From correspondents in Rajasthan, India, 08:53 PM IST

Son of the late Sri Iswar Chandra Mitra, Dr. C.R. Mitra studied at Allahabad University, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, did his Masters at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then acquired a Doctorate in Engineering Science from Columbia University, New York.

Dr. Mitra was Industrial Advisor to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and the first Director of the Harcourt Butler Technology Institute (HBTI), Kanpur. Sri G.D. Birla invited Dr. Mitra in 1969 to provide leadership to the fledgling Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) at Pilani, Rajasthan and under Dr. Mitra’s leadership BITS was transformed from an archaic institution into one that is internationally renowned. From an educational administration perspective, making BITS financially self-sufficient was a major achievement. Dr Mitra’s administrative acumen, resource mobilization and resource optimization abilities resulting in the building of a sizeable endowment for BITS Pilani are folklore among university administrators world over.

The broad based integrated educational system with strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approach at BITS Pilani to make the students graduating from BITS to be achievers apart from being dreamers was his vision. BITS alumni spread across the globe from Australia to America have no hesitation in declaring that it is the BITS Educational system pioneered by Dr CR Mitra which made them world movers and shakers.

Dr Mitra was twice the President of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and he was the first Asian to become the President of Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). Dr. C.R. Mitra was the first Indian to become a member of the MIT Corporation Visiting Committee for Chemical Engineering at MIT, an honour given sparingly to chosen awardees.

The Practice School concept analogous to Internship by medical graduates pioneered by him for all students of BITS Pilani put the entire Industrial map of India as the Practice School station map of the Institute.

To address the human resource development needs of the industry and simultaneously address the challenge of running higher degree programs at BITS Pilani, in the year 1979, Dr Mitra pioneered the M.E.(Collaborative) degrees which has today resulted in work integrated learning programs having an enrollment of about 17,000 and two thirds revenue for the Institute.

The educational reforms Dr Mitra carried out at BITS Pilani from 1969 to 1989 in terms of admissions, examination reforms, the dual degree concept, cafeteria approach to choosing electives, Industry University collaborations and many more have been the subject of several PhDs and numerous research papers.

After retiring from BITS, Pilani in 1989, Dr. Mitra started an educational consultancy, C.R. Mitra & Associates Educational Consultants Private Limited and served as an advisor to the International Institute of Educational Planning, Paris, France. He joined NIIT, Ltd. In New Delhi as its Education Advisor and this time built a novel educational institution within a profit-making, non-university organization. The NIIT Academy was created, now known for its prolific GNIIT programme. Dr. Mitra was its first President.

Dr Mitra has authored several books which include Challenge and Response towards a New Education Policy, Education for Self Reliance, Higher Education in Changing Scenarios, S & T in Action, Managing S & T and The Knowledge Enterprise: Redefining Higher Education.

CRM, as he was fondly known, is survived by his wife, Dr. Sandhya Mitra, his son, Dr. Amitava ‘Babi’ Mitra, his daughter, Dr. Anuradha Mitra Ghemawat, his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Srirupa Mitra and his two grandsons, Abhiranjan Mitra and Gautam Mitra, his son-in-law, Dr. Pankaj Ghemawat and his granddaughter, Ananya Maumita Ghemawat, his sisters, Dr. Raka Mitra and Dr. Rita Mitra and by many other relatives.

On a more personal level, Dr. Mitra comes from a family imbued in the arts, literature, music and visual arts, and was an inspiration behind Swarabitan in Allahabad. Dr. C.R. Mitra is an ardent admirer of Tagore’s writings, songs, paintings and educational experiments.

Dr CR Mitra is undoubtedly one of the greats in shaping higher education in India and his insights, his clarity of mind and his wisdom guided his colleagues and students all through.

The dynamo Diro role Dr CR Mitra played for two decades at Pilani, he will always be remembered as part of a legacy...of sharing dreams, shaping and changing the Institution for the better. He's that legacy who never dies"

Source: Press Release Distribution via India PRwire