The Fourth IIT - The Saga of IIT Kanpur is about the establishment and growth of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) over its 50 years of existence. The book traces its history back to 1960 when it started in temporary premises and chronicles several other developments over the years, with different directors and administrators at the helm. Overall, I would call this a monograph documenting the various events that took place in the institute's history. It elucidates details regarding the development of infrastructure, curriculum, academic and research entities, recruitment of faculty and growth of research activities. This book may be of interest for persons connected with IIT-K; perhaps not very interesting to others.
Having been an undergraduate student at IIT Kanpur from 1963 to 1968, I witnessed the enthusiasm in the institute as the first batch graduated in 1964. The excitement about being taught by leading professors - both Indian and American - was palpable. This aspect has been overlooked by the editors and they have concentrated on the relatively mundane details and given too much focus to Professor Kelkar, the Founder-Director.
After reading Chapters 1 & 2 as well as some of the details in the subsequent chapters, it becomes evident that troubled times for the institute began soon after Kelkar left, as he did not put in place systems for continuing his legacy. Chapter 1 provides a preview, while Chapter 2 talks about the setting up of IIT Kanpur in 1960. Both the chapters are riddled with repetitions. There were several stalwarts who played an important role in creating a good reputation for the institute, but they don't find a mention. Instead, the author has named Shishupal, the institute's bus driver! The editors have talked about the Kanpur Indo-American Programme (KIAP) which established a partnership of IIT-K with a consortium of nine American Universities. There were a number of outstanding US professors who contributed to individual departments. However, only the role of Professor Norman Dahl, the leader of this programme, has been highlighted.
Chapter 3 talks elaborately about the formative years, the teaching methodology, grading system, etc, which do not make for interesting reading. On the other hand, it is good that they have covered the high-quality facilities such as the library, computer centre, nuclear facility and TV centre.
The next chapter delves into the turbulent times that the IIT-K saw because its founding fathers did not chart out a clear roadmap for the decade ahead. A lot of things could have been put in the right place from the beginning, thus avoiding confrontation between the workers and the administration. There is a mention of Professor Muthana, the then Deputy Director, and it is implied that he was not able to solve the problems at hand. In fact, he was the one who provided admirable support at the back end to Kelkar for achieving the desired results. On another matter, during this period, a large number of leading faculty members from several departments left the institute. The editors have missed highlighting this exodus.
Chapter 5 offers details on R&D, sponsored projects and consultancy projects. On numerous occasions, the authors have implied that several initiatives started at IIT-K first, before other IITs, which is not necessarily true. The following chapters highlight the formation of new centres of research and technology and the incubation centre, and elaborate on the regulations and curriculum development for the undergraduate and post graduate programmes. While this makes for interesting archives, to the non-IIT reader it borders on mundane.
Chapter 9 talks about the student life - the cultural and technology festivals - and the healthcare centre and campus. It would have been interesting to see how students took to these initiatives. IIT-K was a preferred choice for incoming B.Tech. students, but this changed considerably over time. The book does not touch upon the reasons for this either. The last chapter recognises the contribution and achievements of the alumni who engage with the institute through generous donations to establish endowed chairs, scholarships, lectures, etc., as well as contribute towards the development of infrastructure.
In conclusion, I found the book to be interesting, but a good amount of relevant information on the events spanning 50 years is missing. It does not talk about the outstanding faculty members and students who contributed towards making IIT-K what it is today. Some of the banal details about R&D structures and curriculum review could have been shorter, to make way for more interesting stuff. ~
The reviewer is former Director of IIT Bombay