The inspiring story of an IIT professor
He revolutionised wireless in local loop technology in India. He founded the TeNet group (Telecommunications and Computer Networks) at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras. And he is a professor at the Telematics and Optical Communication Lab at IIT-M. So who is he?
Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala is not just a man of many talents; he is a tenacious fighter too. For years he was campaigning against the Indian government's move to opt for an inefficient and expensive US technology, while discarding his invention of cheap phones to connect rural India. Eventually not only did the government relent, as a show of appreciation he was felicitated with the prestigious Padma Shri in 2002. He also received the Dr Vikram Sarabhai Research Award in 1997 and Shanthi Swaroop Bhatnagar Award in 1998.
As his dream to connect rural India through 200 million telephone and Internet connections continues to take shape, we take you through the journey that started years ago in Kolkata.
Growing up in Kolkata
I grew up in a large joint family in Kolkata (then Calcutta). The family was into business but my father was an advocate. My mother was a strict disciplinarian and her sense of right and wrong was grilled into me. But it was my grandmother - an extremely traditional, yet a very pragmatic woman - who played a major role in helping me take a practical approach to solving problems.
My paternal grandfather was a reformist. Whenever Hindu-Muslim tension flared up in the city, he went out and extended a helping hand to the Muslims. He along with his friend who was a judge worked hard towards maintaining communal harmony in the locality.
My maternal grandfather lived in a village in Bihar and was a Gandhian and a disciple of Vinobha Bhave. I spend most of my vacations with him, and he had a great influence on my life.
While I was still a schoolboy, India and China went to war and I remember my teachers speaking about patriotism and our duties towards the nation.
Soon after, the dreaded Naxalite movement started in West Bengal and once again one of my teachers helped me understand the various social issues from a wider perspective.
I was a good student and by the time my schooling ended, the joint family - the concept of which is still very close to my heart -- had started breaking up. It was my dream then to set up a factory so that the family remained and worked together, and there was peace, happiness and money in the family! With this plan in mind, I decided to be an engineer and like my maternal uncle, wanted to join IIT
The IIT days
I would have liked to join IIT, Khargapur as most of my friends went there. But with the Naxalite movement gaining ground the situation in West Bengal was very tense and my parents were keen to send me out of the state. So IIT-Kanpur was the next choice. It was there that my foundation of science and technology was laid. Also the hostel life, where I interacted with students from different parts of India had a great effect on me.
During this time an untoward incident happened in the family and I witnessed how a cousin of mine was harassed for dowry. I realised that the women in our society were not treated well. And even though my IIT friends agreed that something needed to be done to stop this inhuman practice we had no clue about a solution. However, we took a solemn pledge never to tread that path when we got married.
I also taught children in villages around IIT. There too I saw lot of injustice. And it was during this time that my feeling for the Naxalite movement was rekindled.
It was ironical that here I was sent away from Calcutta to escape being influenced by the Naxalite movement, and I found myself in the web right in Kanpur.
From IIT itself, I supported the movement in all possible ways. However, I did not approve of the violence that the Naxalites indulged in. I was also drawn towards the movement started by Jayaprakash Narayan.
I felt Gandhian philosophy had limitations and was influenced by the Left ideology. As a matter of fact I almost joined the Left movement.
When I graduated from IIT I realised I did not want to pursue a career in science and technology. I was more inclined towards politics and social activities. At that time my only ambition was to buy a radio to listen to music.
Going to the USA
Immediately after I graduated, Emergency was declared in India. I was in a dilemma about my future. When I got admission to the University of Maine, USA to pursue Masters and PhD programmes I decided to accept the offer.
The years in the US were very interesting. It was an immense learning experience. I learnt a lot about the environment, social movements, world politics and developing countries like Vietnam, Nicaragua and South Africa. I didn't learn much science and technology there - that I did when I came back to India. After working in the Us for a year I was back in India. I wanted enough money to support my sisters' education and marriage.
Once back I travelled for six months and mostly in Jharkhand. The experience left me quite disillusioned, as I saw no initiative to help rural India anywhere.
I then decided to join the faculty of IIT-M, as I felt it would give me enough freedom to work. My ultimate aim, however, was to join politics.
This is when I rediscovered Gandhi.
I knew entrepreneurship was the way to move forward. I along with Dr Bhaskar Ramamurthi who came from Bell Labs and Dr Timothy Gonsalves formed the TeNeT group.
