Bijendra Nath Jain
For, it was his proposal that gave shape to ERNet, the first data network in the country which finally brought India on the internet map in 1989. You may get fooled by his staccato, matter-of-fact way of talking that he is probably an android. But dig a little deeper and you will find a heart beating with love, excitement and rebellion.
not think highly of it at the time and rejected the proposal. Luckily, I had made Dr. N Seshagiri, Director, Department of Electronics, a collaborator on the project. He was beginning to work on networks and had a copy of my proposal. He was obviously much smarter than I was, and converted the proposal into a nationwide project for $6mn. The proposal was accepted this time and received funding from the Government of India and the UNDP in 1986,” informs Jain. Along with developers from other institutions (IITs, IISc and NCST), Jain worked on this project and helped launch the first data network in the country -- the ERNet in 1989. “We were the 14th country in the world to join the network. It was exciting and difficult. We had sent out the first emails in the country and I was teaching everybody how they could benefit from the net. When we introduced email application to students, they were on it much faster than the teachers,” reminisces Jain. Jain’s love for research and technology took root during his student years at IIT Kanpur. At the time, the institute was doing really well with the Kanpur IndoAmerican Programme working perfectly. They had the best equipment in their labs. Most of the professors had been trained in North America and were brilliant and inspiring. “I think once you are in contact with brilliant people, it’s natural to be drawn into doing creative work and research. My professors, Dr R. N. Biswas and Dr T. R. Viswanathan, were the best I have ever known. Their love for the subject and teaching inspired many students to take the research route,” says Jain.
Breathing Technology
A War & A Rebel
Not many are aware that Jain was the first to propose a data network, more popularly known as the internet, for India. He had just returned from Austin, Texas, in 1983, and realised that India needed an infrastructure for data networks. “I wrote a proposal for a $1mn research grant to be funded by the United Nation’s Development Fund (UNDP). Unfortunately, the ministry did
Inspired by their professors, many students thus headed to North America for postgraduate studies. Jain was among the lucky few who got full scholarship to study at SUNY, Stony Brook (NY). It is difficult to imagine now that Jain once sported long hair, was part of a meal plan with four students – two Indians, one from Trinidad and a Chinese – who cooked by rotation, and participated in
fact file Name: Bijendra Nath Jain Current ENGAGEMENT: Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani things he likes: Book: Reads only those on technology Movie: Three Idiots Holiday Destination: Any quiet place Pastime: Surfing the internet Cuisine: Chinese Music: Golden oldies from 60s and 70s His little secret: Loves clicking away on his autofocus camera; can’t stop when on a vacation with family
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protest marches against the Vietnam war. At the time in early 1970s, Vietnam protest movement was at its peak. Young people in the US as well as in other countries were joining the movement. “We were not disenchanted with the research system, irrespective of what was happening in Vietnam, but we were sure that we did not want to stay on in the US.”The fact that teachers like Biswas and Viswanathan had returned from the US, also helped Jain decide that India was a great place to go back to. Within a week of finishing his PhD in 1975, Jain flew back to India. He had applied to a few places like IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur and ISRO for a teaching post. IIT Delhi was one of the first to respond. “When I met Professor Mahalanobis, head of the department at IIT Delhi, I told him that I had to go back to Meerut, my home town, and would join after 10 days. He insisted that I join immediately and then take leave for 10 days. It was amazing to see his focus on getting the right people,” Jain recounts. This was Jain’s first exposure to the art of getting the right faculty, something that he would become an expert at in later years. “IIT Kanpur and ISRO were still considering my application and had not yet reached a decision. IIT Kanpur was passing through a rough phase and everything went slow there. I finally got an offer from them in July 1975, but by then it was too late,” he says.
Love at Sweet Sixteen It was soon after joining IIT Delhi that Jain decided to tie the knot with his childhood sweetheart Madhu. Jain smiles at the memory of how he met his wife and says, “I have known my wife since I was 16.” Jain’s father was an engineer in the Army and throughout his childhood, Jain barely spent two years in one place, travelling all over India. The family was in Bareilly when Jain was in class 10. When his father got transferred bang in the middle of the academic year, Jain was sent to stay with a family friend. In class 11, Jain tried to get admission into another school in Meerut, but not succeeding, he returned to stay with the July 2011 EduTech
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