Chennai’s founding, 369 years ago today

This is the story of the beginning of Chennai, the founding of a city. On this day, August 22, in 1639, British Administrator Francis Day is reported to have received the grant for privileges in Medraspatam, as it was referred to then. It was officially ‘granted’ that day, and the rest, too, is history.

According to Vestiges of Old Madras by Henry Davison Love, the Naik’s grant, probably drafted by Day, was delivered with a letter signed by Day. Three copies are extant, but only one bears a date, 22nd July 1639, where July is probably a slip for August, since Day did not reach Madras until July 27, Love noted. The original document relating to the grant of the Fort St. George site to the British East India Company is said to have been signed at Chandragiri Fort in what is now in Andhra Pradesh.

The original text of the grant read thus:

‘The firman granted Mr. Day for privileges in Medrasspatam by the Nague Damela Vintutedra.

(O.C. No. 1690, 22nd July

{ ?Aug }, 1639 )

‘Firman granted by Damela Vintatedro Nague unto Mr. francis Day, Cheife for the English In Armagon, in behalfe of the Honble company for their tradeing and fortifieing at Medraspatam, to this effect as followeth:-

‘Whereas Mr. Francis Day, Captain of the English at Armagon, upon great hopes by reason of our promises offten made unto him, hath repaired to our port of Medraspatam and had personall Conference with us on behalfe of the Company of that Nation, Concerning their trading in our territories and friendly comerce with our subjects ; wee out of our spetiall Love and favour to the English, doe grant unto the said Captain, or whomsoever shall bee deputed to Idgitate the affaires of that company, by vertue of this firman , Power to direct and order the building of a fort and Castle in or about Medraspatam, as they shall thinke most Convenient , the Charges whereof, until fully and wholly finished to bee defrayed by us, but then to bee repaied when the said English shall first make their enterance to take possession thereof. And to make more full Expression of our effection to the English Nation, wee Doe Confirme unto the said Mr. Francis Day, or whatsoever other Substitutes or Agents for that Company, full power and authority to governe and dispose of the Government of Madraspatam for the terme and space of two yeares. Next Insueing affter they shall be seated there and possest of the said fortifications; and for the future by an Equall Division to receive halfe the Custom and revenuewes of that port.

‘Moreover, Whatsoever goods or Merchandize the English Company shall either Import or Export, forasmuch as Concernes the dutyes and Customes of Medraspatnam, they shall not only for the Prementioed two years in which they injoy the government , but for ever after, be Custom free. Yett if they shall Transport or bring any commodities up into, or through my Countray, then shall they pay halfe the dutyes that other Merchants pay, whether they buy or sell the said Commodities either in my Dominions or in those of any other Nague whatsoever.

‘Also that the said English Company shall perpetually Injoy the privileges of mintage(e) without paying any Dewes or dutyes whatsoever, more then the ordinary wages or hire unto those that shall Quoyne the moneyes.

‘Iff the English shall Accquaint us before they deliver out any moneys to the Merchants, Painters, Weavers &c, which are or shall hereafter reside in our prementioned port or territories, and take our word for their sufficcency and honest dealeing, then doe wee promise, in case those people faile in their performances, to make good to the English all such sumes of money as shall remaine on their Accounts, or Else deliver them their persons, if they sahllbe found in any part of my territories.

‘That whatsoever provisions the English shall buy in my Countrey, either for their fort or ships, they shall not be liable to pay any Custom or Dutyes for the same.

‘And if any shipp or vessell belonging to the English ( or to any other Countray whatsoever which tradeth or shall come to trade at that port) shall by misadventure suffer shipwrack and bee driven upon any part of my territories, they shall have restitution upon Demand of whatsoever can bee found remaining of the said wrack.

Dated the 22th July, 1639.’

GUIDELINE - ENJAMBAKKAM

What it was to be in the first batch at IIT-M

Today, they are CEOs, professors, scientists and entrepreneurs, proud of being the first graduates of what is now a global brand name. On Thursday, IIT-M began its golden jubilee year. However, half a century ago, the 92 B.Tech students who made up the first batch at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras were taking a chance on an unknown institution.

“I applied after seeing a small news item in The Hindu. My uncle recommended that I apply to this new institute rather than the more established CEG [College of Engineering], Guindy. My mother was so angry with him for sending me off to a jungle,” laughs S. Srinivasan.

