September 15th is celebrated every year as Engineer's day to mark a day on the calendar for those who are continuously working towards progress and innovation. However, we're prone to forgetting where it all began or where the push the profession received came from.
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was a prolific engineer remembered by all for his inventive mind and his incredible achievements.
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya: An engineer and statesman
Bharat Ratna awardee Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15th September 1860 and lived to the age of 101 when he died in 1962. Born in Chikkaballapur, he went on to earn a BA degree at the Central College in Bengaluru. After moving to Pune he pursued engineering at the College of Engineering.
Sir MV as he was popularly known served in the Public Works Department in Bombay and later joined the Indian Irrigation Commission. Here is where his prowess for invention preceded him, he developed a complex irrigation system and weir water floodgates at the Khadakvasla Dam in Pune in 1903.
Visvesvaraya received praise for his works especially after developing a flood protection system in Hyderabad. This has been one of his biggest achievements. He was appointed later in 1909 as the Chief Engineer of the Mysore State, and eventually became the Diwan of Mysore in 1913. In his 7-year term as the Diwan, he paved the way for modern engineering in Karnataka.
From founding on of India's first engineering institutes -- the Government Engineering College in Bengaluru in 1917 to commissioning new railway lines in Mysore. The Government Engineering College would eventually change its name to University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering.
Sir MV also produced many published works on India and the insights into India's future, unemployment and economy. He received the Bharat Ratna in 1955 India's highest civilian honour. For the Silicon Valley of India, and the IT hub Bengaluru has repeatedly called upon Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya's legacy as an inspiration and somewhat of a foundation as has the state of Karnataka. Therefore, September 15th was deemed Engineer's day in India, in Visvesvaraya's memory.
