Diwan Bahadur Lakshminarayanapuram Krishna Ananthakrishna Iyer (1861–1937) was an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He is known for his work among the hill tribes of the western part of

Madras province The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency in ...

Early life

Ananthakrishna Iyer was born to a Vedic scholar, L. N. Krishna Iyer, in the village of Lakshminarayanapuram near

Palghat Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

which is in modern-day

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. He was the eldest of four sons and two daughters. He matriculated from Palaghat High School in 1878 and passed BA from Madras Christian College in 1883.

Career

Ananthakrishna Iyer is best known for his books ''Castes and Tribes of

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

'' and ''Castes and Tribes of

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

''. Both are pioneering works on the tribes inhabiting India's west coast. He worked at the Revenue Department at Vayanad, then left to join Victoria College Palaghat. In 1896, he became a headmaster in a Christian school. In 1897, he joined Maharajas College at Eranakulam as a scientific assistant. The log book kept at St Berchmans High School, Changanacherry, states, "He took charge of the school as Headmaster on 22 February 1897. He was there till May that year and left for Ernakulam by former Headmaster Thomas K J kallarakavumkal Mammood P O PIN 686536 Changanacherry Kerala". His son, L. A. Krishna Iyer, was a noted anthropologist and a

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

awardee.

Works

* * * (5 volumes)

References

Sources

* * (Special volume) 1861 births 1937 deaths People from West Godavari district Dewan Bahadurs Academic staff of Government Victoria College, Palakkad Indian social sciences writers Writers from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian anthropologists 19th-century Indian anthropologists Scholars from British India People from the Madras Presidency {{india-academic-bio-stub