Authored By: Swasti & Shrey Paul
History is etched into the walls of NSUT, in every brick and every worn-down sidewalk. History is not static but ever shifting, being born anew every moment. NSUT, first established in July 1983 under the name Delhi Institute of Technology was, perhaps unsurprisingly, not always the way it is today.
Did you know that the vast acres of campus that we are now so familiar with might have instead only been resigned to a measly 5 acres of land, built somewhere far away from its familiar location in Dwarka? The story of NSUT and how it came to be the way it is today will remain incomplete without the story of the man who played a vital, irreplaceable role in getting this institute to where it is today.
When in 1983, the Government decided to open four more engineering colleges in India, the only one set to be established in Delhi was under a lot of pressure to perform well due to the State lagging behind in comparison to others in terms of not just number but also quality of educational institutes.
There were, however, more than a few roadblocks on this mission to raise Delhi as a powerhouse in education. There was a ban on the creation of new posts by the Central Government at the time, rendering it practically impossible to hire anyone for any work, even down to the clerical level.
Mr. Sushil Kumar Lehri was handpicked by the Directorate of Technical Education for the role of the Project Officer of DIT, the institute that would one day blossom into NSUT. He had experience working as a civil engineer, had been the head of the civil engineering department in a Polytechnic, and had also been the Principal of a technical senior secondary school. It was the type of resume that could almost land you a basic tech job in this economy.
What exactly his role was is hard to define. “If I was asked what my job was, I would have to say any duty that came my way was my duty,” he told us. Known to others as ‘all-in-one’ or ‘multipurpose’, his job was to basically do any and every job that came into his hands, and with the restrictions in Delhi at the time for job creation, that meant a lot of jobs.
What exactly is a college? It is an interesting philosophical question, and one that was rather forcibly answered when the students started arriving and there was barely anything prepared waiting for them. A college, it was deemed, is the sum of the students that attend it. While this sounds like a great idea on the surface, it should be noted that this idea feels less grand when two batches of students are arriving and there is no library, hostel, canteen or even teachers ready for them.
The teaching staff was hired from the (then) DCE and IIT Delhi on a part-time basis. Books were purchased, and a makeshift library was prepared. Students from outside the state were made to stay temporarily in a nearby building in place of a hostel, and burners and cylinders were purchased to put together a mess. All of this was personally done and managed by Mr. Lehri. It may not have been under the job description of the Project Officer, but whenever students were in any kind of need, he says, it was his responsibility to help them out.
The familiar logo of NSUT was also designed by him. A letterhead was needed for official paperwork but due to lack of access to digital designing tools at the time, it had to be drawn by hand. To symbolise science and give the veneer of a proper technical institute, he decided to draw an atomic model as the logo. At the request of the Director, the line आ नो भद्राः क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वतः from the Vedas was added at the top, which translates to “Let noble thoughts come from all directions”. That is certainly the hope.
The relative uncommonness of the practice of ragging to this day in our college could also be credited to him. While overseeing the first batches of DIT, he devised his own means to take care of ragging. All the staff was instructed to bring any two students they spotted alone, especially a senior with a junior, straight to his office where they were enquired. The ripples of this simple practice that was enough of a deterrent even back then, can still be felt in the culture of the college to this day.
For the campus location, one of the options offered was near the runway of the IGI Airport. Many factors such as the restriction on the height of the buildings and the possibility of the use of certain electronic and signal producing devices being banned due to the proximity with the airport made this an unfavourable choice. In such a case he staunchly refused to accept the location, arguing that the proximity to the airport was a possible source of danger to the students.
He also put his foot down when a meagre 5 acres of land was allocated, saying it would leave no scope for expansion of academic blocks or leisure. After several refusals, it was settled that the college would be built on 145 acres of land in Dwarka, the vast green campus we are fortunate to leave our comfortable homes at 6 am to come to today.
It is not an exaggeration to claim that Mr. Lehri was truly involved in each and every detail of establishing the college. Saying ‘no’ was not something he ever believed in. Whatever task came his way, he took it head on, made it his duty to finish it and made justifying his involvement not a priority.
His workload was so overwhelming that he refused to take even his government provided leaves. He talked about how his family used to complain that they could never go anywhere since he was always busy with work. Even when the government switched to a 5 day week and made Saturdays a holiday, he continued coming to college and working while other institutes were closed. An average workday for him started at 10 am and ended at 10 pm. It is heartwarming to know that his legacy is kept alive by those handful of day scholars who never go home early and somehow seem to spend more time in college than even the hostelers.
Near the end of the interview, when asked if he had any message for the students, he laughed at the question. “I have only one humble request for the students, and it is to break free from your shell and take challenges head on. You read my story, and how I faced the responsibilities that came my way. If I had refused, I would not have the exposure that I have to this day. You all are new to adulthood, and college is the best place to gain experience and make memories. Just try to not hesitate when you have an opportunity to step out of your comfort zone, because these will be the days you look back on fondly in the future.”