http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090225/jsp/nation/story_10587521.jsp

New Delhi, Feb. 24: The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has told the Centre it is willing to lose its engineering wing to allow the institute's conversion into an IIT.

Under pressure from agitating students who fear the promised IIT tag may prove elusive, the BHU has written to the human resource development ministry saying it has no objections to a cleavage from its Institute of Technology (IT), The Telegraph has learnt.

The UPA government last year announced plans to start eight new IITs and convert the BHU wing, IT-BHU, into an IIT.

But concerns raised at a January 28 meeting of the IIT Council that a separation from IT-BHU would hurt the university, one of India's oldest, led to the government temporarily shelving the promised conversion. The concerns were first reported by The Telegraph.

Nuclear scientist R. Chidambaram, member of the Prime Minister's Scientific Advisory Council, had argued that IT-BHU must retain its link to BHU.

"Our letter to the HRD ministry, we hope, will help clarify concerns that arose as a consequence of the delay in the upgrade of IT-BHU into an IIT," a BHU official said.

A copy of the letter has also been sent to IT-BHU, where students went on protests against the ministry's move to place the promise of conversion in deep freeze.

Vice-chancellor D.P. Singh is also learnt to have verbally communicated the university's support for the upgrade at a meeting with HRD minister Arjun Singh last Friday.

Over a hundred students from IT-BHU have been camping in Delhi since February 10, petitioning top politicians across party lines to pressure the government into fulfilling its promise. "We didn't ask for an IIT tag. But once the government has promised, it is duty-bound to convert IT-BHU into an IIT," said Saurabh Kumar, a first-year computer science student.

Kumar and his friends have met Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh from the Congress, BJP chief Rajnath Singh and CPM leader Brinda Karat. They plan to meet railway minister Lalu Prasad, too.

"Each day, we spread out in groups to meet as many MPs as possible. By night, we have to look for a roof over our heads," said Vikas Kumar Pandey, a second-year electrical engineering student.

Several of his classmates, Kumar claimed, had joined the institute under the impression that the conversion would come through.

Many chose IT-BHU over the six new IITs started last year because of the institute's pedigree, coupled with the confidence that their degrees would bear the IIT stamp, Kumar claimed.

16) Background notes of Ministry of Human Resource and Development at the Editor's Conference on Social Sector issues - 2009 held from February 03 to February 05,2009
From page 35 on this note,

Creation of two new IITs in Himachal Pradesh and in Madhya Pradesh (Indore) and conversion of Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU) are proposed from the next academic session 2009-10. An allocation of Rs.2000 crores has been provided in the XI Plan. Entire amount of Rs. 50 crores provided in B.E-2008-2009 has been released.

15) Press release from IT-BHU alumni association with latest updates dated Feb 20, 2008
Please download the updates here [PDF].

14) Demand for IIT status for IT-BHU gets boost

Press Trust of India / New Delhi February 20, 2009, 14:17 IST

The process of upgrading Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU) to a full fledged IIT has gathered momentum after the HRD Ministry prepared a detailed proposal on the issue.

The Ministry of HRD has prepared a detailed proposal for approval of Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) for converting IT-BHU into an IIT.

"The EFC note is ready. After EFC clearance, it will be sent to Cabinet for approval," a senior ministry official told PTI here.

About 500 alumni, students and teachers of the institute recently came to Delhi and launched a campaign in support of their demand. The students and teachers met HRD Minister Arjun Singh, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and about 120 MPs and apprised them about their demand.

They were assured that their demand would be fulfilled very soon, Puneet Bindish, an alumni, said.

The government has started six new IITs in the current session, while it will start two others in 2009-10 session. IT-BHU will be an addition to the list if it is given the IIT status.

IIT status for IT-BHU has been long standing demand of the institute. Earlier, S K Joshi committee in 2003 had recommended that seven technical institutions, including IT-BHU and Zakir Hussain College under AMU, should be upgraded to IITs.

The government has been mulling over the proposal for long, but no decision was taken yet.

Meanwhile, students from Zakir Hussain College under Aligarh Muslim University have demanded IIT status for their institute. They are of the view that it is a premier college and has played a pioneering role in promoting technical education in the country.

13) Rahul Gandhi assures BHU-IT students of early IIT status

Varanasi, Feb 19: The Congress General Secretary and MP Rahul Gandhi has assured the Institute of Technology- Banaras Hindu University students that their demand of IIT status for IT-BHU will be fulfilled very soon.

The students of the Institute who returned here after meeting him at New Delhi on Wednesday told media that Gandhi heard them patiently and assured that he will try his best to get the bill granting IIT status to the Institute placed before the parliament in the present session itself, however he added that it was a little too late this time.

Gaurav, a student who met Gandhi claimed that he was already aware of the issue and promised to get the bill through the parliament or get the status through even a government notification if the passage of the bill was not possible in the present brief session.

Chetan, another student of the delegation said, "We have met several top bureaucrats, ministers and politicians at New Delhi to achieve our goal and we are hopeful that now the issue could not be at least shelved."

The students and teachers who visited the capital said that the IIT amendment Act is pending in the Law Ministry for certain clarifications and as soon as it gets law ministry's clearance it may get the government's final nod.

Meanwhile the Director of the IT-BHU, Prof S N Upadhyay%

3 Comment(s) (The views expressed here are those of the commenters, and ITBHUGlobal.org is not responsible for them.)

 Manoj said:

Jagran link update about discussion with HRD and our Director statement.
http://in.jagran.yahoo.com/news/local/uttarpradesh/4_1_5235929.html

February 13, 2009 10:43 PM

 Anonymous said:

breaking news ...

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090215/jsp/nation/story_10537919.jsp

The Aligarh Muslim University has demanded an IIT tag for its engineering wing, thrusting on the government a political dilemma at a time it has shelved the promise of an IIT to another university.

The human resource development ministry is evaluating a proposal submitted earlier this month to upgrade the Aligarh university’s Zakir Hussein College of Engineering and Technology to an IIT, The Telegraph has learnt.

Junior HRD minister M.A.A. Fatmi, it is learnt, is keen that the university’s demand be met and ministry officials are to discuss its merits on Monday, government sources said.

Just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls where the UPA is counting heavily on minority support, few in the government want to upset the AMU, its students or those backing the demand, the sources said.

But the AMU demand has come within days of the IIT Council striking down a government promise to upgrade the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU), to an IIT.

The IIT Council is the highest executive body of the tech schools and the HRD ministry has decided to adhere to its view on the IT-BHU upgrade, leading to protests on the campus.

“In such a scenario, granting the AMU college IIT status, when it was not even on our radar, will be hard to explain to the BHU and its students,” a top HRD ministry official said.

But AMU vice-chancellor P.K. Abdul Azis said: “We believe the Zakir Hussein College deserves autonomy from the university and IIT status in particular. If the government can promise the IT-BHU the status of an IIT, we believe the ZHCET can also qualify.”

February 15, 2009 3:44 AM

 santosh said:

but till now there is no verbal assurance from HRD or Rahul Gandhi

February 20, 2009 5:20 AM