Diwan Bahadur Dewan Bahadur or Diwan Bahadur was a title of honour awarded during British rule in India. It was awarded to individuals who had performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Satappa Ramanatha Muthiah Annamalai Chettiar, Raja of Chettinad KCSI (30 September 1881 – 15 June 1948) better known as Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar was an Indian industrialist, banker, educationist and philanthropist from

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 was the founder of

Annamalai University The Annamalai University (AU) is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. ...

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a major town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to b ...

and one of the founders of

Indian Bank Indian Bank is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai. It serves over 100 million customers with 40,002 employees, 5,901 branches with 5,268 ATMs and Cash deposit machines. Total business of the bank has ...

, along with his brother S. Rm. M. Ramaswami Chettiar. Born to S. Rm. Muthiah Chettiar of a wealthy

Nattukottai Nagarathar Nagarathar (நகரத்தார்) is a Tamil caste found native in Tamil Nadu, India. The Nagarathar community was not originally a single caste, but developed from an assortment of related subcastes, which over time became known under th ...

family, Annamalai Chettiar joined the family business early and expanded their banking operations to

South-East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

. Annamalai Chettiar was one of the founders of

along with his brother S. Rm. M. Ramaswami Chettiar and served as the first governor of the

Imperial Bank of India The Imperial Bank of India (IBI) was one of the oldest and the largest commercial banks in India, and was subsequently renamed and nationalised as the State Bank of India in 1955. Initially, as per its royal charter, it acted as the central ba ...

. He also served a term as a member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, the upper house of the Imperial Legislative Council of India and was honoured with a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1923 and the hereditary title of Raja of Chettinad in 1929.

Early life

Annamalai Chettiar was born on 30 September 1881 at

Kanadukathan Kanadukathan is a Town Panchayat (T.P.), Town Panchayat in the Karaikudi taluk of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Demographics In 2001, Kanadukathan had a population of 4,795 people. Of these, 10% were under 6 years of age. The town is ...

in the

Sivaganga estate The estate of Sivaganga, as per British records also known as Kingdom of the Lesser Marava, was a permanently settled ''zamindari'' estate in the Ramnad sub-division of Madura district, Madras Presidency, British India. Along the estate of Ra ...

of the then Madura district 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 ...

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 ...

. His father, S.R. Muthiah Chettiar was a noted banker. His brother Ramaswami Chettiar was one of the founders of the

of which Annamalai Chettiar later served as a director. After his schooling, he joined his family business and spent a considerable time in England. On his return home, he became the head of the civic body of Karaikudi and the District Board.

Career

In 1916, he transferred from local affairs to the Legislative Council of Madras Presidency, where he sat for 3 years. In 1920, he stood for election to the

and held his seat in the council for three consecutive terms. He was appointed one of the governors of the

in 1921. Annamalai Chettiar established Sri Meenakshi College at

in 1920. A Tamil College was added in 1927 and an Oriental Training College and College of Music were established. All these institutions were combined to form the

on 1 January 1929. He died on 15 June 1948.

Honours

Chettiar was given the title

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

for valuable services rendered to the Crown. Later, he was conferred the honour of knighthood on 2 June 1923. In 1929, he was conferred the title of hereditary Raja of Chettinad.

Family and legacy

Annamalai Chettiar's oldest son

M. A. Muthiah Chettiar Sir Muthiah Annamalai Muthiah Chettiar, Rajah of Chettinad KCSI (5 August 1905 – 12 May 1984) better known as Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar was an Indian Industrialist, banker, politician, philanthropist, and cultural activist who served as F ...

, an activist of the Tamil Isai Movement, served as the Minister of Education and excise in the

while his third son M. A. Chidambaram and grandson

A. C. Muthiah Annamalai Chidambaram Muthiah (born 1941) is an Indian industrialist and cricket administrator. He served as the Chairman of Southern Petrochemical Industries Limited (SPIC) and is the chairman of Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering (SVCE) ...

both served as presidents of the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

(BCCI). Annamalai Chettiar is the maternal grandfather of former

Finance Minister of India The minister of finance (Vitta Mantrī ) (or simply, the finance minister, short form FM) is the head of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India. One of the senior most offices of the Union Cabinet, the finance minister is r ...

P. Chidambaram Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee o ...

. The suburb of

Raja Annamalaipuram Raja Annamalaipuram, known shortly as R. A. Puram, is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Named after banker and philanthropist, S. Rm. M. Annamalai Chettiar who owned most of the property at one time, Raja Annamalaipuram extends along the nort ...

in Chennai is named after Annamalai Chettiar. Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department issued a commemorative stamp in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chettiar, Annamalai 1881 births 1948 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Indian Knights Bachelor Indian monarchs Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian bankers Businesspeople from Chennai Mayors of Chennai Annamalai University 20th-century Indian philanthropists Members of the Council of State (India) Businesspeople from British India