Alagappa Chettiar: far-seeing industrialist with unquenchable thirst for spread of education Premium

Karaikudi's transformation into an educational hub by R.M. Alagappa Chettiar, recognized by prominent figures, including Jawaharlal Nehru and S. Radhakrishnan.

Almost 72 years ago, Karaikudi, [now a special grade municipality with over 1.05 lakh population, as per the 2011 Census], came to the notice of none other than the then Vice-Chancellor of University of Madras, Arcot Lakshmanaswami (A.L.) Mudaliar (1887-1974), who still holds the record of having the longest tenure of 27 years as V-C in any Indian university. Describing the region as ‘the so-called god-forsaken place,’udaliar observed that Karaikudi had been transformed into a ‘great educational and research centre’ for which the veteran academician paid a tribute to one individual — R.M. Alagappa Chettiar (1909-1957). The occasion for Mudaliar’s tribute to Chettiar was the inauguration of the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) on January 15, 1953.

In normal circumstances, S.S. Bhatnagar, who was the then Director (later Director-General) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and played a huge role in establishing 12 national laboratories in the country, would have — to quote him from a report of The Hindu on January 16, 1953 — ‘stoutly opposed’ the location of such an institute in Karaikudi, known for water shortage. Besides, there should have been industrial establishments in the vicinity of a site chosen for any national laboratory. However, all these considerations were overlooked, because the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was conscious of Chettiar’s liberal support to the advancement of science and technology, did not want to dampen the enthusiasm of the industrialist-educationist, who set apart 300 acres and ₹15 lakh for the Institute, and in enabling the development of a neglected site.

That prominent figures from different walks of life were present during the inauguration in 1953 was a testimony to Chettiar’s appeal and standing in society. Given the importance of the event, there was nothing surprising in Chettiar getting the then Vice-President, S. Radhakrishnan, to declare open the Institute or Governor of the erstwhile Madras State Sri Prakasa to preside over the event or in facilitating the participation of respected personalities including O. P. Ramaswami Reddiar, C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar, Basheer Ahmed Sayeed, A.S. P. Aiyar, N.G. Ranga, M. A. Muthiah Chettiar, M. Ananthasayanam Iyengar, T. Chengalvaroyan, Ammu Swaminathan and Sa Ganesan.

The founder of the CECRI also saw to it that a galaxy of leading scientists and technocrats were present on the occasion. Among those who participated in the function were C. V. Raman, 1930 Nobel laureate; Alexander Robertus Todd, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1957; G. I. Finch, Director of the National Chemical Laboratory; K.S. Krishnan, C.V. Raman’s principal collaborator for Raman Effect and a founding figure in the fields of crystal magnetism and magneto-chemistry and Bhatnagar, after whom prize in the areas of science and technology is given these days.

The CECRI was just one of the many educational institutions that received the generous support of Chettiar. Only six years earlier, spurred by Mudaliar’s call, the industrialist-educationist, a pioneer in more fields than one, set up a college in Karaikudi, which grew into a university nearly 40 years later. His commitment to education began with a contribution of ₹5 lakh in 1944 to start a college of technology at the University of Madras; it became what is known as Alagappa College of Technology (AC Tech) today (integrated with the Anna University). Another ₹5 lakh was given to Annamalai University to start an engineering college. In addition, a number of other institutions have been benefited by his munificence and the list includes a higher secondary school at his birth place, Kottaiyur; a ladies hostel at Vepery, Chennai; a gift for development of township infrastructure at Kottaiyur; a gift for Meenakshi Club at Kandanur; ₹1 lakh for the establishment and development of Tamil Department at Travancore University (now called the University of Kerala). The Ramanujan Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, now a part of the Madras University, was founded at his residence — Krishna Vilas — in Vepery in Chennai on January 26, 1950. At that time, it was called the Ramanujan Institute of Higher Mathematics.

Born in a family of financiers, Alagappa Chettiar had a bright academic career at the Presidency College, Chennai. He later proceeded for higher education to London, where he joined the Middle Temple and became one of the earliest members of his community to be called to the Bar. While in London, he underwent training for two years at the Chartered Bank and also took a Pilot’s certificate. An obituary published by this paper on April 6, 1957, stated that “after returning to India, he launched his career as an industrialist and his activities in this field were characterised by drive and enterprise.” His wide-ranging portfolio covered textile mills in Kerala, a flourishing business in stocks, a private airline (Jupiter Airways), general insurance (East and West Insurance), hotels in Mumbai, a cinema hall (Paragon Talkies) on Wallajah Road in Madras, rubber plantations in Malaysia and tin mines in Myanmar.

Chettiar made his influence felt on the social and cultural life of the community also. He played a prominent part in effecting the merger of the scout organisations in the country, which had been working on parallel lines for a long time before and was till his death President of the Bharat Scouts and Guides in the State. As an employer, he was keenly alive to the value of labour welfare and donated ₹1 lakh for a maternity hospital attached to a textile establishment in Kochi.