Sir Purniah Narasinga Rao Krishnamurti, KCIE (12 August 1849 – 1911) was an Indian lawyer and administrator who served as the 16th

Dewan of Mysore The dewan of Mysore (sometimes spelled diwan) was the ''de facto'' chief executive officer of the Government of Mysore (now Government of Karnataka), ''ex officio'' chairman of the Dewan's Council (now Cabinet), and the prime minister and roya ...

from 1901 to 1906. He was the great-great grandson of

Purnaiah Krishnacharya Purnaiah (1746 – 27 March 1812), popularly known as Dewan Purnaiah, was an Indian administrator, statesman, and military strategist who served as the first dewan of Mysore from 1782 to 1811. He was instrumental in the restorati ...

, the first dewan of Mysore.

Early life and education

Krishnamurti was born on 12 August 1849 in the

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...

and was educated at

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. He graduated in law from the

University of Madras 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 joined Mysore Civil Service as Assistant Superintendent in 1870 during

Mysore Commission The Mysore Commission, also known as Commissioners' Rule or simply the Commission Rule, was a period and form of government in the history of the Kingdom of Mysore and the neighbouring province of Coorg from 1831 to 1881 when British commissione ...

. After the restoration of the throne to the

Wadiyar dynasty The Wadiyar dynasty,() also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore (also spelt Wodeyer, Odeyer, and Wadeyar), is a Medieval India, late-medieval India, Indian royal family of former Maharaja of Mysore, maharajas of Mysore from the Urs (surname) ...

, Krishnamurti served as a judge of the Chief Court of Mysore before being appointed Dewan in 1901. On 3 August 1905, whilst he was dewan, public electric lighting was introduced in

, becoming the first city in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to get electric street lighting. He was also the fifth Jagirdar of

Yelandur estate Estate of Yelandur or Yelandur Jagir was an princely estate in the erstwhile State of Mysore of Madras Presidency. At present it is located in the Chamarajanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka..The town of Yelandur was the administr ...

. He had two children.

Awards and honours

In 1897, Krishnamurti was made a

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

(CIE). He was promoted to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

in the

1903 Durbar Honours The 1903 New Year Honours, announced at the time as the Durbar Honours, were appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was announced on the day of the 1903 Delhi Durbar held to celebrate the suc ...

Places in honour

Krishnamurthypuram Krishna Murthy Puram is an urban commercial and residential suburb of Mysore city in Karnataka state, India. Etymology It was named after P. N. Krishnamurti, Diwan of Mysore Kingdom and grandson of Purnaiah, another Diwan. Krishnamurti is the ...

, a locality in

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 ...

, is named after him.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnamurti, P. N. Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights 1849 births 1911 deaths Diwans of Mysore Lawyers from British India