Vellore Lakshmanaswamy Ethiraj (18 July 1890 – 18 August 1960) was an Indian lawyer and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
who founded
Ethiraj College for Women
Ethiraj College for Women is an arts and science college for women in Chennai, India, managed by the Ethiraj College Trust. It was founded in 1948 by the barrister V. L. Ethiraj of Vellore.
History
Ethiraj College for Women is an autonomous col ...
, a college in
Chennai
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 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He was the first Indian to be appointed as
Crown Prosecutor by the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
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or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
. He also served as the President of the Madras Bar Association.
Ethiraj was born on 18 July 1890 in a Tuluva Vellala (Agamudaya) Mudaliar family of Vellore and was born to Lakshmanaswamy and Ammayi Ammal. V. L. Ethiraj received his undergraduate degree from
Presidency College, Chennai
Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...
and received his law degree from
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
.
One of Ethiraj's successes was the
Lakshmikanthan murder case
The Lakshmikanthan murder case was a high-profile criminal trial that was conducted in the then Madras Presidency between November 1944 and April 1947. The cause of the trial was the murder of C. N. Lakshmikanthan, a Tamil film journalist. Laksh ...
, which he successfully fought in defense of Tamil actors
M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (1 March 1910 – 1 November 1959), also known by his initials as M. K. T., was an Indian actor, producer and Carnatic music, Carnatic singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful actor ...
and
N. S. Krishnan
Nagercoil Sudalaimuthu Krishnan, popularly known as Kalaivanar () and also as NSK, was an Indian actor-comedian, theatre artist, playback singer and writer in the early stages of the Tamil film industry – in the 1940s and 1950s. He is conside ...
. His advocacy was described by
C. P. Ramaswami Iyer
Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer (12 November 1879 – 26 September 1966), popularly known as Sir C. P., was an Indian lawyer, administrator and politician who served as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency from 1920 to 1923, Law ...
as "a marvel of the 20th century".
See also
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Education in Chennai
Chennai is home to many educational and research institutions. IIT Madras, located in South Chennai is considered as the premier centre of engineering education in India. Anna University and the University of Madras are the oldest state owned u ...
References
External links
Ethiraj College for Women
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ethiraj, V. L.
20th-century Indian lawyers
1890 births
1960 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Presidency College, Chennai alumni
Tamil lawyers
People from Vellore
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
20th-century Indian educators
Scholars from Chennai
20th-century Indian philanthropists