Thangal Kunju Musaliar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 12, 1897 |
| Died | February 19, 1966 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Industrialist, educationalist and visionary |
Thangal Kunju Musaliar (January 12, 1897 - February 19, 1966) [1] was an industrialist, educationalist and visionary, [2] known for his contributions to the cashew industry, and higher education in the state of Kerala, India.
He was born as son of Ahmed Kunju Musaliar at Kollam district of Kerala on 12 January 1897.It was a middle-class family that traces its ancestry to Malik ibn Deenar, Persian scholar and traveler who came to India in the 8th century. [3] [2] He had three wives namely Khadeeja Kunju, Nabeesa Beevi and Ayisha Beevi and twenty one children. His children are prominent businessmen, technocrats and academics. His grandson Malik Kutty is a Plastic Surgeon in Houston, TX in the USA.
After travelling to Sri Lanka, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia for employment, he returned home and started a cashew processing unit, which became successful. [4] In early 1940's he purchased raw cashew from small scale farmers, and supplied the kernels to industrialists after processing. He then set up the first full-fledged cashew factory in Kerala. [5] The company "A.Thangal Kunju Musaliar and Sons Private Limited" was incorporated in Kerala on 10 Jun, 1946. [6] In the 1940s, Musaliar had 26 cashew units and is believed to have employed around 25,000 to 30,000 people directly. [5] He was called the "Cashew King" in national and international markets, [1] [2] and Fortune magazine named him as the single biggest individual employer in the world, at the time. [1] [7]
He set up a book publishing house Vignana Poshini, and in 1944 started a weekly newspaper Prabhatham, which was later on made a daily. [5] [4] [2] He authored multiple books in Malayalam including Prayogikadwaitam, translated to English as Man and the world, practical philosophy and law of nature., by S Sathyavageeswara Iyer. [4] [8]
In 1956, Musaliar formed the TKM Educational Trust to cater for the educational needs of the people of Kerala. The Trust established institutions such as TKM College of Engineering, TKM College of Arts and Science, TKM Institute of Technology, TKM Institute of Management, TKM Secondary School, T.K.M. Centenary Public School and the TKM School of Architecture.
India Post issued a commemorative stamp on Musaliar on 26 October 2001. [9]
A biography of Thangal Kunju Musaliar was written by P. Meerakutty in Malayalam, titled A. Thangal Kunju Musaliar. [10]
The descendants of Musaliar has carried forwarded his legacy in business and have expanded themselves into various sectors beyond cashew. Few of these ventures were out of vision laid out by Musaliar. The major ventures managed by the family today are.
Kollam, is an ancient seaport and the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake and is 71 kilometers northwest of the state capital, Thiruvanathapuram (Trivandrum). Kollam is one of India's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with evidence of habitation stretching back to the megalithic; the city has also been a maritime entrepôt millennia, the earliest attestation of which dates back to the Phoenicians and Romans. It is the southern gateway to the Backwaters of Kerala, and is known for its cashew processing, coir manufacturing, and tourism industries.
The Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, commonly known as TKMCE, is the first government-aided engineering institution in the Indian state of Kerala, with foundation stone laid on 2nd February 1956, and inaugurated on 3 July 1958. The campus is located in Karicode, approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away from Kollam, Kerala, India. The college was affiliated to Kerala University before getting changed to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University when it was formed in 2015. UGC conferred autonomous status to the institution in 2022.
Munroe Island or Mundrothuruthu is an inland island group located at the confluence of Ashtamudi Lake and the Kallada River, in Kollam district, Kerala, South India. It is a group of eight small islets comprising a total area of about 13.4 km2. The island, accessible by road, rail and inland water navigation, is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Kollam by road, 38 kilometres (24 mi) north from Paravur, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west from Kundara and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Karunagapally. As of the 2011 Indian census, the administrative village of Mundrothuruth has a total population of 9599, consisting of 4636 males and 4963 females. This island is also known as "Sinking Island of Kerala".
