Sir Alagappa Chettiar (6 April 1909 – 5 April 1957) was an Indian businessman and philanthropist. He received the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

award (the third highest civilian award in India) in 1956.

Early life

Chettiar was born in

Kottaiyur Kottaiyur is a suburb of Karaikudi located in northern part of Karaikudi town in Sivaganga district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The village is famous for Kottaiyur Sivan Temple which is one of the master pieces in the Chettinadu region ...

in the

Sivaganga Sivaganga () is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sivaganga is a rani velunachiyar kingdom of Tamil Nadu. It is an important city in this district for official and commercial purposes. Its ni ...

District of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

to K.V.AL. Ramanathan Chettiar and Umayal Achi. He attended Presidency College at

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 ...

, where he became friendly with

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...

, a model teacher who later became

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

. In 1930 at the age of 21 he was the first M.A. (English Language and Literature) from the community of

Nattukottai Nagarathar The Nagarathar (also known as Nattukottai Chettiar) is a Tamil caste found native in Tamil Nadu, India. They are a mercantile community who are traditionally involved in commerce, banking and money lending. They use the title Chettiar and a ...

s. After his graduation he went to England to study law. He qualified for the Bar at Middle Temple in England in 1933 and became a 'Bar-at-Law' in

Chettinad Chettinad (also known as Chettinadu) is a region located mainly in the Sivaganga district historically ruled by Ramnad kingdom of Pandya Nadu and has a small portion extending into the Pudukottai District in Tamil Nadu, India..Karaikudi and ...

. During that time he also earned a pilot certificate at

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, London, and became the first Indian trainee in the Standard Chartered Bank, London.

Business acumen

Chettiar's activities as a business entrepreneur were acknowledged by the British Government when he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginni ...

at the age of 37;London Gazette, 1 January 1946
/ref> however, he renounced using the title of the knighthood when India attained independence. The President of India on 26 January 1956 conferred the distinction of Padma Bhushan on him. Chettiar launched his career by pioneering in textiles. In 1937 he started Cochin Textiles, later Alagappa Textiles at Alagappa Nagar near

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

in Kerala. The township for Cochin textile staff was named "Alagappa Nagar" in his memory. As a business savvy tycoon he practised diversification of portfolios with rubber

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s in Malaya,

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

mines in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

s in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, insurance companies in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, hotels in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, theatres in Madras, a flourishing stock exchange company and a private airline.

Philanthropy

Chettiar harboured a firm conviction that education is an absolute must for a human being to become productive, wholesome and humane. In 1943 he donated one lakh (100,000) rupees for the installation and development of the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Department of

Travancore University University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chi ...

. In 1947 at the

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human f ...

centenary celebrations he answered the call for industrialists to help educate India by spontaneously offering to start an Arts College in

Karaikudi Karaikudi is a Greater municipality in Sivaganga district, Sivagangai district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 21st largest urban agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of t ...

. This college, Alagappa Arts College started at Gandhi Maleghai, opened three days later. His generous donations led to the establishment of a string of educational institutions, which formed the basis for the foundation of the

Alagappa University Alagappa University is a public university located in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India. Originated from Alagappa Arts College, founded by Alagappa Chettiar in 1947, it was established in 1985 by an Act of the Tamil Nadu government. It was conve ...

in 1985 by the Government of

. He convinced Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

to house one of the Government's National Research Institutes in the heart of the Alagappa campus. At the inauguration of the Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) on 14 January 1953, the then Vice-President of India

surmised Alagappa Chettiar pioneered the centre of excellence "A.C.College of Technology" (named after him) at Guindy, Chennai, which offers specialised Engineering & Technology courses including Chemical Technology, Petroleum Refining & Petrochemicals, Textile Engineering, Leather Technology, Industrial Biotechnology, Ceramic Technology, Pharmaceutical Technology, Food Technology, etc. Presently it comes under the governance of

Anna University Anna University is a public state university located in Tamil Nadu, India. The main campus is in Chennai. It was originally established on 4 September 1978 and was named after C. N. Annadurai, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. History & ...

. His gave away his own palatial residence in Kottaiyur to start a women's college.

Notable donations and institutions

His other foundations and charitable donations included: *Alagappa Chettiar College of Technology,(Now known as

Alagappa College of Technology Alagappa College of Technology is an educational institution located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India that offers higher education in engineering, technology and allied sciences. The college was established in 1944 and was integrated with Anna Uni ...

Campus-

Chennai) *Alagappa Chettiar Government College of Engineering & Technology (ACCET) at Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu. (Now an autonomous government institution) *Alagappa Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai, Tamil Nadu *Alagappa Arts College, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu *Alagappa College of Polytechnic, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu *Alagappa Physical Education College, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu *Alagappa Primary School, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu *Alagappa Montessori School, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu *Alagappa Preparatory School, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu (this is a private school managed by his daughter founded after him) *Alagappa Matriculation School, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu (this is a private school managed by his daughter founded after him) *Alagappa Model Higher Secondary School at his birthplace, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu *A ladies' hostel at

Vepery Vepery is a suburb in the north of Chennai, India. Abutting the transportation hub of Park Town, the neighbourhood covers a rectangular area north of the Poonamallee High Road. History Vepery is among those oldest neighbourhoods developed duri ...

, Chennai *A gift for the development of the township infrastructure of Kottaiyur *A gift for the Meenakshi club at

Kandanur Kandanur is a panchayat town in Karaikudi taluk, Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is famous for Kandanur Sivan Kovil, which is a replica to the Madurai meenatchi amman temple built by Nagarathars community. Kandan ...

, Tamil Nadu *A donation for the H.M.I.S Fund *Foundation of an engineering college at

Annamalai University , logo = CampusmapofAU.jpg , image = Annamalai University logo.png , image_size = 225px , motto = "With Courage and Faith" , established = , type ...

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...

, Tamil Nadu *Foundation of a college of technology at

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 ...

, subsequently named Alagappa Chettiar College of Technology,

Guindy Guindy is one of the most important neighborhoods of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and is nicknamed as ''The Gateway to Chennai''. The Kathipara junction where Anna Salai, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Inner Ring Road, 100 Feet Road or Jawaharlal Nehru Roa ...

, Chennai *A donation to establish higher education in Malaysia *A donation to establish the South Indian Educational Society at New Delhi in 1948 *A donation to the Lady Doak College at

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

*A donation for constructing "Alagappa Mandapam" at Thakkar Baba Vidyalaya in 1946 – the Foundation Stone was laid by M.K.Gandhi *A donation for publishing ''Tamil Kalangiyam'' *A donation to the Cochin Cyclone Relief fund *A donation for geological research by the

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

government *A donation for establishing a maternity hospital and childcare centre in

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

*A donation for indigenous medicine research by Ernakulam Maharaja College *A donation to fund students from Cochin to study abroad *Funding the morning food scheme for Cochin children *Establishing the South Indian chamber of commerce in Cochin

Death

At the age of 48, in the midst of single-handedly revolutionising his native town

and changing the course of history, Chettiar succumbed to his illness. He was treated for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 1955. After a brief recovery, his health worsened and died on 5 April 1957 at his residence in

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 ...

(now Chennai).

References

External links

*http://www.alagappa.org/ Official Website,Alagappa Group of Educational Institutions *http://www.alagappaalumni.com/ Official Website,Alagappa Global Alumni Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Chettiar, Alagappa 1909 births 1957 deaths Businesspeople from Tamil Nadu Knights Bachelor Indian Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work Indian businesspeople in textiles 20th-century Indian businesspeople People from Sivaganga district 20th-century Indian philanthropists