Sukhdev Pande

Indian academic admin

Sukhdev Pande (1893 - ? ) was an Indian academic administrator associated with the educational institutions managed by the Birla Education Trust. He guided the establishment of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) at the Vidya Vihar campus in Pilani in Rajasthan.^[1] A statue of Sukhdev Pande adorns the main doorway leading to the Auditorium in BITS.^[1] Before starting his career with Birla Education Trust, Pande was an assistant professor in Mathematics at the Benares Hindu University. As requested by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder and the first Vice-Chancellor of BHU, Pande moved to Pilani in 1929 and took charge as the Principal of the then recently established Intermediate College in Pilani. He stayed in Pilani for over 40 years and oversaw the development and transformation of the Intermediate College into the present day BITS.^[2]^[3]

In 1956, Govt of India conferred on Pande the Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for his services in the field of literature and education. He was the first person from the region of India which now constitute the Uttarakhand State in India to receive this honor.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "Statue of Padamshree, Kulpati, Lt. Cmdr. Sukh Dev". Wikimapia. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ Jossleyn Hennessy (Foreword by S. Radhakrishnan) (1955). India Democracy and Education: A Study of the Work of the Birla Education Trust. Calcutta: Orient Longmans.
^ Quarterdeck 2013 (PDF). Mumbai: Navy Foundation Mumbai Charter. pp. 80–81. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ Girish Lohani (13 May 2020). "सुखदेव पांडेय : पहला पद्मश्री पाने वाले उत्तराखंडी". Kafal Tree. Retrieved 22 February 2022.