M. A. Muthiah Chettiar
Encyclopedia
Rajah Sir Muttaiya Annamalai Muthiah Chettiar (August 5, 1905 – May 12, 1984) was a banker, educationist, philanthropist
and a short time politician
from the India
n state
of Tamil Nadu
. He was the first Mayor
of Chennai
. His father Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar was also a famous educationist and along with him he found the Annamalai University
in the town of Chidambaram
in Tamil Nadu. He was also the third Nattukottai Chettiar
to be Knighted, the first two were his nephew and father. Government of Tamil Nadu honoured him with the title Tamil Isai Kavalar.
and a distinguished member of the Nattukottai Nagarathar
community. He studied mostly in Madras, graduating from the Presidency College, Chennai
in 1922. He then went to Burma on his family's business, acquiring expertise in banking.
) and the Indian Bank
.
Chairman of the Justice Party
, he retained his interest in education. In 1936 he was appointed Minister-in-Charge of education, Public Health and Excise, and was also the pro-Chancellor of Madras University for over a year. He remained on the Board of Management of the Pachaiyappa's Charities for 33 years. He was also on the Syndicate of the Madras University and the Board of Management of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, for some years. In 1948 he became Pro-Chancellor of Annamalai University which expanded to include the faculties of Education, Fine Arts, Culture, Law and Medicine. Two UGC Centres of Advanced Study in Marine Biology
and Linguistics
came into being. The Engineering and Technology Department developed into a Post-Graduate Centre. The Muthiah Polytechnic, Annamalainagar, and the Annamalai Polytechnic, Chettinad, were established.
He was interested in the study of Tamil language
and Tamil literature
, Tamil music and culture
. His services to the cause of Tamil earned him the title of Tamil Isai Kavalar.
, impartial and balanced, as a leader of the opposition
in 1939 and when he held charge of Local Administration and Hindu
Religious Endowments. He was the first Mayor of Chennai (then called Madras) when the Mayoralty was reinstated for the Corporation of Chennai in 1933. The Mayoralty had been earlier removed in 1792, when the act made Madras as a Municipality
. In 1946 he was elected member of the Constituent Assembly at New Delhi
.
in the 1941 King's Birthday Honours, and was invested by the Viceroy of India on 24 June 1941. He also had the rare honour of hosting a lunch in the Chettinad House for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh
. While the Government of India bestowed on him Padma Bhushan
in 1973, the Tamil Nadu Government honoured him with "Tamil Isai Kavalar" title in 1979. New York World University awarded an honorary doctorate to him in 1982. He died on May 12, 1984 in Madras leaving an impressive record of interests and achievements. Indian government hourned him with a postal stamp issues on him memory on December 21, 1987.
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and a short time politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from the 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 state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. He was the first Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. His father Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar was also a famous educationist and along with him he found the Annamalai University
Annamalai University
Annamalai University is a Public University located in Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The university offers courses of higher education in arts, sciences and engineering.The university also provides around 380 courses under distance mode...
in the town of Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
in Tamil Nadu. He was also the third Nattukottai Chettiar
Nagarathar
The Nagarathars is a Chettiar community in Shaivism that originated in Kaveripoompattinam under the Chola kingdom of India. They are a prominent mercantile Vaishya, caste in Tamil Nadu, South India...
to be Knighted, the first two were his nephew and father. Government of Tamil Nadu honoured him with the title Tamil Isai Kavalar.
Early life
He was born on August 5, 1905, son of Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar,the Raja of ChettinadRaja of Chettinad
The Raja of Chettinad was a honorary title bestowed on the head of the S. Rm. family of Kanadukathan in the Chettinad region by the British Raj. The first Raja of Chettinad was Sir Annamalai Chettiar....
and a distinguished member of the Nattukottai Nagarathar
Nagarathar
The Nagarathars is a Chettiar community in Shaivism that originated in Kaveripoompattinam under the Chola kingdom of India. They are a prominent mercantile Vaishya, caste in Tamil Nadu, South India...
community. He studied mostly in Madras, graduating from the Presidency College, Chennai
Presidency College, Chennai
Presidency College is an arts, law and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. Established as the Madras Preparatory School on October 15, 1840 and later, upgraded to a high school and then, graduate college, the Presidency College is one of the oldest government arts colleges...
in 1922. He then went to Burma on his family's business, acquiring expertise in banking.
As a banker
He became a member of Madras Legislative Council, representing the South Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with which he was associated for 50 years, and was elected its President in 1941. He was appointed member of the Provincial Banking Enquiry Committee (1931). In 1929, he became a member of the Corporation of Madras and was elected Mayor in 1933 and 1934. In 1943, he was elected president of the Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and industry. He was associated with the Imperial Bank of India (now the State Bank of IndiaState Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...
) and the Indian Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Bank is a major Indian Commercial Bank headquartered in Chennai , India. It has 22,000 employees, 1923 branches and is one of the big public sector banks of India. It has overseas branches in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and 229 correspondent banks in 69 countries...
.
As an educationist
Interest in education was part of the family heritage. He was associated with his father in making Sri Minakshi College, Chidambaram the nucleus of Annamalai university. While pursuing his political career as Chief Whip and Legislative AssemblyLegislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
Chairman of the Justice Party
Justice Party (India)
The Justice Party , officially known as South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. The party was established in 1917 by T. M. Nair and Theagaroya Chetty as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency...
, he retained his interest in education. In 1936 he was appointed Minister-in-Charge of education, Public Health and Excise, and was also the pro-Chancellor of Madras University for over a year. He remained on the Board of Management of the Pachaiyappa's Charities for 33 years. He was also on the Syndicate of the Madras University and the Board of Management of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, for some years. In 1948 he became Pro-Chancellor of Annamalai University which expanded to include the faculties of Education, Fine Arts, Culture, Law and Medicine. Two UGC Centres of Advanced Study in Marine Biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
and Linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
came into being. The Engineering and Technology Department developed into a Post-Graduate Centre. The Muthiah Polytechnic, Annamalainagar, and the Annamalai Polytechnic, Chettinad, were established.
He was interested in the study of Tamil language
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and Tamil literature
Tamil literature
Tamil literature refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution...
, Tamil music and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. His services to the cause of Tamil earned him the title of Tamil Isai Kavalar.
In politics
He earned the reputation of being a sensitive ParliamentarianMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, impartial and balanced, as a leader of the opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
in 1939 and when he held charge of Local Administration and Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Religious Endowments. He was the first Mayor of Chennai (then called Madras) when the Mayoralty was reinstated for the Corporation of Chennai in 1933. The Mayoralty had been earlier removed in 1792, when the act made Madras as a Municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
. In 1946 he was elected member of the Constituent Assembly at New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
.
Awards and legacy
He was knightedKnight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 1941 King's Birthday Honours, and was invested by the Viceroy of India on 24 June 1941. He also had the rare honour of hosting a lunch in the Chettinad House for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...
. While the Government of India bestowed on him Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
in 1973, the Tamil Nadu Government honoured him with "Tamil Isai Kavalar" title in 1979. New York World University awarded an honorary doctorate to him in 1982. He died on May 12, 1984 in Madras leaving an impressive record of interests and achievements. Indian government hourned him with a postal stamp issues on him memory on December 21, 1987.