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IN MEMOrIaM | VIjAY MUkHI
ed Nair
ednair@cybermedia.co.in

Internet Guru Vijay Mukhi Passes away

India’s earliest Internet guru Vijay Mukhi is no more. Vijay Mukhi was an

icon in the tech industry, he was a phenomenon through much of the
nineties, especially in Mumbai

ijay was neither a hotshot tech MNC CEO nor residence. These parties used to be a very democratic,
a rich tech entrepreneur or a powerful bureau- informal, diverse gathering of people interested in tech.
crat or a famous venture capitalist. Yet his in- He brought the Page 3 culture into tech, in Mumbai.
Vfluence and fame during the time was more He had a distinctive persona to match— salt and
than any of these entities because of his mass appeal pepper hair, neatly combed, chain-smoking Rothmans
and media savvy. cigarettes, always in a grey suit so much so that it was
Vijay taught programming, he wrote books on rumored that he even wore it to sleep, and a pontificating
programming; he was an ace teacher who inspired tone and manner of speaking. Reportedly, he gave up
legions of students, his books were written smoking sometime later and he also
in a fun-filled unconventional way and it came out of his grey suit, which even
helped students master the C, C++, and made news in some closed circles.
Java. His students were overawed by his The tech industry has changed a lot
teaching prowess and his capacity to turn since then. But Vijay kept up with the
ordinary ‘computer career-seekers’ into trends; his latest areas of interest has
prodigious and prolific programmers. been in cryptocurrency, bitcoin, AI,
Apart from that, Vijay was a technology and cyber security. He gave interviews
activist and a technology evangelist. He (http://bit.ly/2mkIFUw on ATM skimming
rallied technology enthusiasts to create frauds) on these topics even as recent
and spread popular technology culture, as December 22, 2017.
especially after the Internet got launched Apart from being the President of
in India. He co-founded the IUCI (Internet a body called FIST (Foundation of
Users Community of India), together Information Security and Technology),
with individuals like Shammi Kapoor and Vijay is also a Member of High Court/
Miheer Mafatlal, he gave a social dimension Internet Guru Vijay Mukhi State Government Committee on
to IT through the BCC (Bombay Computer Club) which Pornography and Cyber Laws. He has been successively
was an informal mailing list of individuals comprising designated Co-Chair of the Cyber Safety Week – a joint
senior IT executives from companies and tech media effort of Mumbai Police and Nasscom, for the last 3
who met once a month on the last Friday of the month, years. Further, he chairs The IT Committee at FICCI and
merely to eat, drink, and chatter. Vijay wrote columns on has been designated the post of Chairman for The IT
tech in popular media to popularize tech. The IUCI came Committee at Indian Merchant Chambers (IMC) since
up with valuable feedback and inputs on the quality of the last 3 years.
Internet and its usage and it had the ears of even the big His fans of the time continue to adore him. Tributes
guns at VSNL, which was India’s primary ISP. continue to pour in. Noted cyberlaw expert Prashant
As a young tech journalist in the mid-90s, I had the Mali tweeted: Sad news. Vijay Mukhi, fondly known
privilege of seeing Vijay in action. Though I was not a as Internet Guru, passed away ……. For me he was
student in any of his programming courses, I was awed the inspiration to master C & C++ programming in 90s.
by his ardent fan following. I attended few of the many RIP.
parties he threw at his sprawling Nepean Sea Road Goodbye, Vijay Mukhi. May your soul rest in peace.

74 | January, 2018 www.dqindia.com A CyberMedia Publication |