Engineer’s Day 2020: Here are Some Lesser Known Facts About MV. Visvesvaraya

By Muskan Bhatnagar

Engineer's Day is celebrated on the 15th of September in India, on the birth anniversary of the greatest Indian engineer and Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visweshvaraya, as a tribute to him.

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Sir MV. Visvesvaraya was an Indian civil engineer, a statesman, and the 19th Diwan of Mysore. Born to a Telugu family at Chikkaballapur, Karnataka, Sir MV. Visvesvaraya earned a license in civil engineering from the University of Bombay. He lived by the phrase "Work is Worship," and devoted his life to engineering. He died on 12 April 1962.

On the occasion of the 160th birth anniversary of Sir MV. Visvesvaraya and Engineer's Day, which is celebrated in his honor, let's look at at some lesser-known facts about the greatest Indian engineer:

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sir MV. Visvesvaraya

• After India attained independence, Sir MV. Visvesvaraya received Bharat Ratna, India's highest honor, in 1955.
• He served as the 19th Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1919 and he encouraged private investment in the industry during his tenure as Diwan of Mysore.
• In 1915, while he was Diwan of Mysore, King George V knighted him as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE).
• In his memory, his birthday is celebrated as Engineers' Day not only in India but also in Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
• Legend has it that Sir MV. Visvesvaraya walked 60 kilometers to Bengaluru to attend the United Mission School. He had to eat the food served at temples, had to study under street lamps, and wasn't against studying under the light.

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• Sir MV cared deeply about education and also played an important role in founding the Government Engineering College at Bangalore in 1917. The college was later named after him – the Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology.
• Today, the house where Sir MV. Visvesvaraya was born is considered a place of worship for the locals of that place.
• The most famous project of Sir MV. Visvesvaraya was the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and Dam. It was India's largest reservoir at the time.