G. Ramasamy, an 84-four-year-old retired headmaster of a primary school here, donated ₹5 lakh from the savings of his pension money towards setting up a Chair for Tamil at the renowned Harvard University on Sunday.
Mr. Ramasamy, who lives by himself at his modest house in Harveypatti here after his wife passed away a few years ago, said that he felt it was his duty as a Tamil to donate for the Chair.
“The money is my little contribution for the development my language,” Mr. Ramasamy said.
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Periyar his inspiration
The octogenarian, who says that he was inspired by the principles of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy since his school days, pointed out that he had also made significant donations to the Periyar Maniammai University in the past.
According to Mr. Ramasamy, he came to know about the initiative to set up a Tamil Chair at Harvard University through an article published in a magazine brought out by Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Federation (TNTF). “I immediately contacted the federation president and expressed my interest to contribute ₹5 lakh,” he added.
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S. Muthusamy, a former member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Council and the president of TNTF, said that he touched base with Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA), an organisation campaigning for the setting up of the Chair, through which the donation was made on Sunday.
He added that TNTF Trust has also made a separate donation of ₹1 lakh for the cause. Pointing out ₹10 crore is still needed to set up a corpus for the Chair, Caldwell Velnambi, Joint Secretary, FeTNA, expressed hope that the donation by Mr. Ramasamy will inspire many others to contribute for the cause.
“We were overwhelmed by Mr. Ramasamy’s gesture when we visited him on Sunday. He still cooks for himself and washes his own clothes. He lives in a small house without any luxury and yet he decided to donate a part of his savings for the Chair,” Mr. Muthusamy said.