IISc Leadership: Identifying the First Indian Director

The question asks to identify the first Indian Director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

Analyzing Director Candidates

• Morris Travers: While he was the founding Director of IISc, he was British, not Indian.
• Subramanyan Chandrashekhar: A Nobel laureate, but never served as Director of IISc.
• APJ Abdul Kalam: A distinguished scientist and former President, but not the first Indian Director of IISc.
• C V Raman: A Nobel laureate physicist associated with IISc. He became the first Indian Director in 1933.

Determining the First Indian Director

Based on historical records:

1. Sir Martin Onslow Forster was the first acting Director (1907-1910).
2. Sir Alfred Chatterton was the first full-time Director (1910-1915).
3. Sir P.C. Ray served briefly as acting Director.
4. Sir C.V. Raman took over as Director in 1933, becoming the first Indian to hold the position permanently.

Therefore, C.V. Raman is correctly identified as the first Indian Director of IISc.