Background: Sometimes in late 1957, before I had joined as Principal of Ajmer Polytechnic, Masuda House was seen by a team of officers of Directorate of Technical Education during a short visit of the Chief Minister of Rajasthan to Ajmer. At that time, Masuda House was found to be a suitable place for the establishment of the Ajmer Polytechnic. Rao Sahib of Masuda was willing to transfer Masuda House to the government and the Chief Minister had given a go ahead signal for the deal. Consequently, formal proposals were moved by the Director of Technical Education to the Government and the proposal was in process with the government. In the meantime, I took over as Principal of Ajmer Polytechnic and although, Rao Sahib of Masuda was very supportive, I had a feeling, that, Masuda House was not the best choice for the ultimate development and long term interests of Ajmer Polytechnic. That was the time, when Commissioner of Ajmer Division gave an indication that the sprawling lands and buildings of Khatriya Vidyapeeth could become available for the establishment of Ajmer Polytechnic. A proposal had already gone to the government for the acquisition of Khastriya Vidyapeeth for the the establishment of a research centre of agriculture department and the proposal was in process with the government. As chance had it, agriculture department finally decided to locate their research centre at their Tabizi Farm and the commissioner of Ajmer Division sent a word that Khastriya Vidyapeeth complex was available for the establishment of Ajmer Polytechnic. I was young and I was classified as head of department of the Government of Rajasthan and therefore, I lost no time to write a letter to the Chief Secretary of the Government of Rajasthan, stating that the land and buildings of Khastriya Vidyapeeth provided excellent opportunities for the establishment and healthy growth of Ajmer Polytechnic. I also added, that, if Masuda house is acquired for the establishment of Ajmer Polytechnic, the state government may lose something of the order of Rs 20 lacs for the acquisition of about 20 acres of land for supplementing the outdoor activities of the polytechnic. The commissioner of Ajmer Division supported the proposal by writing a formal letter to the Secretary of the Education Department.
Ups and downs: VG Garde, Principal of MBM Engineering College and Director of Technical Education of Rajasthan was held in high esteem by Mohan Lal Sudhadia, who was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan at that time. Normally, the Chief Minister used to discuss all problems and bottlenecks of MBM Engineering College and Technical Education in quarterly meetings held at his residence with Principal Garde. The chief secretary used to process all the pending cases, before the meeting and presented those cases in the meeting, which required the intervention of the chief minister. Incidentally, my letter about the land and buildings of Khrashtria Vidyapeeth reached the chief secretary a few days before the scheduled meeting between the Chief Minister and Principal Garde and naturally, the chief secretary included it as one of the items for discussion between them. All that I know, is that I got a sharp stinker from the government and the director. I was told, that, when my letter landed at Jaipur, the chief minister was trying to finalize the case of Masuda House and my letter to the chief secretary is likely to delay the process of establishment of Ajmer Polytechnic by three to four years. On the home front, the commissioner of Ajmer Division advised me to forget about it and to start looking for other suitable sites for the location of Ajmer Polytecnic.
Fresh search begins: That was sometime in February 1959. Mid-term examinations of Ajmer Polytechnic were over. The annual games and sports meet and the prize distribution were over and the second term of first batch had just begun at Lodha Building. Collector of Ajmer was very helpful. He directed the Tehsildar to show to me all possible sites, where sufficient government land was available. Ajmer city was surrounded on all sides by hills and there was almost no possibility of finding about 100 acres of land within the city. However, sufficient land was available beyond Ghoghra Ghati on Kishangarh Jaipur road. At that time, it was all jungle. There was no habitation, no electricity and no water and there were no prospects of development in that area for some years to come. However, the choice was between that land or Masuda House. I had already ruled out Masuda house and therefore, the nod for the land on Ghoogra Ghati seemed to be the only alternative. Incidentally, Principal Garde was expected to come to Ajmer within a few days for some interviews of Rajasthan Public Service Commission, which had its office at Ajmer. During the visit of Principal Garde to Ajmer, I requested him to have a look at the lands and buildings of Khastriya Vidyapeeth. I was a student of Principal Garde, when he was an assistant professor at Roorkee and he continued to treat me like that during my ten years association with him in Rajasthan. On our way to Khastriya Vidyapeeth, he made me understand clearly, that, the proposed lands and buildings of Khastriya Vidyapeeth were not good for the establishment and growth of Ajmer Polytechnic and in the process, enumerated atleast eight to ten points for rejecting the proposal. However, when we reached there, I showed to him the unfinished building, green fields, open wells and lastly made him climb to the top of a local hill in the complex. Fresh breeze, sprawling green fields and the shining structure of the building from the hilltop kept him spell bound for a moment. He could see that the soil was good and fertile, water was plentiful and the unfinished building was an excellent structure. During our return journey he told me to send a fresh proposal for the acquisition of land and buildings of Khastriya Vidyapeeth and dictated to me, specific points to be mentioned. It goes to the credit of Principal Garde that he had told the chief minister in his last meeting that Masuda House was the only place, where Ajmer Polytechnic could be established. On return from Ajmer he wrote to the government that Masuda House was the only place, where Ajmer Polytechnic could not be located.
Finale of the crumbling deal: When the revised proposal for acquisition of Khastriya Peeth Complex reached the government, the collector of Ajmer got a message from Jaipur to find out, why such a big complex was needed for Ajmer Polytechnic. Incidentlally, Mohan Mukerji, who ultimately rose to the rank of Chief Secretary was the Collector of Ajmer at that time. I gave him a detailed layout plan for the development of academic, residential and outdoor activities of Ajmer Polytechnic and told him that at Roorkee, we had 400 acres of land for a total student strength of 100, with liberal facilities for residential accommodation and outdoor games and sports. He was soon reminded about his days at Rangoon, where he spent most of his youth, with liberal outdoor games and sports facilities in his institution. After a few exchanges with Jaipur, he finally told them that he had a number of government projects in hand and will accommodate Masuda House in one of those projects and recommended that Ajmer Polytechnic may be allowed to take the possession of Khastriya Vidyapeeth Complex.
We lost no time in taking possession of the buildings and lands of Khastriya Vidyapeeth. Tehsildar of Ajmer initiated the valuation proceedings. Khastriya Vidyapeeth was represented by Bhagwati Prasad Beri, who ultimately rose to the rank of Chief Justice of Rajasthan and I appeared as the representative of the state government. As a result we got about 125 acres of land, 10000 sft of built up area, eight wells, 7 bullocks, three carts, pumping sets and other ancillary equipment for a total valuation of Rs 3.25 lacs. All that provided a tremendous boost to our efforts and we started looking forward for the future set up and growth of the polytechnic.
Soon after, Public Works Department was busy in finishing the unfinished portions of the building and construction of the first floor and other extensions. Since, there was no intention to disturb the studies of the students in the middle of the term, we continued at the Lodha Building upto the end of the session and shifted to the new campus after the completion of the annual examinations of the students.