A senior advisor in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has challenged the long-held belief that India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was responsible for establishing the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Kanchan Gupta stated on Thursday that Nehru should not be credited with creating the premier engineering institutes, arguing their origins predated his direct involvement.
Challenging Nehru's Role in IIT Foundation
Gupta's assertions, made on social media, claim that the idea for establishing IITs emerged in 1946 through a blueprint prepared by a committee led by Nalini Ranjan Sarkar. He further credited former West Bengal Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Roy with establishing the first IIT in Calcutta in 1950, which later moved to Kharagpur. The IIT Kharagpur Act, according to Gupta, was passed in 1956.
He also highlighted international collaborations in the development of early IITs, stating that the Soviet Union helped set up IIT Bombay (Powai), the US contributed to IIT Kanpur, and West Germany aided IIT Madras. These contributions, he noted, often came with trade surpluses and foreign aid.
In contrast to Nehru, Gupta praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for expanding the IIT network by establishing seven new campuses, bringing the total number of IITs to 23.
Official Records and Historical Context
However, official records present a more nuanced history. According to IIT Jodhpur's website, the concept of the IIT system indeed stemmed from the recommendations of the Nalini Ranjan Sarkar Committee. The first IIT was founded in Kharagpur in May 1950, and Nehru himself spoke at its first convocation in 1956, emphasizing the institutes' importance for India's technological future.
Historical data indicates that five IITs were established during Nehru's tenure as Prime Minister:
- IIT Kharagpur (1951)
- IIT Bombay (1958)
- IIT Madras (1959)
- IIT Kanpur (1959)
- IIT Delhi (1961)
The Institutes of Technology Act, passed by Parliament in 1961, formally granted IIT Kharagpur the status of an institution of national importance and an autonomous university, a designation extended to others later.
Expansion Beyond the Nehruvian Era
The IIT system continued to expand significantly in subsequent decades. IIT Guwahati was established in 1994, and the University of Roorkee was converted into IIT Roorkee in 2001. A major wave of expansion occurred following a 2008 Cabinet decision, which led to the creation of new IITs in Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Patna, and Ropar in 2008, followed by Indore and Mandi in 2009.
Under the Modi government, five additional IITs were established in Palakkad, Tirupati, Bhilai, Jammu, and Dharwad. The Union Cabinet also approved further academic and infrastructure capacity expansion for these newer institutions.
Gupta also connected the initial establishment of IIT Kharagpur to West Bengal's industrial prominence in the 1950s, arguing that the state's industrial strength made it a logical choice for such a pioneering institution.