A little over a decade after acquiring the scam-hit IT company Satyam Computer Services Limited, the Mahindra Group has set up Mahindra University in the IT hub of Hyderabad.

While the university has been established just now, it is more than a century old legacy of the Mahindras’ that has focussed on education from the year 1900 itself, says, Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Group.

Launching the Mahindra University and reading out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to the audience on an online interface, Anand Mahindra shared the nostalgic journey of the Mahindra family and its association with higher education as early as the year 1900 under the patronage of his grandparents, which was later followed by his uncle Keshub Mahindra, who is now 96 and takes pride in being part of the various education initiatives, and his mother Indira.

Mahindra said, “This is an emotional moment for me. It is a dream come true for me, Vineet Nayar and CP Gurnani, the group veterans and a dream that spans three generations. At the turn of the 20th century two young men, had dreamt big in a small town in Punjab. My grandfather JC Mahindra and his brother KC Mahindra, never forgot that their education was the foundation for their success and saw education as vital for Independent India’s future. They took it forward embedding a passion for education in the philosophy and the activities of the company they founded.”

The Mahindra Education Trust, later known as KC Mahindra Trust was founded in 1953 by KC Mahindra to promote and encourage engineering education in India and studies abroad by awarding scholarships and funding education.

“My Father Harish Mahindra and my uncle Keshub Mahindra took this education focus forward. My uncle Keshub Mahindra has been an inspiration all through. Today, at the age of 96, he takes a lively interest in all that is related to education and learning. He continues to serve as the chairman of the United World Mahindra College Board. He sees/enjoys KCMET Scholarships every year and never misses any sessions,” he said.

“If anyone is more excited than I am about the Mahindra University, it is Keshub Mahindra. I am honoured with his blessings and good wishes as well today. I must also remember and share about another passionate educationist, my mother Indira. She was a feminist, a writer and a teacher. Before marriage, she taught at the Isabelle College in Lucknow. For her, education was a magic mantra particularly in changing the lives of women. This was passed on to me and my colleagues in the Mahindra Group,” he said.

“We run schools ranging from conventional schools to Mahindra International College, we impart vocational training through the Tech Mahindra Foundation, we have supported 4.5 lakh girl students and hundreds of students abroad. Each time I sat through interviews I wondered why we are sending students abroad,” he said.

“Now, it is a delightful irony that an educational initiative started decades ago to encourage education abroad for higher learning is endeavouring to encourage people to study back at home in India offering world class education. Mahindra EcoleCentrale was founded in 2014 which forms the nucleus of the Mahindra University,” he said.

“I would love to see this University evolve as a community of teachers and students and have engineers who love poetry and mathematicians as musicians. And so on. Next three years will see addition of many schools specialising in wide range of disciplines needed for the 21st century,” he said.