We decided to work with the industry because till then the Indian academia and business never interacted. Both were suspicious of each other. Our group closely worked with the industry to develop a number of telecommunications and computer network systems.
We at TeNeT group have incubated a number of technology companies, which work in partnership with TeNeT group to develop world-class telecom and banking products for the rural markets.
The telecom revolution
My dream was to connect India and have 100 million telephones and also take the connection to rural India. From 1994 to 2001, I was working to get India connected and from 2000 onwards, it was to get rural India connected.
We have 200 million telephone connections in India today but this has not happened in rural India. In rural India all the villages need to be connected by fast Internet and mobile-- a million Internet connections and about 100 million mobile phones. I think it should become a reality by 2010.
Today, India has changed drastically, and it is a very confident country. But this self confidence and growth is only urban. If you look at rural India, it is far behind. It is one of the biggest challenges for those of us who are dealing with science and technology.
That is why we, in our group, have decided to concentrate on the needs of rural India. Most of our efforts are to provide education, healthcare and livelihood to rural India. We believe when science and technology support business, it can change the face of rural India.
My dream is to bring urban India's success story in outsourcing to the rural areas.
Powering rural India's growth
A young Saloni Malhotra (CEO of DesiCrew Services) from Delhi walked into my office two years ago after hearing me speak at a function. She was keen to work in rural India. I must say she has gone through tough times but that's part of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is all about struggling and not giving up when things don't work. After two years of struggle, she set up DesiCrew Services.
She takes work from urban India to rural India using ICT. We want small, decentralised BPOs where 15 to 20 people work, and those who work should belong to that village.
ROPE, or Rural Outsource Production Enterprise, is another company that we incubated recently. It also takes work to rural India.
In all these 25 years my students and colleagues have been a great source of inspiration. Successful enterprises are built by youngsters. We need to have big dreams. I also have dreams.
My ambition is to try and redefine what good life and growth is so that not only rural India but the whole world follows a different path, away from the path set by the industrial revolution where the issue is to acquire more and more and consume more and more resources. I want to divert the energy of youngsters to constructive reconstruction of the society.
I also have felt helpless many times. However, you sleep through the helplessness and the next day is a new beginning! We have come to this world as karma yogis.
Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala is not just a man of many talents; he is a tenacious fighter too. For years he was campaigning against the Indian government's move to opt for an inefficient and expensive US technology, while discarding his invention of cheap phones to connect rural India. Eventually not only did the government relent, as a show of appreciation he was felicitated with the prestigious Padma Shri in 2002. He also received the Dr Vikram Sarabhai Research Award in 1997 and Shanthi Swaroop Bhatnagar Award in 1998.
As his dream to connect rural India through 200 million telephone and Internet connections continues to take shape, we take you through the journey that started years ago in Kolkata.
Growing up in Kolkata
I grew up in a large joint family in Kolkata (then Calcutta). The family was into business but my father was an advocate. My mother was a strict disciplinarian and her sense of right and wrong was grilled into me. But it was my grandmother - an extremely traditional, yet a very pragmatic woman - who played a major role in helping me take a practical approach to solving problems.
My paternal grandfather was a reformist. Whenever Hindu-Muslim tension flared up in the city, he went out and extended a helping hand to the Muslims. He along with his friend who was a judge worked hard towards maintaining communal harmony in the locality.
My maternal grandfather lived in a village in Bihar and was a Gandhian and a disciple of Vinobha Bhave. I spend most of my vacations with him, and he had a great influence on my life.
While I was still a schoolboy, India and China went to war and I remember my teachers speaking about patriotism and our duties towards the nation.
Soon after, the dreaded Naxalite movement started in West Bengal and once again one of my teachers helped me understand the various social issues from a wider perspective.
I was a good student and by the time my schooling ended, the joint family - the concept of which is still very close to my heart -- had started breaking up. It was my dream then to set up a factory so that the family remained and worked together, and there was peace, happiness and money in the family! With this plan in mind, I decided to be an engineer and like my maternal uncle, wanted to join IIT
The IIT days
I would have liked to join IIT, Khargapur as most of my friends went there. But with the Naxalite movement gaining ground the situation in West Bengal was very tense and my parents were keen to send me out of the state. So IIT-Kanpur was the next choice. It was there that my foundation of science and technology was laid. Also the hostel life, where I interacted with students from different parts of India had a great effect on me.
