Engineering a nation : the life and career of M. Visvesvaraya

Includes bibliographical references and index (Page 539-737).

PART I: Becoming an Engineer
1. From Halli to Nagara
2. Becoming an Engineer
3. Becoming an Officer
4. Poona Circles
5. Transforming Irrigation in the Decan
6. Poona's All-Rounder
7. In the land of the Nizams

PART II: Becoming a Statesman
8. 'The Land of Your Birth'
9. Reservoir of Hopes
10. At the Helm
11. From Universal Education to University
12. Manufactured in Mysore
13. A Dewan at Work

PART III: On the National Stage
14. Setting Sail
15. Among the Politicians
16. Critics, and Bhadravati
17. Reclaiming the Metropolis
18. Constitutional Adventures
19. An Engineer among the Economists
20. Rivers Gear
21. The Motor of Progress
22. Mentor to Manufacturers
23. An Ageing Gadfly in the New India

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (1861–1962) was arguably the most famous Indian engineer of the twentieth century. And yet he was also much more. To this day, much in India bears the imprint of Visvesvaraya’s work—not only as civil engineer, but also as public administrator, constitutional analyst and development thinker. Sugarcane farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka, picknickers in the Brindavan Gardens alongside the Krishnarajasagara dam near Mysore, and city dwellers across the country who enjoy a piped water supply are all partaking of Visvesvaraya’s legacy. So are students in Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science and Mumbai’s Institute of Chemical Technology, consumers who swear by Mysore Sandal Soap, and anyone who has lived through Independent India’s Five-Year Plans.