A Civilisation by itself - The Delhi College of Engineering

1635 A.D.
Hum ishq ke waadi ke hain sayyan azal se,
Tanha kabhi firtay hain, kabhi maut ke humrah.

 

This is an abridged version of the research-work done by SHILADITYA NIYOGI

That was Dara Shikoh, lost in the labyrinths of erudition. No one then knew that the spring of the same year had already seen the foundations of the most enduring centre of advanced learning being laid. Abutting on the Nigambodh Ghat, from where Lord Shiva is said to have retrieved the knowledge of the Hindu scripture, the Delhi College of Engineering currently stands at the forefront in building up the Nation's intelligentsia.

Established in 1941, it was the Delhi Polytechnic that was subsequently rechristened the Delhi College of Engineering. According to the Archeological Survey of India, some of the buildings dated back even to the mughal period. As mentioned in one of the tablets, we quote:

Formerly the Library of Dara Shikoh (son of Shah Jahan)

1637

Residence of Ali Mardan Khan Mughal (Viceroy of Punjab)

1639

The Residency of Sir David Ochterlony, Bart

1803

Government College

1804 - 1877

District School

1877 - 1886

Municipal Board School

1886 - 1904

A marble plaque containing the words "Once the residency" is still present on one of the walls of the Archaeological Survey of India building. In the course of time, however, this plaque has turned yellowish, as if to say "Once was white" - courtesy to some extent, the effusion from the buses at the Inter State Bus Terminus. ISBT though built only in the 80's has done much more harm to most of the establishments situated in its proximity than the nature's withering forces, taken collectively, have done in the past 200 years.

Talking about Geopositioning it:

Towards the North of the old DCE premises and adjoining the ISBT was the St. James' church which had commemorated its 170th anniversary in 1996. Behind this church was the Delhi Gazette Press, one of the leading Indian publishers of the 19th century. Towards the west lied horse regiment headquarters, the Bank of Bengal later on, which was acquired by the East Indian Railways. Behind the Old St. Stephen's college building lied the house of Ahmed Ali Khan, a known figure of those times. Also in the same area was a house described in 1845, as that of the company's chief judge, but occupied in 1857 by the headmaster of the Government College.

Its Historical Significance:

Built in 1835, the Kashmere Gate was raised as a defense against any attack from the direction of the Ludlow Castle, which was towards the north-west of the city. Outside the Kashmere Gate was the Kudasia Gardens built by Kudsi Begum, mother of Ahman Shah, one of the last emperors of the Mughal dynasty. Not much remains of the luxurious gardens exists today but for a ruined mosque and a few gateways that still bear the marks of the seige of 1857.

Of notable importance was the Magazine(arsenal) which is said to have been built at the site of the palace of Dara Shikoh. Certain underground passages discovered some years ago, but now sealed, indicate the existence of the usual "tahkhana" or underground apartments. At one time a considerable amount of gun powder and shells was stored in this magazine. Sir Charles Napier, the Commander-In-Chief, objected strongly to the proximity of these stores to the palace and to their location in the heart of the city, far from the cantonments. The materials were immediately removed but a certain quantity of powder and guns were left behind. The present GPO building was the armoury then; and an old powder magazine used to stand close by (the site of the present telegraph office). Across the road were the workshops, the gates of which faced the arsenal enclosure.

These were the locales of the deciding battles that were to influence the result of the revolt (The Revolt Of 1857). On the 11th of May, the infantry from Meerut reached Delhi and attacked the magazine and its surrounding areas. The native troops at Delhi- 38th, 54th and the 74th regiments, expecting repercussions from the Europeans who had escaped the massacre at Meerut, did not join the revolt, and were mute spectators. Once it was obvious that no help was in the offing the three regiments from Delhi joined those from Meerut. The mutineers then asked the few officers in the magazine to surrender but only to be ignored. With not much help coming from Delhi or Meerut, the officers at a predecided signal, blew apart the magazine, killing a number of the mutineers, sacrificing themselves in the process. Still present at the site is an obelisk commemorating their brave deed.

What happenned at Badli ?

The battle of Badli- Ki- Sarai. Badli- Ki- Sarai was built by an old king for the benefit of the travelers. On the 8th June 1857, the rebels and the Britishers confronted each other at Badli. The rebels had their guns posted at vantage points causing heavy losses to the Britishers. By September the Britishers were close to crushing the revolt, but only at the cost of getting General Nicholson mortally wounded. He died on the 23rd September. Gen. Nicholson was given a state burial in the present Nicholson cemetery.

