Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (1860 – 1962), more commonly known as Sir MV, was an Indian civil engineer, statesman and the 19th Diwan of Mysore, serving from 1912 to 1919.
He was the Chief Engineer of Krishna Raja Sagara dam in the north-west suburb of Mysuru city, Laxmi Talav Dam near Kolhapur in south-west Maharashtra, and also served as one of the Chief Engineers of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.
He received India's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good.
His birthday, 15 September, is celebrated as Engineers' Day in India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania in his memory.
During his service with the Government of Mysore state, he was responsible (under the patronage of the Mysore government) for the founding of Mysore Soap Factory, Parasitoid Laboratory, Mysore Iron & Steel Works (now known as Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited) in Bhadravathi, Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Bangalore, Bangalore Agricultural University, the State Bank of Mysore, Century Club, Mysore Chamber of Commerce (Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry), the Apex Chamber of Commerce in Karnataka, and numerous other industrial places.
In 1918, in response to criticisms from non-Brahmin organizations regarding Brahmin dominance in administration, the Raja of Mysore, Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, established a committee to introduce reservations for non-Brahmins in government jobs and education. M. Visvesvaraya, who was his Diwan, disagreed with the policy and resigned from his position in protest.
Visvesvaraya was born in a Telugu Brahmin family, to Mokshagundam Srinivasa Shastry and Venkatalakshmamma of Muddenahalli, whose ancestors hail from the Mokshagundam village in present-day Andhra Pradesh.
He started his primary education in Bangalore, received his BSc degree from the University of Madras, and then DCE (Diploma in Civil Engineering) from the University of Bombay through its affiliated institution and 3rd oldest Engineering College in Asia, College of Engineering, Pune.
Related resources:
M Visvesvaraya Birth Centenary Commemoration Volume
Visvesvaraya: Extracting Moonbeams from Cucumbers by BBC Radio 4, Podcast