Dr. Jeppiaar (11 June 1931 – 18 June 2016), also known as Jeppiaar Jesuadimai and J. P. R., was an Indian politician, educationist, and industrialist. He was born in Muttom near Nagercoil, Travancore Cochin Presidency, now the

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

District,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. He obtained his Bachelor of Law (B.L.) from

Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

and his PhD from

Anna University Anna University is a public state university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The main campus is in Guindy. It was originally established on 4 September 1978 and is named after C. N. Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Histor ...

. He was the founder and chairman of Jeppiaar Educational Trust and he was the founder and chancellor of the

Sathyabama University Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology (SIST), formerly known as Sathyabama Engineering College and Sathyabama University, is a private, STEM-intensive, multi-disciplinary, multi-campus deemed university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. ...

. He was also the president of the Consortium of Professional, Arts and Science Colleges of Tamil Nadu. He is one of the pioneers in the privatization of engineering education in Tamil Nadu. His net worth was estimated at 3,000 crore in 2016.

Early life

Jeppiaar was born in a

Mukkuvar Mukkuvar is a maritime ethnic group found in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Eastern and North Western coastal regions of Sri Lanka. They are mostly found on the Malabar Coast, and Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, who have tradit ...

Roman Catholic Christian family. His father was Jesuadimai and mother Panimalar Ammal, after whom he named the Panimalar educational institutions. He was said be a close associate of

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initialism M.G.R. and as Makkal Thilagam/Puratchi Thalaivar, was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of ...

Political career

During Dr. M. G. Ramachandran's regime, he acted as the Government chief whip of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council. He also served as the Secretary of the

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

District

AIADMK The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory ...

party from 1972 to 1987 and was a special envoy to the Chief Minister. * The chairman of Madras Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metro Water). * Honorary services as Elected Member of Legislative Council * Director of Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation.

Death

On 18 June 2016, he died shortly after experiencing breathlessness, sometimes between 8.30 PM and 8.45 PM Indian Standard Time IST. He was rushed to the emergency ward of Global Hospital at around 8.50 PM, Perumbakkam, where he was declared dead upon arrival. He was aged 85, at the time of death. Funeral of Jeppiaar took place at

on 19 June 2016 and was attended by students, teachers, politicians, film personalities and people from different walks of life; and he was laid to rest at the entrance portion of the university.

Launch of memorial museum

As a tribute to him, a memorial museum was set up and inaugurated in the premises of sathyabhama university on 17 June 2017. The museum is an artistic tribute to him, and was launched a day before his first death anniversary, by Dr. Regeena Jeppiaar. This museum is the first of its kind in India, which has been exclusively dedicated for an educationist. It has a collection of his various portraits, depicting his life and achievements in many fields such as academic, cultural, and social circles from his childhood till demise amongst his personal things. The whole work of the museum was designed by the artist Mr. A. P. Sridhar. Several dignitaries from cinema and educational fields attended and inaugurated the museum.

Filmography

As producer

As actor

References

{{Authority control People from Kanyakumari district 1931 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Indian educational theorists