Tiruppur Angappa Ramalingam Chettiar (18 May 1881 – 1952) was an Indian lawyer, politician, member of parliament and businessman from the Indian state 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 ...

Early life

Ramalingam was born to Tiruppur Angappa Chettiar and his wife Meenakshi Ammal at Tiruppur on 18 May 1881. Angappa Chettiar was a cotton

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and banker. At a very early age, Ramalingam was sent to

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 ...

for

schooling A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

. He passed his matriculation with distinction and enrolled at Presidency College, Madras from where he graduated in law in 1904. Soon after his graduation, Ramalingam began to practice at the

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

and served as the president of the Bar Council of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Politics

Ramalingam developed a keen interest in politics during his term as the president of the bar council. He served first as the Vice-President and then, the President of the district board of Coimbatore from 1913 onwards. He also served as the vice-chairman and Chairman of the Coimbatore municipality. In 1921, he became a member of the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

. In 1946, Ramalingam was elected a member of the

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

from Coimbatore. He participated in the debates on federalism and language policy. In 1951, he was elected unopposed to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

from Coimbatore.

Co-operative movement

Ramalingam Chettiar was one of the pioneers of the co-operative movement in

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

and was associated with the movement since 1911. He started the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Federation and published a monthly called ''Kooturavu''. He established the Ramalingam Co-operative Training Institute in Coimbatore. He was instrumental in the formation of the Central Co-operative Bank, Urban Bank, Land Development Bank, co-operative milk union and co-operative printing press in Coimbatore.

Legacy

Ramalingam died in 1952. The co-operative institute he established is still functioning at Coimbatore. After his death, his heirs established the T.A. Ramalingam Chettiar Trust in his memory. The trust runs a Higher Secondary School named after him. The trust also sponsors a number of scholarships and endowments in various educational institutions in Coimbatore.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramalingam, Chettiar 1881 births 1952 deaths Indian cooperative organizers Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Presidency College, Chennai alumni Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu India MPs 1952–1957 Politicians from Coimbatore

Early life

Politics

Co-operative movement

Legacy

See also

Notes