VIT founder-Chancellor G. Viswanathan had turned down IPS posting in 1961

G. Viswanathan, Chancellor, VIT.
| Photo Credit: C. Venkatachalapathy

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), one of the country’s leading deemed-to-be universities excelling in the field of engineering education, would not have been a reality but for its founder-Chancellor G. Viswanathan declining to join the Indian Police Service in 1961.

A student of Loyola College between 1957 and 1961, Mr. Viswanathan had cleared the Union Public Service Commission examination in the first attempt.

“I was offered Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre, but since the posting was in Tripura as I was selected for the Manipur Union Territory cadre, I did not accept it because it was not possible to get a transfer to other States,” Mr. Viswanathan has reminisced in an article published in the book, Loyola: 100 Years of Shaping Futures released on the occasion of the Chennai-based institution’s centenary.

His batchmates V. Selvaraj was selected for the Tamil Nadu cadre and Bhaskar Rao for the Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Mr. Viswanathan told The Hindu he had also cleared the Madras Presidency Service Board (MPSC), the predecessor to the TNPSC. The then Congress government denied him posting as he was active in the Dravida Manavar Munnetra Kazhagam in the Law College.

A student of Economics, he completed both his undergraduation and postgraduation from Loyola.

“Loyola College used to produce several IAS, IPS and IFS officers every year and you could find a couple of them in the list of toppers,” he says.

Mr. Viswanathan says the four years he had spent at Loyola and the hostel sowed the seeds of a transformational journey in his life. “My English teacher Fr. Lawrence Sundaram, S.J., who later became the Principal, encouraged me to develop my English language skills. He advised me that it would be useful in my future endeavours. I will never forget his valuable advice, which shaped the course of my political and academic administration careers,” he says.

Incidentally, Mr. Viswanathan, who was with the DMK and later AIADMK, had became an MLA, Minister and Member of Parliament, although he could not win the college union election as “non-Tamil students considered me a Tamil fanatic and voted against me.”

A disciplined student, who never applied for leave during his four years at Loyola, Mr. Viswanathan says when he established Vellore Engineering College in 1984, which is now VIT, he had Loyola college as his model.

“I wanted to have the quality and discipline of Loyola, which we attained to a large extent. The experience I gained at Loyola is a guiding factor in many of my decisions. I owe my growth and success to the discipline and education I obtained from my alma mater, Loyola College. The academic rigour, cultural diversity, inclusivity, and invaluable mentorship that Loyola College provided me have shaped my life. Loyola’s legacy continues to illuminate my path,” he says.