Archive · 18 Aug 2026
IIT Kharagpur at 75, born in a former colonial prison
Before India became fully independent, its leaders wanted to build a modern country with roads, machines and new technology.
For that, they needed smart people trained in engineering and science.
So in 1951, a very special school called IIT Kharagpur was opened — it was the first Indian Institute of Technology.
The school was built on the grounds of an old prison where Indian freedom fighters had been held by British rulers.
When it first opened, it had only 224 students and 42 teachers.
Today, the school is 75 years old and people are celebrating its birthday.
Since it started, many famous and important people have studied there, including the person who leads Google.
The school became so important that the government gave it special status and made it a model for other IITs across India.
It is still one of the most famous places in India to learn engineering and science.
IIT Kharagpur, India's first Indian Institute of Technology, is marking 75 years since its formal inauguration on August 18, 1951.
The institute was inaugurated by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and grew out of a 1946 Sarkar Committee recommendation for higher technical institutions.
Its campus sits on the site of the former Hijli Detention Camp, a colonial prison where two detainees were shot by police in 1931.
IIT Kharagpur's first session in August 1951 had 224 students, 42 teachers and 10 departments, and a 1956 Act made it an institution of national importance.
Notable alumni include Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and HCL co-founder Arjun Malhotra.
- Who
- Jawaharlal Nehru's government championed the IITs, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad formally inaugurated IIT Kharagpur in 1951, and notable alumni include Sundar Pichai, Arvind Kejriwal and Arjun Malhotra.
- What
- The 75th anniversary of India's first Indian Institute of Technology, built to produce high-level engineers and researchers on the site of a former colonial detention camp.
- When
- August 18 — the anniversary of the institute's formal inauguration on August 18, 1951, 75 years earlier.
- Where
- Kharagpur, India — the institute initially operated from Calcutta before shifting to the Hijli site in September 1950.
- Why
- To meet India's post-war and post-Independence need for technical manpower and higher technical education, as recommended by the 1946 Sarkar Committee and pursued by Jawaharlal Nehru's government.
- Anniversary
- 75th anniversary, marked on August 18
- Formal inauguration
- August 18, 1951, by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
- First session
- 224 students, 42 teachers, 10 departments
- Original site
- Hijli Detention Camp, Kharagpur (began at 5, Esplanade East, Calcutta)
- Foundation stone
- Laid by Jawaharlal Nehru on March 3, 1952
- Founding recommendation
- 1946 Sarkar Committee report, headed by Nalini Ranjan Sarkar, recommending four technical institutions on the lines of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Legal status
- Institution of national importance via the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act, September 1956
- Notable alumni
- Sundar Pichai, Arvind Kejriwal, Arjun Malhotra