Statue of Padamshree, Kulpati, Lt. Cmdr. Sukh Dev Pande (Pilani)

India / Rajasthan / Pilani
 institute, education, hinduism, farm land / agricultural area
A statue of Padamshree, Kulpati, Lt. Cmdr. Sukh Dev Pande is located directly below the clock tower in the main doorway leading to the BITS Pilani auditorium.

BITS Pilani started out as a “pathshala” in 1900 with the primary goal of educating G.D. Birla and his brothers as well as 30 other village children. By 1929 the pathshala had grown into an Intermediate College with 275 students. But it was unable to attract and keep teaching staff who came and left in quick succession including 5 Principals between 1927 and 1929.

So in 1929 GD Birla turned to his friend Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya the Vice-Chancellor and founder of Banaras Hindu University and asked him to find a new Principal for Pilani. Malviyaji recommended Pande who was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at BHU at the time. Pande refused to go saying his place was not in a private institution but at the BHU. But Malviyaji insisted that Pande had to go eventually causing Pande to accept the assignment for a year, saying "You are my guru, I must go if you insist".

Pande eventually stayed in Pilani for 40 years. Several hundred village schools were established. The current Vidya Vihar campus was planned and built. The many schools in Pilani and in other places like Nainital (Birla Vidyamandir, Birla Balika Vidyapeeth etc.) were started.

Finally before Pande retired the Birla Engineering College was merged with the Birla College of Arts and Science to create BITS.

After Pande's retirement, BITS was moved from under the umbrella of the Birla Education Trust and became an independent entity as it is today.

For a detailed history of the Birla Education Trust and the many institutions that it built including BITS Pilani refer to INDIA DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION by Jossleyn Hennessy (Forward by S. Radhakrishnan, Vice-President of India), Orient Longmans, 1955. It is available in the BITS, Central Library.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   28°21'49"N   75°35'13"E

Comments

  • We are very proud and grateful to such a great personality and would be more happy to know about shri sukhdev pande not only before retirement but after retirement life and family,if possible.
  • SukDev Pande started "Uttrakhand Seva Nidhi". Sukdev Pant was a great mathematician Sukhdev Pant was married to famous novelist Gaura Shivani Pant. Writer Mrinal Pande is her daugher who is married
  • This information is wrong.I checked on the internet.Do you know late S D PANDE family in person?
This article was last modified 12 years ago