Keralapuram is a suburban town in Kollam District of Kerala, India. It is located on National Highway 744 (India) at a distance of around 10 kilometers from Kollam City. Keralapuram is famous for numerous cashew factories in the region. It is split into Kottamkara Panchayath and Perinad Panchayath by the National Highway. In Kerala state legislative assembly elections, Keralapuram votes for Kundara Assembly constituency.
Abubakar Abdul Rahim was an Indian politician, freedom fighter, and union minister. He was born to Sri Abubecker in Kollam. The government run District Hospital of Kollam district was renamed after him in commemoration.
Thangal Kunju Musaliar Institute of Technology is an institute of engineering and technology located in Karuvelil, 23 km from the city of Kollam, Kerala, India. Earlier the institute was affiliated by Cochin University of Science and Technology(CUSAT). Now the institute is affiliated by APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU).
Punthalathazham is a landlocked neighbourhood of the city of Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located around six kilometres east of the core Kollam (Quilon) city towards Kannanalloor . This place has a little geographical importance and serves as the tail boundary of Kollam Municipal Corporation. Inhabitants belong to working and middle classes.
K. P. Dandapani was an Indian lawyer. He was advocate general to the Government of Kerala from 2011 to 2016.
Kilikolloor, also known as Kilikollur, is a neighbourhood in Kollam district in Kerala, India. It is a center of the cashew industry in the area, and is also a hub of automobile production.
The Cashew business in Kollam is based in the eponymous city, which is known as the Cashew Capital of the World. Kollam is the largest processed cashew exporter in the world. As of 2011 there were more than 600 cashew processing units in the city. About 800,000 tonnes of raw cashews are imported to the city for processing every year. 80% of India's export quality cashew kernels were prepared in Kollam. Kollam has remained the cashew capital of the world since the 1930s.
Kollam or Quilon is an old seaport and a city on the Laccadive Sea coast in Kerala, India, on Ashtamudi Lake. The city remains notable as the ancient commercial capital of Kerala and the southwestern Indian coast, in addition to its fame as the "Cashew Capital of the World". The Kollam Municipal Corporation has the second largest budget in Kerala in terms of revenue and expenditure.
Karicode or Karikodu is a neighbourhood of Kollam city in India. It is about 5 km away from Kollam city centre. Karicode is the 23rd ward in Kollam Municipal Corporation council. The place is very famous because of the educational institutions by TKM Group(Thangal Kunju Musaliar Group). Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering in Kollam is the first self-financing engineering college in Kerala state. The college, established in 1958, is to be considered as the pioneers in engineering education in Kerala. TKM Arts & Science college is also situated at Karicode.
Thangal Kunju Musaliar Centenary Public School (TKMCPS) was started by Thangal Kunju Musaliar College Trust in the academic year 1997–8 in commemoration of the birth centenary of its founder, late Jb. A Thangal Kunju Musaliar-the educationalist, industrialist and philanthropist. The formal inauguration of this supreme venture was on 12 June 1997 by Jb. Shahal Hassan Musaliar, the President of TKM College Trust.
Kollam district, earlier called Quilon district, is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state, India. The district is representative of all the natural attributes of Kerala states, and is endowed with a long coastal region, a major sea port on the Arabian Sea, plains and the mountains, lakes, lagoons and Kerala Backwaters, forests and the farm land, and rivers and streams. The area had mercantile relationship with Phoenicians and the Romans.
Pareeth Mammy Meerakutty was a Malayalam writer, literary critic, and teacher. He taught Malayalam language and literature at various levels of educational institutions in a teaching career spanning over 44 years. Meerakutty served as a General Council Member of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi during the period 2011–2014.
Raja Vijayaraghavan Valsala is a judge of the Kerala High Court. The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The High Court of Kerala is headquartered at Ernakulam, Kochi.
Manadath Khader Pillay Abdul Hameed was an Indian politician, academic, and businessman who represented Aluva in the Kerala Legislative Assembly between 1967 and 1970. Hameed also served as the first Vice Chairman of the Kerala State Planning Board.