The jungle was untouched in those days, with no buildings on campus ready for the first batch of students. “Back then, IIT existed in the minds of the planners and its physical presence was discerned in the borrowed classrooms of AC Tech,” said Mallik Putcha, writing in a campus paper a quarter of a century later. Students lived at the old Presidency College women’s hostel in Saidapet. “We used to cycle from there and cross the Adyar river by boat. I remember the ride used to cost us about 25 paise a week,” remembers R. Mahadevan.

There was no entrance examination, but one’s PUC (pre-university certificate) marks and performance at an intensive interview determined entry. “That interview was tougher than any JEE,” says Mr. Srinivasan. Dr. Mahadevan remembers that understanding the accent of the German professors on the panel was one of the tougher parts of the interview. “Dr. Koch, who taught Physics, would tell us we must learn to ‘sink’. It was some time before we realised he meant ‘think’,” says Dr. Mahadevan.

The German influence went beyond language mishaps.

They focussed on practical exercises, going so far as to insist on a week of workshop to follow every week of classroom teaching. Open book examinations, the importance given to analytical ability versus rote learning, and the ‘surprise tests’ for continuous evaluation made the IIT system different from its contemporaries, says Mr. Srinivasan.

After the first year, the students moved to the current campus to start classes at the Civil Engineering building and begin life at Cauvery hostel. “We lived with a cross-section of India, learning due to the cultural confluence,” says Dr. Mahadevan, recalling how they got used to a few days of familiar South Indian food, followed by Bengali or North Indian cuisine. In July 1964, the first graduates of IIT-M were given their degrees by the then President, S. Radhakrishnan, followed by dinner hosted by staff at the High Voltage lab. They have gone on to do their country proud.

Dr. Mahadevan went on to complete his Ph.D at IIT-M before joining India Pistons as a management trainee. Today, he is a director at the same company. Dr. Putcha went on to become a software engineer with Boeing at the NASA International Space Station.

Mr. Srinivasan worked with IBM, playing another role in IIT-M history by installing its first large mainframe computer in 1970. He taught at his alma mater for a stint before starting his own company in 1986.

Chennai Airport plans get clearance

The Chennai airport modernisation project undertaken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) got an approval from the Public Investment Board (PIB) today. The project now awaits the approval of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs. Work on the airport modernisation is expected to begin by September this year.

The Rs 1,808-crore development project, which was mooted by the government in April 2007, would enhance the annual passenger handling capacity of the airport by more than 150 per cent from 9 million currently to 23 million. The project plans include enhancing the international terminal by October 2010, apart from building a new domestic terminal.

Eighty per cent of the project will be funded through internal resources of the AAI, while the rest will be through commercial borrowings

Ashok Leyland mulls new product range

Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship company, is planning to replace its existing products with new ones by 2012-13.



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Unveiling the new platform for commercial trucks and engine in Chennai, R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland, said the induction of new products would start by 2010 and is expected to be complete by 2012-13.

Though there has been a slowdown in the commercial vehicle segment due to a credit crunch, Ashok Leyland has no intentions of holding back its investments. The new platform, called Unitruck, which is 49 tonne GCW (gross combination weight) from 16 tonne GVW (gross vehicle weight)earlier, will cater to both domestic and international markets, said Seshasayee.

This on and off-highway platform variants can be created for different geographical locations, road/load conditions, applications and legislative requirements, he added.

The Unitruck range will feature new-generation cabs initially. These modular cabs will be available in multiple widths, heights, lengths and other features.

The company also introduced the ‘Neptune’ engine, which has modular capacity, ranging from 4.7-litre to 8-litre Bharat Stage (BS)-3 and BS-5, and conforms to Euro-4 emission norms. Moreover, it can be upgraded to Euro-V. All new vehicles of Ashok Leyland will have the Neptune engine, Seshasayee said.

The price advantage of products developed in India would be 1:4, he said. However, he pointed out that the unit cost difference would not be the same, as global original equipment makers (OEMs) source their products from developing markets.

Vandalur Guideline values 2008

Manmohan government wins trust vote

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on Tuesday won the trust vote in the Lok Sabha by a margin of 19 votes after a two-day debate, often marked by acrimony and allegations. The ruling coalition secured 275 votes as against 256 by the Opposition. As many as 10 members were absent or abstained from voting.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the outcome as “a convincing victory” for the UPA government, the Congress and the supporting parties. “This will send a message to the world at large that India is prepared to take its rightful place in the comity of nations,” Dr. Singh told journalists after he emerged from the Parliament House.

