Kaun Banega Crorepati 11: Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty talks about her unprecedented journey on Amitabh Bachchan's quiz show

Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty recently made an appearance on a special Karamveer episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11. Host Amitabh Bachchan informed the audience Murty was the only female engineer from her batch, and had to face a lot of struggles to establish her career. In the promotional video shared by Sony TV on social media, Murty recounted how she was the sole female student to be accepted into a class of more than 500 male students. She said that even though she faced resistance from her family, she chose to pursue her education. Murty further shared how her college principal asked her to always dress in a saree, not visit the canteen or even interact with her male peers. She also talked about the importance of toilets, which she soon realised as there were no such facilities for women in her college. “Sabse mushkil tha, humare college mei toilet nahi tha. Mujhe chaar saal mei maalum hua toilet ka mahatv. Aur isliye mujhe lagaa galat hai aur Infoys Foundation ke chairman hue humne 16,000 toilet banwaye. (My college did not have a toilet. After four years of college I realised the importance of one. I thought it was wrong and after becoming the chairperson of Infosys Foundation, we built 16,000 toilets).” Murty also spoke about the work her organisation has undertaken to uplift the Devdasi community. Here is the video

She fought against all social stereotypes. Meet our #KBCKaramveer #SudhaMurthy this Friday at 9 PM and know how she reformed thousands of underprivileged lives. @SrBachchan pic.twitter.com/NtvJEQ1yM3

— sonytv (@SonyTV) November 25, 2019

In his blog post, Bachchan wrote about the sheet stitched by devdasis that Murty had gifted him. “A chaadar stitched by the women devdasis’ whom Sudha ji has given a new life to… away from the old tradition where they were relegated to discrimination… and a gift for me to ever remember and be in awe of her tremendous work (sic),” he wrote. Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 has previously featured Cuddles Foundation founder and CEO Purnota Dutta Bahl and social activist Shyam Sunder Paliwal. Murty was the first engineer to be hired by TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO), and is also an author. She was honoured with the Padma Shri by former President APJ Abdul Kalam.