Unsung Heroes | How a Bengaluru college backbencher went on to fight wars and build EVMs, armed drones for India | Bangalore News

Shankar was born to H Srikantaiah and Rathnamma on March 8, 1943, in Bengaluru. Asked about his name, he laughed saying, “I was born in Shankarapuram and my parents named me Shankar.”

Shankar has three brothers and a sister. His father Srikantaiah was a journalist, publisher, and social activist. “Our roots are from Holenarasipura in Hassan district, but my father came to Mysuru and started working there at a very young age,” he added.

Shankar did have a memorable childhood and remembers many of his childhood friends. After passing Class 12, Shankar pursued a five-year BE degree in electrical engineering. “Though I was studious, I was known to be a naughty kid among my peers at the sametime. I was part of the last bench gang. It was filled with fun. You could then find me playing cricket, football, and other games on Bengaluru grounds and streets,” he said.

From college fun to battleground

Then came the frequent border conflicts between India and China in 1962. The Government wanted to recruit engineers as soldiers. It set up a Mobile Services Selection Board (MSSB) to recruit youngsters who would become engineering graduates and serve in the Army. When the MSSB arrived at Shankar’s college in 1963, he just attended the interview with five of his friends.

“Though I was aware of what was happening at the border, I attended the interview with no hopes, only to give my gang company. There was an offer of a monthly stipend of Rs 400 till we completed engineering and it was very lucrative,” he said.

The condition was that after graduating, the students must join the Army.

Shankar got selected, but his family members and friends did not want him to join the Army. “I was told that people in the Army drink alcohol and that there would be a very bad environment. But my father was the one who insisted I go and serve the country,” he recalled.

In 1964, Shankar passed out from Officers Training Academy in Madras in February. He then had to go to the battlefield. “My unit was in the Jalandhar and Patiala area and I joined them,” he said. He was responsible for the maintenance of weapons, tanks, communication systems, and other devices.

“We had occupied a Pakistani area for nearly six months as there was a ceasefire till the Tashkent Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on January 10, 1966, by Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan President Muhammad Ayub Khan.

Shankar was then posted in the Hodson Horse regiment, which was responsible for centurion tanks. “My job was to give first-hand cover to tanks and other devices,” he said.

Shankar spent more than three years with the decorated regiment of the Indian Army, which had royal family members. He became friends with Captain Amarinder Singh, who later became a Punjab chief minister.

In 1969, he was posted in Sikkim at a time when there was a conflict between India and China near the then Tibet border. “It was the first time we had captured Chinese soldiers and I was at the frontline. After 17 days of war, a ceasefire was announced,” he said.

One of the best moments in Shankar’s life came when he was asked to move towards Bangladesh in 1971 to help with tanks. “I was there at the Dhaka stadium when 93,000 soldiers surrendered. When you surrender, they will have to take out belts, armlets and weapons. It was one of the memorable moments for me,” he says.

When Shankar wanted to move from there to pursue postgraduate studies in Bengaluru, his senior officer tasked him with taking a section of Pakistan soldiers who had surrendered to the Babina cantonment in Jhansi district in Uttar Pradesh. The Government had ordered the prisoners of war to be treated as per Geneva convention.

“I was given the responsibility of the camp commandant. There were about 10,000 jawans and 400 officers. We looked after them very well though they were prisoners of war. They used to be surprised when officers like me were having food with them. They were really impressed by the way officers treated soldiers with respect and care. In the Pakistan army, this was not the case. The Pakistani officers used to write letters to me till recently and send greetings on several occasions,” he said.

How Tigercat missiles got a new shape

In 1965, the Army got hold of the Tigercat ground-to-air missile system. “In this system, the radar and the missile launcher were separate and were fired only during day time. I proposed the idea to my senior officer to integrate it and also provide solutions so that it can be operated at night. After getting the green signal, we were able to complete it. After the completion, we carried out tests and it was successful. In fact, the British came here and had insights of the technology upgrade,” he said.

