Sir Purniah Narasinga Rao Krishnamurti (12 August 1849 – 1911) was an Indian lawyer and administrator who served as the 16th

Diwan of Mysore The diwan of Mysore, also spelled dewan of Mysore, synonymously the prime minister of Mysore, was the ''de-facto'' chief executive officer of the government of the Kingdom of Mysore and the prime minister and royal adviser to the Maharaja of ...

from 1901 to 1906. He was a direct descendant of Diwan Purnaiah, the first Dewan of Mysore.

Early life and education

Krishnamurti was born on 12 August 1849 in the

Mysore kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...

and was educated at

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. He graduated in law from the

University of Madras 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 ...

and joined Mysore Civil Service as Assistant Superintendent in 1870 during Mysore Commission. After the restoration of the throne to the

Wadiyar dynasty The Wadiyar dynasty (formerly spelt Wodeyer or Odeyer, also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore), is a late-medieval/ early-modern South Indian Hindu royal family of former kings of Mysore from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city. ...

, Krishnamurti served as a judge of the Chief Court before being appointed Diwan in 1901. On 3 August 1905, whilst he was Dewan, electric lighting was introduced in

, becoming the first city in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

to get electric street lighting. He was also the fifth Jagirdar of Yelandur estate. He had two children, one of whom survived to adulthood.

Awards and honours

In 1897, Krishnamurti was made a

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

. In 1903, he was honoured with

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

Places in honour

Krishnamurthypuram, a locality in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

, is named after him.

Descendants

Krishnamurti's great grandchildren include Vatsala Rao, Sadanand Baily, Vimala Srinivas, Sona Rao, Venkat Rao, Parimala Rao, Surekha Raghavendran, and Chandrika Pradeep. His great great grandchildren include Manjunath,

Ananth Dodabalapur Ananth Dodabalapur is an Indian-American engineer, currently the Motorola Regents Chair Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and previously the Ashley H. Priddy Centennial Professor, at University of Texas at Austin and a published ...

, Supriya Baily, Sudarshan Baily, Anita Kashyap, Anjali Bettadapur, Pramod Venkat Rao, Pramita, Prassana Venkat Rao, CR Arvind, and Dhatri Pradeep.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnamurti, P. N. Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights 1849 births 1911 deaths Diwans of Mysore Madhva Brahmins