Diwan Bahadur Sir Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer (14 May 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n lawyer and member of the Constituent Assembly of India

Constituent Assembly of India

The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India, and following independence served as the nation's first Parliament.-Nature of the Assembly:...

, which was responsible for framing the Constitution of India

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...

. He was Advocate General

Advocate General

An Advocate General is a senior law officer of a country or other jurisdiction, usually charged with advising the courts or Government on legal matters.-India:In India, an Advocate General is a legal adviser to a state government...

 of the Composite Madras State

Madras State

Madras State was the name by which the Indian districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Northern Kerala, Bellary and Dakshina Kannada were collectively known as from 1950 to 1953....

.

Early life

Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer was born in 1883 in the small village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 of Pudur

Pudur

Pudur is a village and a Mandal in Ranga Reddy district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India....

 in Nellore district

Nellore district

Sri Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District is one of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh. Nellore is famous for high paddy field, and so it got its name from "Nelli". The population of the district was 2,966,082 of which 22.45% were urban as of 2011....

 of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

. His father Ekamra Sastry, a priest, was content to spend his days in peace and piety. Even so, he ensured his son Krishnaswamy was educated. Krishnaswamy was a meritorious student and after passing his matriculation examination in 1899, he joined the Madras Christian College

Madras Christian College

The Madras Christian College, commonly known as MCC, is a liberal arts and sciences college in Madras , India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. Currently, the college is affiliated to the University of Madras, but functions as an autonomous institution from its campus...

 to study history. Professors like Kellett were so impressed with Krishnaswamy that they appointed him as a tutor in history. Alladi used his spare time to attend classes in law and passed the B.L. exam. Without the backing of wealth or influence, Krishnaswamy became the leader of the Bar in seven years, a position he retained throughout his life. He was made a Dewan Bahadur in 1930 and was knighted in the 1932 New Year Honours List

Personal life

He married Venkalakshmamma. They had 11 children in 10 deliveries. The first two children died in infancy. The third, fourth and fifth were daughters - Sarada, Kalpakam and Meenakshi. Alladi Kuppu Swamy

Alladi Kuppu Swamy

Justice Alladi Kuppuswami B.A., B.L. was Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court.He is son of Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer and born on March 23, 1920. He was educated at Loyola College and Law College, Madras. He did B.A. Mathematics Degree in First Class in 1939 and studied Law in 1939-41. He...

 was the sixth. The seventh was a girl Mangathayi, who died young. Alladi Ramakrishnan

Alladi Ramakrishnan

Alladi Ramakrishnan was an Indian physicist and the founder of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai. He made seminal contributions to Stochastic Process, Particle Physics, Matrix Algebra, Special Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.- Early life :Ramakrishnan was born on 9...

 was the eighth. The ninth died in infancy. The tenth was Alladi Prabhakar and the last was Rajeswari. The famous neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran is the son of Meenakshi.

Alladi Memorial Trust

Alladi Memorial Trust was founded in 1983 by Alladi Kuppuswami to commemorate the birth centenary of his father Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer. It is aimed to help poor litigants, lawyers and students of law and for helping in the administration of justice. Alladi Memorial Lectures are delivered every year on issues relating to the Indian Constitution. The lecturers are Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer

V. R. Krishna Iyer

Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer , popularly known as Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, is a former judge in the Supreme Court of India. He was born in a village in Malabar region of Kerala...

, Justice Y. V. Chandrachud

Y. V. Chandrachud

The Honourable Justice Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud served as the Chief Justice of India from February 22, 1978 to the day he retired on July 11, 1985. Born in Pune in the state of Maharashtra, he was first appointed Judge to the Supreme Court of India on August 28, 1972 and is the longest...

, Sri P. C. Rao, Sri Pavani Parameswara Rao, Nandita Haksar, Rama Devi and Justice M. Jagannadha Rao

M. Jagannadha Rao

Justice M. Jagannadha Rao B.Sc., L.L.B. was Chief Justice of Kerala High Court and Delhi High Court and Judge of Supreme Court of India.-Brief Lifesketch:...

.