Dear Das: A long distance hello from one Kharkhowa creative professional to another. You may remember we met at your lab. at IIT-G a number of years back, mutually introduced by my namesake, Dr. Chandan Mahanta, your fellow professor.
It was by fluke that I came to receive your mail. I opted out of the e-mail group 'assamonline' a number of years back for a number of reasons. But somehow, I do end up receiving mail from the group every now and then. For once I am glad I got to see your post from this list because I feel strongly about the issue, on more than one level. That is why I am also posting this note to 'assamnet', the e-mail group that I maintain connections with. First off allow me to congratulate, like I did when I first saw the prototype in your lab, for your Dipbahan tricycle rickshaw, what, about 5 years back? I thought you and your team of colleagues, students and grad. students who may have been involved were doing an excellent job. Being an architect and also having been exposed to NID way back in 1967 and later being a colleague and partner with a graphic/product designer here in St. Louis, USA , I appreciate the value of modern product design, something that was sorely missing in India. You and your team therefore are filling a very critical gap in the country's higher education in the area of CREATIVE designs. With this background, when I read your note, I was taken aback by what has been going on with Dipbahan. I will be the first to acknowledge here, that in affairs such as this, there are many layers of issues, events, facts and even fictions, of which I am sure I am quite ignorant. But the fact of your and your IIT colleagues' original creative ownership of the design is indisputable as far as I am concerned, because I saw it personally, under development at your lab. That is why I am mincing no words in declaring that a gross violation of professional ethics has taken place here. Having said that, let us examine Pradip Sarmah's role here: I don't know him, although I heard the name in association with the modern tricycle rickshaw design. I assumed that he was working with you and your team at IIT-G and thought it was a good thing that the product has found its way to the market and in a good way at that, to enable needy drivers to become owners. I won't attempt to deny Sarmah due credit in helping bring the rickshaw to the needy drivers. But IF he did it in the way you describe here, it is thoroughly unprofessional and dishonorable. This brings us to the question of intellectual property rights. I feel strongly about it, because I too have been a victim of theft of creative work by people who one would not expect from. Unless India can establish and enforce, fairly and in a timely manner, protection for rights to creative work, little of it will emerge. The country will always remain a copier and stealer of others' creations. Not a pretty thought for an emerging power. But I realize, as I am sure you do, that protection of property rights of creative works is an extremely difficult issue. Even in countries like USA, where patent laws and intellectual property rights are widely enforced. That is in part because more often than not, more than one person may be involved in these efforts. For example, in the case of Dipbahan too, there may have others involved: Your colleagues, under-grad. students, grad students and so forth. They too have right to be acknowledged, given credit for their contributions. Then comes the issue of IIT's investments in the development of the product design. IIT being a public entity, ultimately the property rights belong to the people. I am sure that is why you co-operated with Sarmah in the beginning. That was the honorable and professional, thing to do. And it would have behooved Dr. Sarmah, himself a professional, to act accordingly. I hope the people of Assam (and India) and their well-wishers and supporters abroad, including the so-called NRAs, would help rectify the wrongs that have been committed. I encourage Dr. Sarmah to rise to the occasion and do the right things. Best. Chandan K. Mahanta President Mahanta Associates, PC Architects St. Louis, Missouri USA. On Sep 19, 2011, at 8:47 AM, da...@iitg.ernet.in wrote: > > Dear all, > > > > Greetings from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati). I am > Amarendra Kumar Das, presently Professor and Head, Department of Design, IIT > Guwahati. It has come to our notice from local news papers in Assam India > regarding laureate of The Tech Awards 2011. I have reproduced the text of the > news item below. > > > > “DR. Pradip Kumar Sarmah, the founder of Rickshaw bank was today named as a > laureate of The Tech Awards 2011, one of 15 global innovators recognized each > year for applying technology to benefit humanity and spark global change. The > Tech Awards, a signature program of The Tech Museum, and presented by Applied > Materials, Inc., selected DR. Pradip Kumar Sarmah from among hundreds of > nominations representing 54 countries. This is informed by Mowsam Hazarika, > Hony. Media Coordinator, Centre for Rural Development (CRD). > > > > > “The Tech Awards is an incredible honor, recognizing individuals and > organizations whose ideas and execution of those ideas are changing the > world,” said Dr. Kanak Haloi, Member of the Governing Board of Centre for > Rural Development (CRD). “We are proud to be among those recognized for their > contributions, and will continue to develop solutions that improve the > overall well being of people worldwide.” > > > > > “The global challenges of the day have become increasingly strident, more > deeply rooted,” said David Whitman, Vice President of Signature Programs at > The Tech Museum. “Still, there is hope. These incredibly impressive Laureates > have all proven to be equal to, or better than, the challenge to make the > world a better place. By celebrating their accomplishments today, we are > encouraging future innovators to work toward solutions to make the world > healthier, safer and more sustainable.” > > > > > Established in 2000, The Tech Awards recognizes 