Sir Tanjore Ananda Rao (alternatively known as Ananda Rao Thanjavarkar) (15 May 1852 – 19 July 1919) was an Indian administrator and statesman who served as the 18th

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 1909 to 1912. He was the eldest son of Sir T. Madhava Rao.

Early life and education

Ananda Rao was born on 15 May 1852 at Padma Vilas,

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its List of renamed Indian cities and states, former name Trivandrum (), is the Capital city, capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as ...

Fort, to Sir T. Madhava Rao, a prominent Indian statesman who was known for his work as the

Diwan of Travancore The Diwan of Travancore was the head of government of Travancore, a princely state in South India. Appointed by the Maharaja of Travancore, the office of Diwan existed from 1729 to 1948, when it gave way to the office of Prime Minister of Trava ...

and of

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

and as one of the early pioneers of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

. The Rao Noble family belonged to Marathi-speaking

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Bra ...

community of

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district ...

. Rao had his schooling 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 ...

and completed his matriculation in first class in 1867 and his F. A. in first class in 1869. He earned Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in history in first class from the

Presidency College, Madras 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 in logic and psychology from the Maharaja's College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Career

Rao was initially employed as a tutor to Maharaja Tukajirao Holkar III before joining as an attache to the Mysore Commission on 14 November 1873. Rao was appointed Assistant Commissioner of

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 ...

on 7 July 1876 and was in charge of

Mysore Palace The Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is a historical palace and a royal residence (house). It is located in Mysore, Karnataka. It used to be the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. Th ...

accounts from 1 December 1879 to January 1883. Rao served as the Assistant Commissioner for Hassan and

Kaduru Kaduru, also known as Kadur, is a town and a Taluk in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka. It is located at . located in the rain shadow region of western ghats, most of the taluk is dry unlike much of the district. Kadur is known for Areca ...

from 1883 to 1886 and Acting Deputy Commissioner of Hassan and

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 ...

from 1886 to 1889. He served as the Chief Secretary to Diwan

Sir K. Seshadri Iyer Sir Kumarapuram Seshadri Iyer (also spelled Aiyar) (1 June 1845 – 13 September 1901), was an Indian advocate who served as the 15th Diwan of Mysore from 1883 to 1901. He was the second longest serving diwan of Mysore after Diwan Purnaiah. He ...

from 1889 to 1897 and Director of Agricultural and Other Statistics from 1897 to 1904. Rao was appointed Revenue Commissioner on 14 March 1904 and served in the Mysore Legislative Council from 14 March 1906 until taking over as Diwan on 1 April 1909.

Diwan of Mysore

Rao served as the Diwan of Mysore from 1 April 1909 till 10 November 1912. During his tenure, a lot of measures were taken for the economic development of

. A reservoir was constructed in 1910 for the power station at

Shivanasamudra Shivanasamudra Falls is a waterfall on the border of Malavalli taluk, Mandya district and Kollegala taluk, Chamarajanagara district of the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated along the river Kaveri, which forms here the boundary to the ...

. In the same year, the Mysore-Hassan railway line of Mysore Railways was extended, linking Saligrama and Yedatur with the line at

Arsikere Arsikere is a city and taluka in the Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the second largest city in Hassan district, demographically. Arsikere city municipal council consists of 31 wards. This region is known for its cocon ...

. The first Mysore Economic Conference was inaugurated on 10 June 1910 and met once every year. In 1911/1912, construction of the Krishnaraja Sagara Dam across the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...

Kannambadi Kannambadi was a village near Mysore in the Mandya district that was chosen as the site of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in 1910. The dam is therefore called ''Kannambadi Katte'' in Kannada. When the dam was completed, Kannambadi village becam ...

village was commenced. It was Rao who invited Sir M. Visvesvaraya to be the chief engineer and secretary to the government of Mysore in 1909.

Honours

Rao 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 1910. A major road junction along the Race Course Road in central Bangalore, is named after him as Dewan T. Ananda Rao Circle.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Ananda 1852 births 1919 deaths Marathi people Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Presidency College, Chennai alumni Diwans of Mysore