IIT-Varanasi: a pipe-dream?
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The dream of The Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU), Varanasi to evolve into IIT-Varanasi has been postponed, if not shattered. Sadly, the reasons seem more to do with politics and not academic excellence.
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OVER-ENTHUSIASM OF the previous National Democratic Alliance Government to create several Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs) in a short span of time, followed by the over-cautious approach of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government to put everything in the back-burner has resulted in an undeserving victim: The Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU), Varanasi.
While the caution exercised by the UPA Government is good in general, it represents a very bad deal for the IT-BHU. The dream of this institute to become IIT-Varanasi has been postponed, if not shattered. Sadly, the reasons seem more to do with politics and not academic excellence.
The IITs were established during 1950-1963 as institutions of national importance, as les grandes écoles of newly independent India. Five beautiful campuses were set up in Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras, "representing India's urges, India's future in the making" (as Jawaharlal Nehru famously remarked). After three decades, the 1990s marked a shift in the government's strategy to expand the number of campuses beyond the original five, resulting in the establishment of the IIT-Guwahati in 1994. If we take the early 1990s as a reference point, it must be said that the IT-BHU ought to have been made IIT-Varanasi right then. Let us see why.
Firstly, the IT-BHU is an all-India institution without State quotas. Its quality of input is favourably comparable to that of the IITs — after all, IT-BHU has been participating in the IIT-JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) system since 1972, and its postgraduate admissions process (through Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is identical to that of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, the IITs.
Secondly, IT-BHU's quality of research in engineering in the early 1990s was as good as that in the IITs, if not better. In making this statement, I am steering clear of annual rankings of colleges published by popular magazines that have subjective components and opinion polls in their assessment, and are therefore prone to controversy.
I am relying on the scientometric analysis by G. Prathap published in the reputable journal Current Science in 1995, comparing the `publication output and impact of major engineering institutions for the three-year period 1987-1989.' Prathap cautions that he has not gone `into a finer examination of detail ... to reveal each institution's ... strengths and weaknesses,' but his analysis is rigorous and adequate for our purpose. As shown in the table, the IT-BHU came fifth in terms of output as well as impact, and stood third in the country in terms of relative impact. In all three parameters, it came ahead of the IIT-Kharagpur and the University of Roorkee (which was subsequently made the seventh IIT in 2001). Only the IISc-Bangalore and the IIT-Delhi were clearly ahead of the IT-BHU. Thirdly, IT-BHU has a great national heritage. Founded by Madan Mohan Malviya in 1919, it is one of the premier science and technology institutions to be established by visionary nationalists in pre-independent India. Comparable institutions include IISc-Bangalore (set up in 1909 to fulfil J.N. Tata's vision) and BITS Pilani (founded in 1929 by the legendary G.D. Birla, a close associate of Malviya).
IT-BHU pioneered degree courses in mining, metallurgy, ceramics and pharmaceutics in India. So far, it has produced over 22,000 undergraduates, 2,700 postgraduates, and 650 Ph.Ds. A large number of IT-BHU alumni are occupying top positions in leading industries, educational institutions and research establishments in India and abroad. Several departments of the IT-BHU have been recognised for their excellence under various programmes (CAS, SAP, COSIST, etc.) of the University Grants Commission. Its faculty members regularly win national awards, fellowships of professional societies, medals and prizes.
These achievements of the IT-BHU have to be viewed in the light of lack of autonomy and the relatively generous budgetary support enjoyed by the IISc/IITs for five decades. Thus, it seems obvious that the IT-BHU richly deserves to be made IIT-Varanasi because it is already in the league of IITs.
Therefore, it is both disappointing and perplexing to read the statement of the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, M.A.A. Fatmi, citing the S.K. Joshi Committee report that "[IT-BHU] fell far below the level of the existing IITs in all criteria used for shortlisting." If the IT-BHU has indeed slipped in rankings in the last 10 years, it is such a shame, and the Union Government is certainly guilty of consistent neglect and step-motherly treatment to this fine institution. So, what exactly went wrong for this institute? To start with, IT-BHU tried to become an IIT with foreign collaboration (similar to the first five IITs). It applied in 1973 to become IIT-Varanasi with assistance from the erstwhile German Democratic Republic, but the deal collapsed owing to political reasons. Subsequent efforts were stymied because of lack of autonomy, and the otherwise laudable policy of the Indian Government to ensure geographic diversity.
The lack of autonomy has resulted in the IT-BHU suffering from the bureaucracy and mediocrity of its parent university. According to the institute's alumnus Yogesh Upadhyaya, IT-BHU's image was "tarnished by the yearly sine die closures (violent strikes by politically motivated students from other faculties), and apathy of university administration towards the English language."
IT-BHU's location in Uttar Pradesh (which also has the IIT-Kanpur) has also been to its disadvantage in lobbying for IIT status (although IIT-Roorkee luckily escaped this following the creation of Uttaranchal in 2000). However, this argument is superfluous given the all-India character of this institute. Southern states that are naturally wary of new IITs coming up in the North should acknowledge the fact that they already have IISc-Bangalore and IIT-Madras, and Kerala's Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, has gone on record to say that "the Centre has agreed to favourably consider Kerala Government's request for establishing an IIT.
"Converting the IT-BHU to IIT-Varanasi will enable this institute of excellence to escape the clutches of the BHU, and secure the badly needed funds to vastly improve its infrastructure, as well as attract and retain world-class faculty members. This step should be taken in the national interest, and not delayed for the sake of petty politics or blind enforcement of geographic diversity policies.
If the conversion to IIT is delayed, it will be an uphill task for the IT-BHU to maintain its competitive edge (given the relative scale of money being pumped into the IISc/IITs), and the Minister's statement of the IT-BHU falling "far below the level of the existing IITs" can sadly become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Recognition of the IT-BHU as IIT-Varanasi is long overdue and would benefit the country as a whole.
S.S. Vasan
(The author is a Rhodes Scholar at Trinity College, Oxford, England)
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