During this time an untoward incident happened in the family and I witnessed how a cousin of mine was harassed for dowry. I realised that the women in our society were not treated well. And even though my IIT friends agreed that something needed to be done to stop this inhuman practice we had no clue about a solution. However, we took a solemn pledge never to tread that path when we got married.
I also taught children in villages around IIT. There too I saw lot of injustice. And it was during this time that my feeling for the Naxalite movement was rekindled.
It was ironical that here I was sent away from Calcutta to escape being influenced by the Naxalite movement, and I found myself in the web right in Kanpur.
From IIT itself, I supported the movement in all possible ways. However, I did not approve of the violence that the Naxalites indulged in. I was also drawn towards the movement started by Jayaprakash Narayan.
I felt Gandhian philosophy had limitations and was influenced by the Left ideology. As a matter of fact I almost joined the Left movement.
When I graduated from IIT I realised I did not want to pursue a career in science and technology. I was more inclined towards politics and social activities. At that time my only ambition was to buy a radio to listen to music.
Going to the USA
Immediately after I graduated, Emergency was declared in India. I was in a dilemma about my future. When I got admission to the University of Maine, USA to pursue Masters and PhD programmes I decided to accept the offer.
The years in the US were very interesting. It was an immense learning experience. I learnt a lot about the environment, social movements, world politics and developing countries like Vietnam, Nicaragua and South Africa. I didn't learn much science and technology there - that I did when I came back to India. After working in the Us for a year I was back in India. I wanted enough money to support my sisters' education and marriage.
Once back I travelled for six months and mostly in Jharkhand. The experience left me quite disillusioned, as I saw no initiative to help rural India anywhere.
I then decided to join the faculty of IIT-M, as I felt it would give me enough freedom to work. My ultimate aim, however, was to join politics.
This is when I rediscovered Gandhi.
I knew entrepreneurship was the way to move forward. I along with Dr Bhaskar Ramamurthi who came from Bell Labs and Dr Timothy Gonsalves formed the TeNeT group.
We decided to work with the industry because till then the Indian academia and business never interacted. Both were suspicious of each other. Our group closely worked with the industry to develop a number of telecommunications and computer network systems.
We at TeNeT group have incubated a number of technology companies, which work in partnership with TeNeT group to develop world-class telecom and banking products for the rural markets.
The telecom revolution
My dream was to connect India and have 100 million telephones and also take the connection to rural India. From 1994 to 2001, I was working to get India connected and from 2000 onwards, it was to get rural India connected.
We have 200 million telephone connections in India today but this has not happened in rural India. In rural India all the villages need to be connected by fast Internet and mobile-- a million Internet connections and about 100 million mobile phones. I think it should become a reality by 2010.
Today, India has changed drastically, and it is a very confident country. But this self confidence and growth is only urban. If you look at rural India, it is far behind. It is one of the biggest challenges for those of us who are dealing with science and technology.
That is why we, in our group, have decided to concentrate on the needs of rural India. Most of our efforts are to provide education, healthcare and livelihood to rural India. We believe when science and technology support business, it can change the face of rural India.
My dream is to bring urban India's success story in outsourcing to the rural areas.
Powering rural India's growth
A young Saloni Malhotra (CEO of DesiCrew Services) from Delhi walked into my office two years ago after hearing me speak at a function. She was keen to work in rural India. I must say she has gone through tough times but that's part of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is all about struggling and not giving up when things don't work. After two years of struggle, she set up DesiCrew Services.
She takes work from urban India to rural India using ICT. We want small, decentralised BPOs where 15 to 20 people work, and those who work should belong to that village.
ROPE, or Rural Outsource Production Enterprise, is another company that we incubated recently. It also takes work to rural India.
In all these 25 years my students and colleagues have been a great source of inspiration. Successful enterprises are built by youngsters. We need to have big dreams. I also have dreams.
My ambition is to try and redefine what good life and growth is so that not only rural India but the whole world follows a different path, away from the path set by the industrial revolution where the issue is to acquire more and more and consume more and more resources. I want to divert the energy of youngsters to constructive reconstruction of the society.
I also have felt helpless many times. However, you sleep through the helplessness and the next day is a new beginning! We have come to this world as karma yogis.
posted by sags at 6:57 AM
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