Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, situated in Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, was the first of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), a network of autonomous public engineering, technology and research universities in India established under the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961. It was founded in May 1950 on the site of the former Hijli Detention Camp in Kharagpur. The name 'Indian Institute of Technology' was adopted before its formal inauguration on 18 August 1951 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. On 15 September 1956, the Parliament of India passed the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act, declaring it an Institute of National Importance. In the same year, Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, delivered the first convocation address, describing the institute as a monument representing India's future. IIT Kharagpur served as the model for subsequent IITs established at Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, and Delhi, following recommendations of the Sarkar Committee to prevent regional imbalance in the country's technical education landscape.