JOIN USIISc remembers its generous benefactor
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is marking the birth anniversary of Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, the Mysuru king under whose rule it got its sprawling campus, by garlanding his statue today.
The ceremony will be carried out by Captain Sridhar Warrier, registrar of the institute.
In the early 1900s, Kempananjammani headed the princely state of Mysore as regent for nearly eight years. Her son Krishnaraja Wodeyar was a minor, and she gifted 371 acres and 16 guntas to the IISc on his behalf. She also gave Rs 5 lakh, then a huge amount, to help start the institute, and continued the patronage with an annual grant of Rs 50,000.
“It is this contribution, along with the modern thinking of Dewan Seshadri Iyer and J N Tata, that led to the establishment of IISc and made it what it is today,” says Sharath Ahuja, retired technical officer, IISc.
The Wodeyars gave utmost importance to education in the state. For them, providing good education was always a priority. IISc is just one example. They set up many institutions, like the Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni College in Bengaluru and Maharani’s College in Mysuru, he says. After IISc was set up in 1909, grants from Mysore were by far the largest support the institute received. The princely state also gave scholarships to students of IISc. The dewans (chief ministers) had a direct say in the running of IISc, and the maharajas of Mysore visited the institute regularly and showed great interest in the research carried out there.
From Krishnaraja Wodeyar, whose 137th birth anniversary falls on June 4, to the current titular maharaja, Yaduveer Chamaraja Wadiyar, the royal family has maintained a close bond with IISc, attending many events. The princes’ formal association with IISc ended with the abolition of monarchy. “The institute is popularly known as the Tata institute all over India, and the royal family’s contribution to it is tremendous and needs to be acknowledged,” Ahuja tells Metrolife.