15 Laureates in five > universal categories: education, equality, environment, economic development > and health. These laureates have developed new technological solutions or > innovative ways to use existing technologies to significantly improve the > lives of people around the world. One Laureate in each category will receive > a $50,000 cash prize during the annual Awards Gala in Santa Clara California. > on October 20.” > > > > > In addition to the above, I have also seen email being send by your groups > and We are extremely surprised in the news, especially when an organization > like The Tech Awards are involved, how plagiarist activity is allowed to hog > limelight? What more, I wonder why our memory is so low? Many of you earlier > had congratulated me when first news of Dipbahan was available in news both > in print media and TV, internet etc. and some of you are now exclaiming in > this news of plagiarism. I cannot believe your reaction when tech-savvy > people like you can get the real information at the click of your mouse when > you click at Google search with key words “Dipbahan rickshaw” and there are > various news including that of my students who took projects in the area of > Dipbahan rickshaw and allied products and services. > > > > All of you in Assam and NRA’s (Non Resident Assamese)’s relatives in Assam > see few thousand of basic Dipbahan (that is permitted by IIT Guwahati to be > manufactured as non-profit making project by CRD headed by Dr. Pradip Kumar > Sarmah) and its up-gradation with nice FRP seat, cover etc. which are > introduced by Panchayat and Rural Development Department all over the state. > These were procured through global tender (tender documents are still > available in the net, when you search as Dipbahan rickshaw) and the project > covered in last 2 years is worth INR 18.00 crores with total nos. of rickshaw > and delivery van exceeding 10,000 nos. When you see these you do not bother > to ask who designed this and being netizen still accepts false information. > This was evident when FASS in its magazine published regarding Dipbahan > rickshaw and rickshaw bank project. Now some of you are asking me why we did > not protest earlier? Let me give clarification: > > > > First let me raise a question? Is the rickshaw bank concept of microcredit is > new or is it the reason for success of the Rickshaw Bank in reality? Dr. > Pradip Sarmah will be the best person to clarify. Micro credit in providing > tricycle rickshaw was not the first implemented by Dr. Pradip Kumar Saarmah. > There was microfinance earlier too in this case and few organizations even in > Manipur tried to provide rickshaw to pullers under this scheme. Similarly > several NGOs in Assam tried this but could not achieve much. Why? Because > when it was tried out with existing old rickshaw, it did not become > successful because, for passenger, there was nothing new to motivate them to > use rickshaw. > > > > Once the same microcredit programme was introduced with Dipbahan, it become > successful, since passengers liked the new Dipbahan design, being > comfortable, spacious and safe. > > > > Dr. Pradip Kumar Sarmah knew this well in 2004 prior to starting Rickshaw > Bank and was looking for a new design of rickshaw and he tried to bring a > design from outside Assam, but the person who was to help him with the > fabrication work wanted close to Rs. 1.00 lakh, which Dr. Pradip Kumar Sarmah > did not want to pay. [Dr. Sarmah is an old acquaintance of me, way back from > 1989, when both of us were consultant to newly set up Rastriya Gramin Vikask > Nidhi (RGVN)]. In the year 2004 I started a rickshaw design project and > sponsorship came from NEDFi in terms of a grant of Rs. 1.00 that was for > creating product that can generate income and for which micro-credit can be > propagated. In the same year we (Me and Dr. Pradip Kumar Sarmah) met after > several years in IIE (Indian Institute of Enterpreneurship, Guwahati) premise > in a conference. He talked about his dilemma of a new rickshaw design for > micro-finance that will make it visible. Since I already worked on a new > rickshaw design, I promised him to provide this design and fabricated the one > that I designed and named it as Dipbahan. Why? Because as a designer we > always brand it so that it is easily visible in public place and noticed. Why > Dipbahan? Because my nickname is Dipon and word bahan in Assamese, Hindi, > Sanskrit is a vehicle. Dip from Dipon and Bahan makes it Dipbahan. For > public, it is a vehicle born out of knowledge. Dip means light, hence light > signifying knowledge. Dr. Sarmah liked it and I did not realize the fact that > he told his people Dip from Pradip and Bahan is vehicle. This was told to me > by his close confident who deserted him later. Incidentally this work is also > part of my doctoral research, idea being to evolve a successful design and > technology transfer to MSME in Indian context, since even now India faces the > challenge of transferring worthwhile design and technology for the people > successfully. But from the beginning being in IIT Guwahati as a part of the > culture, we avoided my name directly mentioned everywhere and every time and > always emphasized in the name of IIT Guwahati. All the initial Dipbahan had > at its rear written “IIT Guwahati NEDFi Design initiative”, to inform the > people that it is designed by IIT Guwahati. However at a point of time this > was discontinued and at IIT Guwahati we did not raise a hue and cry because > over this period, quality and specification deteriorated and we also feared > that this will tarnish the image of IIT Guwahati; and already people knew > that the design is by IIT Guwahati. > > > > I also got query why The tricycle rickshaw popularly known as Dipbahan was > designed and initiated by me at department of Design, IIT Guwahati and was > allowed to be propagated by Centre for Rural Development, Assam without > paying any royalty to IIT Guwahati for non-profit operation by the NGO. There > are lots of documents in this regard and will be very happy to provide the > same to your organization. Although my acquaintance with Dr, Pradip Kumar > Sarmah is more than two decades, but when new rickshaw was released at a > press meet, most of the news item highlighted the achievement of IIT Guwahati > and its innovator, me. Dr. Pradip Kumar Sarmah always seeking media attention > was disappointed and stopped acknowledging me as innovator. Not only that > although he invited me for the formal launch of the rickshaw bank with my > design, in the inaugural meeting, there was no speech from my end where > consultant for CRD, expressed his surprise and representative of NEDFi left > the place. He tried not to mention even IIT Guwahati, and removed the name > Dipbahan being painted at the back of the tricycle rickshaws but this > backfired and beneficiaries stopped taking these and rickshaw bank could > resume the operation only after they started writing it as Dipbahan. I kept > cool to see that the project attains success and benefits of the same accrues > to the people. We at any IITs promote the institution more than any > individual and hence informed him that if he fails to mention IIT Guwahati, > we will be compelled to take necessary action on them. Dr. Sarmah started to > acknowledge IIT Guwahati but never explicitly. CRD also in absence of > technical manpower were not able to fabricate the Dipbahan and there were > complaint. We told that a vital member was missing in the structure but not > taking the word at its face value went to replace the structure of the > Dipbahan with readymade frame from industry. Not being able to educate the > pullers they also changed the slope of the seat, since some rickshaw pullers > said that if seat is inclined to the front, rickshaw goes in speed and today > Dr. Sarmah is claiming award for using technology use for the benefit of the > society and under privileged! > > > > Seeing his attitude, we started having our presence in the web and also > improved upon the design further and licensed it to other manufacturer for > its propagation through microcredit by developmental agency, commercial banks > and also by various state governments. We also won best tricycle rickshaw in > the year 2008 from the Institute of Urban Transport, India and Ministry of > Urban Development, Govt. of India. You can check this by going to various > websites. > > > > In the meantime Dr, Sarmah continued with plagiarism and won few awards. We, > keeping in mind interest of the common people did not react the way we should > have, since more and more rickshaws were seen on road with advent of > Dipbahan. However this encouraged him to continue with his act of > plagiarism. Dr. Sarmah went to the extent of subtly changing the spelling of > Dipbahan to Deep Bahan, since any net search leads one to actual innovator of > the tricycle. > > > > I must inform you that you go for a net search with both Dipbahan and > Deepbahan and fact will be evident. We have introduced more than 15,000 > Dipbahan rickshaws in the state of Assam itself with government funding to > the poor people of the state under Mukhyamantrir Assam Bikash Yojana and > other micro credit scheme in the last three years. Department involved is > Panchayat and Rural Development Department of Government of Assam. Please go > for a net search with key word “Dipbahan rickshaw” and information regarding > this in terms of global tender papers is still available. The department has > implemented the project for INR 180.00 million in the last 3 years, and IIT > Guwahati received more than INR 1.8 million as royalty from the government. > Similarly, West Bengal government had earlier implemented the project. > Although Dr. Pradip Kumar Sarmah also bid for the supply of the Dipbahan, his > NGO was not qualified, since IIT Guwahati allowed him manufacture of basic > Dipbahan only for non-profit purpose. To be frank, his NGO failed even to > manufacture these rickshaws as per IIT Guwahati specification due to poor > quality of man, machine and quality of products several NGOs requested us to > allow to manufacture the Dipbahan rickshaws as per IIT Guwahati design, but > since we are committed to our word we still helped his organization. A > student from Stanford University came to improve the Dipbahan rickshaw and > finally met me to discuss what can be done and again I advised her how to > overcome the vibration of the top by introducing a small piece of tube that > CRD did not earlier implement when mentioned by me. The problem was resolved. > > > > You can also visit IIT Guwahati website, www.iitg.ernet.in and then go to > departmental site Design>people>faculty>Amarendra Kumar Das>Homepage or > directly to: http://www.iitg.ac.in/design/portfolio/akd/index.html > > > > You will see the various versions of Dipbahan. > > > > Still if you need any other confirmation, you can mail it to director of IIT > Guwahati Prof. Gautam Barua at his mail id g...@iitg.ernet.in. > > > > Based on all this as mentioned above, I request you to ascertain facts about > the project and refrain from awarding him the honour, which is totally based > on plagiarism. If required we will bring this plagiarism to the notice of the > global audience that may show this in poor opinion and also bring disrepute > to any organization abetting plagiarism. > > > > We will be able to provide you all details once we receive a request from > your end. > > > > Based on the work done for design development of Dipbahan in the Department > of Design, IIT Guwahati, a PhD degree was awarded > > > > > > > Please mail me to da...@iitg.ernet.in and dasak.i...@gmail.com after > receiving this mail. > > > > Amarendra Kumar Das, PhD > > > > Professor and Head, > > > > Department of Design > > > > Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati > > > > Guwahati, India > > > > PIN 781039 > > > > > > __._,_.___ > Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic > Messages in this topic (1) > RECENT ACTIVITY: > Visit Your Group > MARKETPLACE > Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get > the Yahoo! 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