“I thank all leaders of UPA, supporting parties, all Congress men and women who have worked unitedly with single-minded pursuit for this impressive victory,” he said.

On the other hand, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) described it as “corrupt victory” and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said that it was a “sad day” for democracy.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader and U.P. Chief Minister Mayawati blamed the BJP for the UPA’s victory. “It is not a victory of the UPA but the result of the politics by the UPA and the NDA,” she asserted.

The Prime Minister could not give his reply in the House at the end of the debate as BJP members constantly chanted slogans, demanding his resignation in the wake of allegations of bribery. The proceedings were curtailed after the BJP members made dramatic allegations of some of them were bribed, and produced wads of currency notes in the House to support their case.

Asked for his comments on the sensational disclosures, Dr. Singh told journalists that the matter was with the Speaker and “we will cooperate with him” in taking necessary action in accordance with the provisions of law. “These developments have made me sad,” he added.

When the House reassembled at 6.30 p.m. after a series of adjournments, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee allowed smaller parties to make their brief interventions but these were drowned in the bouts of sloganeering and chants by the BJP members.

Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Muslimeen and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference could hardly be heard. Mr. Abdullah said there was no distinction between Muslims and Indians. The “real enemies are not nuclear deals like these but poverty, hunger, unemployment and lack of development,” the NC leader, who was Minister in the NDA regime said. He also referred to the Amarnath Yatra controversy and asserted that the pilgrimage, continuing for the past century, would continue as long as Kashmiris and Muslims remained in Srinagar and the Valley.

Other speakers from the smaller parties included Ranjeeta Ranjan of the Lok Jan Shakti Party, Hemlal Murmu of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, M.P. Veerendra Kumar of the JD(S), and Mehbooba Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party.

As the Prime Minister was not allowed to give his reply, it was laid on the table of the House and the Speaker moved on to the voting on the trust motion. Within seconds, the electronic score board displayed 253 votes in favour of the UPA government, 232 against it and two abstentions. Though the Speaker announced the result nearly an hour after that, Congress members and allies were seen walking up to the Prime Minister and congratulating him and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Oppn take stock of cross-voting,abstentions

nives were out in the Opposition camp to deal with MPs who cross-voted and abstained that helped the UPA government to win the trust vote with the BJD in Orissa setting the ball rolling expelling one MP.

Harihar Swain was expelled by Orissa's Biju Janata Dal(BJD), a constituent of NDA, for violating the party whip by voting in favour of the confidence motion.

BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in Bhbaneshwar that proceeedings will be started to disqualify Swain from Lok Sabha membership. Swain is a known detractor of Patnaik. When contacted, Swain said he voted according to his 'inner voice'.

The TDP would initiate disciplinary action against two of its MPs - D K Adikeshavulu Naidu and M Jagannadham - who had defied the party and voted in favour of the UPA Government, party leader K Yerran Naidu said in Hyderabad.

Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) is seeking an explanation from its lawmaker who abstained.

Akali Dal General Secretary Daljit Singh Cheema said the party has served a notice seeking an explanation from its MP Sukhdev Singh Libra who abstained from voting.

Fifteen MPs from the opposition including five from the BJP voted for the government while another nine MPs including four from the saffron party either abstained or absented.

Besides five MPs from BJP and 2 MPs each from TDP and MDMK, one MP each from BJD, JD-S,JD-U, TRS, NPF and NLP voted for the government. The government got 275 votes against opposition tally of 256. Nine MPs abstained.

Tata Steel makes it to Fortune 500 list

ELITE CLUB
Company

Rank
Indian Oil 116
Reliance 206
BPCL 287
HPCL 290
ONGC 335
Tata Steel 353
SBI 380

Govt unveils IAEA agreement

The official version of the India-specific safeguards agreement currently submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says India "may take corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted operation of its civilian nuclear reactors in the event of disruption of foreign fuel supplies." The draft agreement after being available at a Washington based think tanks website for over 24 hours was made available on the Ministry of External Affairs official website an hour ago.

This clause is the only departure from a standard Information Circular 66/Rev 2, that will permit countries in the IAEA to allow India to conclude a safeguards agreement, the first step in operationalising the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement.

The clause is important and will have to be negotiated because IAEA countries will want to know what these ‘corrective measures' will be and how they will be
put into operation. The government of India has told the US it would need
guarantees that fuel supplies would not be interrupted, because it wants to avoid a repeat of the experience in the 1970s and 1990s when, because it carried out tests, the Western nations suspended supply of enriched uranium.