Tribute to a great scientist and a greater VC

The passing away of Prof Palle Rama Rao in Hyderabad on October 3, at the age of 89, leaves a great void in the realm of science & technology and academic administration.

A Padma Vibhushan, Prof Rao was an internationally renowned metallurgist who taught and researched for several decades at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) before being called upon to head the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad, as its Director. Since then, he held several high positions relating to science and technology in India. He was Chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. He served with great distinction as Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, a post usually held by top civil service bureaucrats.

Of all the prestigious positions he held at the national level with such distinction, his appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad was something he personally cherished more than the others. Though the position of Vice-Chancellor of a University, in public perception, was much less for a person of Dr Rao’s stature, he considered it an opportunity to “serve the noble cause of higher education,” as he himself stated in one of his interviews. Speaking at the farewell function on his retirement as Vice-Chancellor, quoting the opening line of a song from the popular movie Shankarabharanam, he reflected his attitude to the position he held, suggesting that it was an enviable opportunity for him to serve the University of Hyderabad. “Dorakuna etuvanti seva”!

The period of his tenure as the Fifth Vice-Chancellor of the university (1999-2002) was an exceptionally bright chapter in the annals of the institution. Founded by the Central Government in 1974 as part of the six-point Formula announced by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, to allay fears of the people of Telangana when the agitation for a separate statehood started in 1969.

Prof Rama Rao’s tenure as the VC witnessed remarkable growth in the university’s academic life. As one earlier closely connected with the Government of India in several capacities, he could mobilise funds with greater ease from the government and from major funding agencies like the UGC, the ICSSR, the DST and other bodies. Many new buildings came up with the funds thus raised. The University witnessed robust growth.

The University of Hyderabad, under the leadership of Prof Rao, made a distinct mark as he encouraged and supported every department in structuring and updating courses of study, increasing the number of faculty and improving infrastructural facilities. The University departments were modelled on the lines of corporate workplaces and soon the results were also visible in the academic performance of faculty, students and staff. The crowning glory came when the university was accorded the status of “University with Potential for Excellence” (UPE) by the University Grants Commission.

Known for his gentle, accessible and non-judgemental demeanour, a rare trait among the Vice Chancellors, Prof Rama Rao was loved and held in great esteem by students, faculty and staff alike. Stories abound about the humane side of this great, compassionate administrator. Senior staff members recall the poignant scene of a family of a gardener falling at his feet with a garland in hand and holding back tears when he got out of his car, to express their gratitude as the lone bread winner’s were regularised after decades of service on a temporary basis. That gardener was one of the 130 NMR beneficiaries benefitted by the compassionate Vice-Chancellor. His humanistic attitude towards others had no parallels.

Prof Rama Rao always showed interest in trying to know new things beyond his own field of specialisation and a votary for interdisciplinary approach for learning. He was instrumental in the excavation of the ancient archaeological site near the Menhir in the campus in 2001, thus showing his respect for social sciences and humanities along with the sciences. His childlike curiosity at the artefacts unearthed was indicative of his thirst to know the historical significance of those objects.

Students remember him because he was a top scientist who never behaved like a distant bureaucrat. He heard them; he was kind and he raised the University’s academic standard. He was the first Vice-Chancellor to live on the campus in the Vice-Chancellor’s Lodge, giving a sense of identification and belonging to the University community.

As Vice-Chancellor, he had a keen sense of appreciating their academic achievements and encouraging them. As he was intimately connected with various institutions and individuals at the national level, he ensured that many UoH faculty were appointed as Vice-Chancellors of various Universities, both Central and State. The University of Hyderabad virtually became fertile ground for the recruitment of prospective University Vice-Chancellors and Directors of research institutions in the country. The profile of UoH went up high during his stewardship and its academic visibility at the national and international level considerably increased - all because of the efforts of Prof Palle Rama Rao.

Born in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh in 1937, Prof. Rao had a brilliant academic career. He took his MA in Physics from Madras University and then an MSc from Andhra University before obtaining his PhD from the Institute of Technology, Banaras (now IIT-BHU). He then went to Pennsylvania for post-doctoral research. He worked as faculty at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for a short while before joining BHU, where he served as Professor till 1982. It is amazing that this small-town boy who studied in Telugu medium till his SSLC, became a Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awardee as a young researcher.

Prof Rama Rao will be remembered for a very long time for his contributions to science, technology and the world of academics. However, it was as the Vice-Chancellor of Hyderabad’s Central University that he profoundly touched the lives of the entire University community and where his enduring legacy lives on.

(The writer is a retired Professor of History

at the University of Hyderabad)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prof K S S Seshan

[email protected]