Though the late Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar could not pursue higher education, his desire and dream made him establish educational institutions, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Sunday.
Speaking at the Platinum jubilee celebration of Thiagarajar College, she said that the institutions founded by him were unique and stood tall in many ways. Hailing the spirit of the family, which has been responsible in taking forward the legacy of the founder’s vision, she said that the institution had earned a distinction in the field of academics that it is known for its excellence.
Releasing a book, ‘Thiagarajar College - Opening the doors to education,’ jointly authored by Uma Kannan, the president of the college, and Sandhya Sridhar, writer and editor, the Finance Minister said that a couple of chapters in the book revealed the inspiration of the founder in establishing the institution.
After visiting Cambridge University, Shantiniketan and other institutions, Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar did not stop there. The dream was executed by the visionary personality, who had visualised, imagined and transfixed the same here and named it as Thiagarajar College, which stands tall to benefit the people of Madurai.
The FM further said that institutions have their own lives and despite deprived of the opportunity of not going to the higher education campuses, the founder had looked at the positives, which had helped many youth in the past and set to provide bigger opportunities to all youth for generations to come.
Congratulating Hari K Thiagarajan, the secretary of the college, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman said that Thiagarajar College under his leadership would bring in more laurels in the future. With improved rankings in the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) in 2023, she hoped the college would move forward in the coming years.
Paying rich tributes to Karumuttu T Kannan, she said that the growth of the academic institutions founded by his father Thiagarajan Chettiar, had produced stalwarts including Padma awardees, reflecting the commitment for quality education.
Offering felicitations, Mallika Srinivasan, chairperson and Managing Director, TAFE, said that Karumuttu T Kannan, as a person with ideas on a grand scale, he had taken the guidance of his father Karumuttu Thiagarajan and mother Radha Thiagarajan.
The institution, now on the young shoulders of Mr. Hari Thiagarajan, would definitely benefit the student community with more new ideas from around the global institutions. She also touched on the contributions of Thiagarajar College to Tamil and Tamil literature, towards research and in Saiva Siddantham.
In her address, College president Uma Kannan said that the book is a special tribute to the selfless service, dedication, and enormous contributions of the three institution-builders, the founder - Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar, Radha Thiagarajan (her mother-in-law) and Karumuttu T. Kannan (her husband), and the enduring values that they stood for.
She further said that both on a personal and professional level, the founder and the late president combined idealism with pragmatism and worked tirelessly for a better and more equitable world. Their extraordinary legacy and memory would live on through this pre-eminent institution, which will continue to rise to further heights in the years to come, while, as always, adhering to the highest ethical standards.
Earlier, college secretary Hari Thiagarajan welcomed and Principal D. Pandiaraja proposed the vote of thanks.
