India, Sept. 16 -- On September 15, the 164th birthday of one of the sharpest minds of old Mysore, Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (Sir MV), was commemorated by the political establishment with the usual speeches. It was also celebrated, perhaps more reverently, by a large subgroup of Indian professionals, many of them graduates of colleges in Bangalore, who look up to Sir MV not so much for his considerable administrative achievements as Diwan of Mysore (1912-1918) as for his belief in, commitment to, and excellence at their own branch of study - engineering. (Since 1967, Sir MV's birthday has been commemorated as Engineers' Day.)

With his ringing declaration 'Industrialise or perish!' Sir MV placed himself squarely in the cr...