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By Kanwal Rekhi There has been a recent flurry of financial support to IITs by alumni both in US and India. This spontaneous activity started about five to six years ago as a trickle, gathered momentum over the years to become... See more » By Kanwal Rekhi There has been a recent flurry of financial support to IITs by alumni both in US and India. This spontaneous activity started about five to six years ago as a trickle, gathered momentum over the years to become fairly significant. A casual visit to the IIT Bombay campus will show the impact it has had. The KReSIT building, the Shailesh Mehta school of Management, two new high quality and much needed hostels, and a student activity centre are very visible manifestations of this. Similar projects are being funded at other IITs also. In January this year almost 2,500 IITians gathered under the banner of PanIIT Alumni Organization in Silicon Valley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the IIT system. There have been functions and associations organised all over North America in support of IITs. What is behind this belated welling up of feelings of pride? And why are IITians are beginning to open their wallets to support their alma mater financially? Answers are not hard to find. Supporting one’s alma mater both emotionally and financially is a core American value. It is pursued life-long with passion and very often through generations. There is an altruistic element to this tradition. There is also a strong self-serving motive beyond gaining social stature. As the universities gain reputation through pursuit of excellence made possible by the generosity of the alumni, alumni stand to benefit as the value of their education goes up in the market place. A Harvard or Stanford degree commands more in the marketplace by way of salary. Having lived in America all their adult lives, IITians are doing what American alumni are expected to do. Their initial munificence was focused on their American alma maters. It is only lately that people have started to remember their Indian alma maters also. IITians have achieved unimaginable success in US, both professionally and financially. Initially, it was at universities and in technical professions, but lately it is in business and also in non technical professions. This success has been really visible in Silicon Valley during its heyday in the 1990s. The American business press, and lately the popular press also, have noticed this in several high profile stories. This was epitomised by the feature on IITs and IITians on the CBS TV magazine show 60 Minutes. This self-awareness has galvanised a community that till recently was focused mostly on mundane things like the need to assimilate, professional growth and worries about family and personal issues. It is supporting IITs with gusto knowing fully well that as IITs gain reputation on the world stage, IITians will do well. A classical win-win situation! Surely such a burst of pride and accompanying philanthropic activity would be welcomed, one would expect, by one and all. IITs were initially leery of this attention but soon learned to like it. But it apparently did not sit well with the powers-that-be in Delhi. As early as spring of 2000, there were mumblings about the need to control unbridled donations to IITs. I sat through meetings with mandarins of the Human Resource Development ministry where sinister motives were imputed for the acts of charity. I was alarmed enough to bring this to the attention of the Prime Minister at Blair House during his visit to US during the summer of that year. He assured us all in an open meeting that his government was in favor of this charitable activity and we should have no fear of any interference from government. Incidentally, I would like to narrate my personal experience. I returned to IIT Bombay in 1994 for the first time after 27 years, having graduated in 1967. Though much had changed about the campus, and mostly for the worse, I could not help but be overcome by memories and emotions. I remember my IIT days as one of the best parts of my life! On my return to USA, I felt IIT alumni should be paying back to IITs just like they pay back to their schools in US. I made an unsolicited commitment to pay $50,000 to IIT Bombay that year. I felt that it would be seen as a good faith See less »

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Giving back to the IITs

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