S. Rm. M. Annamalai Chettiar Biography 
Raja Sir Satappa Ramanatha Muttaiya Annamalai Chettiar, also known as S. Rm. M. Annamalai Chettiar was an industrialist, banker, educationist and philanthropist known for his social work. He is the founder of Annamalai University in Chidambaram. He firmly believed that education was the primary need for a country. He was given the title Diwan Bahadur by the British King for the valuable services rendered to the Crown. On 2 June 1923, he was conferred the honour of knighthood and in 1929, he was conferred the title of hereditary Rajah of Chettinad by the King of England, thus becoming the first Raja of Chettinad. His brother, Ramaswami Chettiar was one of the founder of the Indian Bank where Annamalai Chettiar has served as the director. M. A. Muthiah Chettiar and M. A. Chidambaram are his sons.
Annamalai Chettiar was born on September 30, 1881 at Kanadukathan of Madras Presidency of British India. His father, S.R.M.M. Muthiah Chettiar and brother Ramaswami Chettiar were noted bankers and philanthropists. After his schooling, he joined his family business. As a part of family business he conducted many world tours and spent much time in England. One returned he became the head of the civic body of Karaikudi. He served as a member of District Board also. In 1916, he served as a member of the Legislative Council of Madras Presidency for 3 years.
In 1920 he stood for election to the Council of State for the first time and was consecutively elected for three terms. He had deep knowledge on finance and for this reason he was also appointed a governor of the Imperial Bank of India at its inception in 1921. As he firmly believed that education can bring big changes to the society, he decided to endow a college at Chidambaram. Sri Meenakshi College was formally opened in 1920 whose branches spent wide in the future to become Annamalai University, which came into existence on 1 January 1929.
Published: N/A
Updated: November 23, 2017
