Fakir Chand Kohli, the visionary who spearheaded India's IT revolution, passed away at the age of 96.
Known as the father of Indian IT, Kohli was the founder and first CEO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
"The passing of FC Kohli is a sad event for all of us. He strode the technology world like a colossus for decades. And he and his wife Swarn have been mentors for Uma and me for many years! RIP Bhishma Pitamah.," said Ganesh Natarajan, Executive Chairman and Founder of 5F World, formerly CEO of Zensar
Born and raised in Peshawar (in present-day Pakistan), Kohli graduated in Physics from the Punjab University. In 1946, he left for Canada where he pursued a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He followed this up with a Master’s in electrical engineering in 1951 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in US.
"A true visionary and the father of the Indian software industry - Shri FC Kohli will always be remembered for his pioneering contributions to the sector and remarkable leadership,' said Nasscom
In 1951, Kohli returned to newly independent India to join Tata Electric.In 1969, the Tata Group asked Kohli to help them get their fledgling IT services firm off the ground. TCS was born out of Kohli's turnaround efforts.
"He was not just the 1st CEO of TCS but someone who laid the foundation of India's greatest growth story," said C P Gurnani, CEO, Tech Mahindra