Architect of India's Digital Destiny Passes Away
The man who laid the foundation for India's information technology revolution, Professor Vaidyeswaran Rajaraman, breathed his last on Saturday. His family confirmed the sad news. He was 92 years old.
Credited as the pioneer of computer science education in India, Prof Rajaraman's legacy is the countless engineers and technocrats who built the nation's digital infrastructure. He was the visionary who saw India's potential as a future software superpower.
Building the Pillars of Computer Education
Prof Rajaraman's most monumental contribution came in 1965 when he established the first professional computer science course in India at IIT Kanpur. This was a landmark moment that introduced formal computer education to the country.
His journey began in Erode, Tamil Nadu, where he was born in 1933. After graduating in physics from Delhi's St Stephens College in 1952, he pursued a diploma in electrical communication engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. He then earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also taught briefly.
Returning to India, he joined IIT Kanpur as an assistant professor in 1962. It was here that he, along with a few associates, launched the first academic course in computer science at the MTech level. His work didn't stop there; he was instrumental in starting a doctoral programme and later, in 1978, a BTech in computer science.
A Legacy of Awards and Influential Textbooks
Prof Rajaraman's contributions were recognized with the nation's highest honours. He was a recipient of the prestigious Bhatnagar Prize and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1998.
Perhaps his most enduring legacy for students is his literary work. He authored more than 20 textbooks on computer science. These books, known for their clarity and depth, are still part of the curriculum in colleges and universities across India, educating new generations of computer scientists.
Later in his career, he shifted to the Indian Institute of Science, where he oversaw the development of low-cost parallel computers and a supercomputing facility, continuing his mission to advance India's computational capabilities.
Prof Vaidyeswaran Rajaraman was not just an academic; he was an institution builder whose work defined India's technological trajectory and helped script its success story in the global software arena.
