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Pundi Runganadha Mudaliar (c. 1847 – 10 December 1893) or Poondi Ranganatha Mudaliar was a Tamil writer, educationist and politician.

Early life

Runganadha Mudaliar was born in 1847 in Madras to Pundi Subbaraya Mudaliar who worked as a manager in the Madras Irrigation Company. Subbaraya Mudaliar was transferred to Avanashi when Runganadha was young but later moved to Madras following an incident of burglary. Runganadha had his initial schooling at home where he learnt Tamil and English. At the age of thirteen, Runganadha enrolled in Pachaiyappa's High School. He completed his matriculation in 1862 and stood first in the province in the examinations. He joined the Presidency College, Madras and completed his graduation in February 1865 in first class, excelling in mathematics, English, philosophy and Tamil. Thomson, the principal of the Presidency College was pleased with him that he appointed him Assistant Master soon after his graduation in 1865.

Educational career

On completion of his education, Mudaliar worked as a college

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

. In 1881, he was confirmed as Professor of Mathematics at the Presidency College, Madras. Earlier, in 1872, he had been nominated fellow of the

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. From 1875 to 1893 he wielded great power and influence as a member of the syndicate of the Madras University. In 1890, Mudaliar was appointed as the official Tamil translator to the Madras government. Two years later, he was appointed

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Madras.

Later life

Mudaliar fell ill in December 1893 and took leave from work. However, the illness did not appear to be serious and he was expected to recover. But contrary to expectations, Mudaliar succumbed to the disease on 10 December 1893, on the fifth day of his leave.

Legacy

Runganadha Mudaliar was acclaimed for his work in the Education Commission and for his efforts towards preservation of Indian languages. His sense of discretion was praised by his contemporaries. Runganadha Mudaliar was a scholar of Tamil literature and himself, composed some literary works. He was a patron of Dr. U. V. Swaminatha Ayyar, the great Tamil scholar. Prof. Mudaliar was appointed to assist Sir William Wilson Hunter in matters pertaining to the Madras Presidency when the latter undertook to prepare the second edition of The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Runganadha Mudaliar entered politics in his later life and attended sessions of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. He campaigned for India's independence and founded the ''Native Public Opinion'' newspaper. He also served as a Commissioner of Madras city.

Works

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mudaliar, Pundi Runganadha 1847 births 1893 deaths Presidency College, Chennai alumni Sheriffs of Madras