of Sir M.V. at Muddenahalli

The Vishweshvarayya National Memorial Trust manages a memorial of Vishweshvarayya 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 Vishweshvarayya designed and supervised the construction of, are exhibited. The memorial is adjacent to his house, which was refurbished and regarded as a temple by the locals.[30][31]

Works [ edit ]