S. M. Diaz (1919 – 2000) was the Inspector-General of Police of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. He was also a professor of economics and the first director of the

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) is the civil service training institution in India. The institute trains Indian Police Service (IPS) officers before they are sent to their respective state cadres to carry out their dut ...

that trains officers who are inducted into the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...

. He is known for translating the

Tirukkural The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or Kural (poetic form), kurals, of seven ...

into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Biography

S. M. Diaz was born in

Manapad Manapad is a coastal village in south India, from Tuticorin and south of Tiruchendur. St. Francis Xavier came to Manapad in 1542, conducting missionary activity on the Fishery coast. He lived in a grotto cavern on the seaward face of a cliff a ...

, in 1919 in a

Paravar Paravar (also known as Bharathar or Bharathakula and sometimes colloquially as 'Fernando') is a Tamil maritime community, mainly living in the state of Tamil Nadu in India and in Sri Lanka. Pandyas aka Bharathavars are the Ancient Sea Farers and ...

family. He graduated in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

from St. Joseph's College,

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, obtaining an M.A. He began his career as a professor of mathematics at the same college. In 1949, Diaz topped the first batch at the National Police Academy, Mt. Abu. Later in 1975, he became the director of the academy and was instrumental in moving it to Hyderabad, where it was renamed Sardar Vallabhai Patel Police Academy. He also set up a police unit in the Mt. Abu campus comprising the service staff made redundant by the Academy's move. In 1977, Diaz organised the Department of Criminology at the

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

, and headed the department until 1983, thereafter continuing his service as visiting professor. During this period, in his 70s, Diaz obtained his PhD in

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

. In 1992, he founded the Probus Club of Madras. Diaz was an avid reader of the ''

Tirukkuṟaḷ The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The text ...

'', the ancient Tamil classic on

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

. Along with his career-oriented works on prison reforms, social equality, women's empowerment and victimology, his complete English translation of the Kural text, which was published in two volumes, led to his being described as the "Philosopher-Policeman." He first translated Book I (''Aram'') of the Tirukkural and published it in 1982. In the next 10 years, he translated the second (''Porul'') and third books (''Inbam'') of the Kural text. In 2000, he published the entire translation in two volumes, which was published by N. Mahalingam of the Ramanandha Adigalar Foundation in

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

. It was reprinted four times within the next five years. Diaz was praised by former IGP of Tamil Nadu F.V. Arul for his bandobust scheme for the 1968 Mahamakam Festival in

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

, who described him as "an officer without crease in his uniform as in his conduct" in the terms of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, who first used the phrase in ''Les Miserables'' to characterise Inspector

Javert Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a polic ...

. Diaz retired as Inspector General of Prisons, Tamil Nadu. In 2000, he died in an accident at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Police Academy's silver jubilee celebrations on the

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

campus.

Works

* S. M. Diaz. (2000). ''Thirukkural: English Translation and Explanation'' (2 vols.). Coimbatore: Ramananda Adigalar Foundation

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading