Visvesvaraya, Muthulakshmi Reddy, and P.C. Mahalanobis: Architects of Modern India
Born in colonial India (19th century), active in 20th century nation-building.
Commitment to public service, institutional development, and social progress.
Their lives reflected the transition from colonial subjugation to independent India’s self-reliance.
1. M. Visvesvaraya (1861–1962) – Engineer of Modern India
Background: Born in Muddenahalli, Karnataka. Eminent civil engineer and Dewan of Mysore (1912–1918).
Contributions:
Water management: Pioneered irrigation, flood protection, and drinking water systems.
Infrastructure: Expanded railways, industries, and public works.
Education & Research: Promoted scientific and technical education; supported research institutions.
Vision: Advocated industrial modernisation and economic planning in Reconstructing India.
Legacy: Set standards of self-reliance, efficiency, and meritocracy in governance.
2. Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy (1886–1968) – Trailblazer in Women’s Rights & Public Health
Early Life & Education
Born: 30 July 1886, Pudukkottai (Tamil Nadu).
Family: Father – S. Narayanaswami Iyer, Principal of Maharaja’s College; Mother – Chandrammal, a former Devadasi.
Faced discrimination due to gender and maternal background.
First woman admitted to Maharaja’s College (special conditions like classroom separation).
Joined Madras Medical College in 1907, graduating in 1912 with seven gold medals.
Became House Surgeon at the Government Hospital for Women and Children, Madras.
Influences
Strongly influenced by Annie Besant (Theosophical Society) and Mahatma Gandhi.
Met reformers like Sarojini Naidu; engaged in women’s meetings and nationalist circles.
Gandhi invited her to join the freedom struggle; she declined active politics to focus on women and children’s welfare, but supported Civil Disobedience and resigned as legislator in protest of Gandhi’s arrest (1930).
Path-breaking “Firsts”
First woman medical student in MMC.
First Indian woman surgeon.
First woman legislator in British India (Madras Legislative Council, 1926).
First woman Deputy President of Legislative Council.
First woman in Madras Corporation.
First Chairperson, State Social Welfare Advisory Board.
Social Reforms & Activism
Abolition of Devadasi system: drew from personal family experience.
Avvai Home (1931): Shelter for destitute girls and women rescued from brothels.
Adyar Cancer Institute: Established Cancer Relief Fund → grew into pioneering institute for cancer care and research.
Maternity benefits: Instrumental in laws that later inspired Tamil Nadu’s maternity schemes.
Education reforms: Member of Hartog Committee (1929) – surveyed women’s education across India; advocated medical inspections in schools.
Women’s franchise: Fought for municipal & legislative voting rights for women.
Anti-trafficking laws: Championed legislation to suppress brothels and immoral trafficking of women & children.
Legislative & Institutional Work
Authored My Experience as a Legislator.
Passed resolution for women & child hospital services → led to creation of Kasturba Hospital, Triplicane.
Headed All-India Women’s Conference (AIWC); edited its journal Roshini.
Served as first Chairperson of Social Welfare Board, bringing institutional focus on marginalized women.
Recognition & Legacy
Awarded Padma Bhushan (1956).
Her name was inscribed on the first national flag hoisted at Red Fort (1947).
Progressive legacy in Tamil Nadu: Maternity schemes named after her; institutions like Adyar Cancer Institute continue her mission.
Stands as a symbol of women’s emancipation, social justice, and inclusive healthcare.
3. P.C. Mahalanobis (1893–1972) – Architect of Statistical Planning
Background: Calcutta-born scientist; studied at Cambridge; pioneer statistician.
Major Contributions
Mahalanobis Distance (1930)
A multivariate statistical measure of distance, independent of scale of measurement.
Widely used in cluster analysis, pattern recognition, and classification.
First applied in anthropometric studies of Anglo-Indians in Calcutta.
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)
Founded on 17 Dec 1931 in Calcutta; formally registered in 1932.
Grew as a world-renowned centre for statistical research.
Journal Sankhya started in 1933 (modelled after Biometrika).
Declared Institute of National Importance (1959).
Large-scale Sample Surveys
Designed pioneering techniques in survey sampling.
Laid foundation for National Sample Survey (NSS) in 1950.
Adopted later by UN, World Bank, and developing countries.
Planning and Development
Member of Planning Commission of India.
Architect of the Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61) based on the Mahalanobis model, emphasising:
Rapid industrialisation.
Development of heavy industries and capital goods sector.
Model was neo-Marxist in approach, focusing on long-term growth and self-reliance.
Other Contributions
Developed profiloscope for skull measurements (anthropometry).
Advanced applications of statistics in meteorology, biology, and economics.
Recognition & Legacy
Titles: OBE (Order of the British Empire), FNA, FASc, FRS.
Known as “Father of Indian Statistics”.
National Statistics Day: Celebrated on 29 June (since 2007).
His methods revolutionised planning, policy-making, and economic modelling in India.
Nobel laureates like Angus Deaton acknowledged India’s statistical capacity as pioneering.
Significance
Visvesvaraya: Modernised infrastructure and economy → India’s Engineering Vision.
Muthulakshmi Reddy: Pioneered women’s rights and healthcare → India’s Social Reform Spirit.
Mahalanobis: Built foundations of planned development → India’s Economic Planning Framework.
Together, they:
Bridged the gap between colonial constraints and independent aspirations.
Laid institutional foundations still central to India today (PSUs, healthcare, NSSO, ISI, Cancer Institutes, universities).
Embodied self-reliance, equity, and scientific temper in nation-building.