Raising DCE :

"Cemetery, revelations, death . . . salvation . . . " while the rest of the world was concentrating on these terms, a few rational men thought over more on words like "symmetry, stress, strain, design, . . . etc" and they came up with "polytechnic's" in the process. Polytechnics as the name suggests are places where many techniques are taught. The Delhi Polytechnic was one of those. Its curriculum consisted of the various fields of engineering (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Textile, Chemical, Architectural), Commerce, Pharmacy, Arts to name a few. There were several schools of music, fine-arts, dance etc. to give vent to the creative sparks of these students.

A technical school was also started which conducted classes that had the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th levels. The 10th level was equivalent to the 12th class of a standard school of that time. That was the only pre-engg-school of those days. It was only in 1953 that the B.E. (graduation)system was started. In 1955 Mr. Moudgill was brought in to develop this ensemble of schools into an institution.

The Sarkar Committee which was commissioned in 1946, had given a report which directed an inference that India needed at least 4 institutes of international standards, to come to terms with the other developed nations. Kharagpur, Kanpur, Bombay and Madras were chosen as suitable locations for setting such institutes. Why not Delhi - the question the Delhi Administration had raised then. An alternative was suggested - why not develop DCE into an institute of international repute.

1959 saw the emergence of College of Engineering and Technology at Hauz Khas. This was the first engineering college under the Delhi University. The College of Engineering and Technology was the result of that "grooming up" plan. With the ongoing-politicking then, the grooming process became a transference process. College of Engineering and Technology was planned to be a separate institution altogether. This decision not only saw the transfer of a major portion of the Delhi Polytechnic faculty but also faced the separation of two of its entire engineering branches - Textile and Chemical. After an year of its existence, the College of Engineering and Technology was brought under the Central Government and was rechristened the Indian Institute of Technology. The DCE which was till then under the purview of the Central Government came under the Delhi Administration.

The Heritage:

The Architectural Department of the Delhi Polytechnic had Mrs. Goman as the head and she wanted her institute to have an autonomous administration. She tied up her school's administration with that of the School of Planning, a separate entity. This collaboration later developed into the present School of Planning and Architecture.

The arts faculty, dealing with aesthetics and beauty, matured into the present College of Arts. The Padma Bhushan recipient Prof. Sanyal, the Head of Department of the arts faculty of the Delhi Polytechnic, was in a great way instrumental in causing this graduation. Incidentally, the arts faculty lied very close to the spot where the Nawab of Firozpur, charged with the assassination of William Fraser, the agent to the Governor General at Delhi in 1835, was hanged. The actual incident deserves a mention. Fraser, suspected of maintaining an illicit relationship with one of the Nawab's cousins invited the Nawab's wrath. The Nawab hired some assassins to kill Fraser. As Fraser was returning from a dinner with the Raja of Kishen Garh, a horse-man riding in front of him, turned his horse, shot Fraser, and galloped passed his escort. It is presumed that the real murderer was hiding behind the bushes and escaped unpunished.

"Those days" of "rich traditions" also saw Mr. Arjuna Dasgupta, then the Head of Department of the faculty of Commerce of Delhi Polytechnic. He promoted commerce in a big way in India . Later on, he moulded his department into the present Faculty of Management Studies (FMS, DU).

The 80's saw a rerun of this episode. The Delhi Institute of Technology joined the already long list of DCE's illustrious progenies.

That was the 19th century when contrivance was king and connivance reigned supreme. As India moves forward to the 21st century the onus of propelling India to technological superiority lies on institutions like the DCE. DCE, according to a recent survey by the Human Resources Ministry, Government of India, is ranked 2nd just after the IIT's,as regards production of relevant manpower for the industry, and is closely followed by the BITS Pilani and the University of Roorkee; the reason for this being not only the emphasis on an active interaction with the industry but also the stress being laid on concepts like Solutions & Value Engineering and on management issues to better the engineering effectivity and efficiency. A high level of awareness is being maintained on the latest developments in the various Engineering fields by the chapters of the latest professional bodies such as IEEE, IEE, SAE, ASME, ASHRE, SEM among others. The year long cultural and sports activities are some other important aspects of the campus life. These activities not only harness one's creative abilities but also promote a spirit of camaraderie in each student.

As DCE prepares to shift itself to its sprawling new campus at Badli, it strives to be amongst the world's best.

Shiladitya Niyogi was in the Civil Engineering class of 1997. And he, along with Vishnu Vardhana, 1997 COE, researched on this article with active help from Prof. Moudgill (credited for developing DCE into its present being), Prof. P.B.Sharma (the DCE Principal then), the various Dept. Heads of DCE, the British Council Library, the Dara Shukoh Library, The Indian Institute of Technology (Hauz Khas), the Delhi University Library, the Delhi Institute of Technology, the College of Art, the School of Planning and Architecture, the Faculty of Management Studies (DU), the Indian Council for Historical Research, St. Stephen's College, the Hindu College, and the Archaeological Survey of India

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