Journalism of Courage
Sunday was a day of double celebrations at computer scientist Vijay Bhatkar’s house. It was his youngest daughter’s wedding and a few hours before the busy day came to an end came the news of him getting the Padma Bhushan. Bhatkar was too busy even to take congratulatory calls.
“So many people have been calling me since the news came out in the media. The biggest joy for me is to see that my achievement makes others so happy. Also, it’s a day of double blessing for me as this is the day my daughter is getting married,” said Bhatkar, known for his role in developing country’s supercomputer Param.
Last year, Bhatkar was appointed chairman of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. Bhatkar is an alumnus of IIT-Delhi and did his PhD from the institute in 1972. He is also the founder executive director of C-DAC, India’s national initiative in supercomputing. He has also been on the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet of Govt of India and Governing Council Member of CSIR, India. In 2000, the Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri.
Bhatkar, a father of three, said he owed a lot to the city and it was his dream to see the city shine at international level as an education and IT hub.
“Undeniably, the city has given me a lot. I came here in 1987, when we established C-DAC. Since then I have stayed here and loved it. Many of my projects were started and realised here and it has been supportive of each of them. It’s my dream to see this city come out on the international platform as an educational and IT hub,” said Bhatkar.