For his remarkable achievement, Shankar was honoured with the Vishisht Seva Medal.

Shankar’s long-delayed master’s degree finally turned into reality at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Then he moved to the Military College of Engineering and continued his service as a faculty member.

Meanwhile, his father Srikantaiah was made a Member of the Legislative Council in 1978 in recognition of his social service.

From trade union polls to general elections

He joined Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for a brief stint. There was a trade union election at BEL that often used to land in controversies. “I suggested they use electronic voting machines (EVM), which can solve the problem. It turned out successful and then BEL proposed the idea before Rudrabatla Venkata Surya Peri Sastri, then chief election commissioner of India.

Sastri was very much impressed and he took it to then prime minister Rajeev Gandhi through the defence minister, K C Pant. “We explained to him about EVM. Rajeev Gandhi operated it like a child and said, ‘I liked everything but for one thing’. He wanted to address the situation of armed men capturing booths in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and other areas. Within a few minutes, a lot of votes would be cast, rigging the elections,” Shankar recalled.

The EVM software was then modified in such a way that only two votes can be cast in one minute.

In 1991, Rajeev Gandhi was assassinated in Tamil Nadu and the introduction of EVM in general elections was delayed. “High-profile ministers including George Fernandes, L K Advani, Lalu Prasad Yadav and many others came in person and tested the EVM. In fact, three young engineers were given the task of rigging the machines and the time allotted was two years. They submitted a report saying it’s foolproof. Later, the EVM was introduced after going through due process,” Shankar said.

Shankar was responsible for manufacturing 1,50,000 EVMs at BEL, one of the largest orders in the PSU’s history.

Asked how he feels when the EVM’s credibility is questioned, he said his blood boiled whenever he heard such things. “I will challenge anyone and everyone to rig the EVM machines. It is designed in such a way that it cannot be rigged,” he said.

Though Shankar had worked in BEL on some assignments, he joined the company in 1986 as a deputy general manager in its research and development wing. “I spent a lot of time in the field conducting tests on weapons and other things,” he said. In 1996, he became the director of R&D and retired from service in 2003.

When Shankar decided to build weapons

After his retirement, Shankar had two months of leisure–the longest such period after a career of over 40 years. “Yes, it was the longest period and I was unable to cope with the fact that I no longer had to wake up for a challenge or task. My wife was sending me to bring vegetables and milk,” he laughed.

Then, he along with two others came up with the idea of starting a defence manufacturing firm in Bengaluru. They started Alpha Design Technologies Private Limited in a small space in Indiranagar.
“I was aware that the defence systems in India were growing and there was a lot of vacuum for private players. I could have joined any big firm at that point but wanted to do something on my own. But I wanted to create a mini-BEL and we had a vision,” Shankar said.

Alpha Design Technologies eventually started competing with giants including BEL. “We won a bid to upgrade T72 tanks. BEL was also a participant. Nobody thought we would get the order but we managed to do it. In a matter of three years, at least 1,000 tanks were upgraded,” he said.

Alpha Design Technologies grew from strength to strength and today it employs 825 personnel, including 621 young engineers (in the 22–29 year age bracket) and technicians. The company’s annual turnover is Rs 401.03 crore and has an order book of Rs 9113.21 crore. It has been able to export weapons, including to Israel.

Alpha Design Technologies specialises in development and production of night-vision thermal sights, electronic warfare equipment, tactical communications equipment, and major R&D projects such as software-defined radios, missile seeker systems (in collaboration with Brahmos), IFF, simulators, airframes for SU-30 aircraft, etc.

Shankar is the chief managing director of Alpha Design Technologies. Following the Pahalgam attack, when the Army launched Operation Sindoor, Skystriker suicide drones built by Alpha Design Technologies, in partnership with Israel’s Elbit Systems, were used.

“We were elated when the systems built by us came to the help of the nation. We have also taken note of the performance of these drones during the operation. We are going to make it much better in future,” he said.

At 82, Shankar continues to work and lives with his wife on Outer Ring Road, while his children are living in the US with their families.