M. S. Ramaiah

Dr.
M. S. Ramaiah
Personal details
Born Mathikere Sampangi Ramaiah
(1922-04-20)20 April 1922
Madhugiri, Karnataka
Died 25 December 1997(1997-12-25) (aged 75)
Bangalore
Nationality Indian
Spouse(s)
  • Venkatamma
  • Laxmigowramma
Parents Sampangappa Ramaiah
Narasamma
Profession

Dr. M. S. Ramaiah (20 April 1922 – 25 December 1997) was an Indian industrialist[1] and philanthropist, who in 1962 founded the Gokula Education Foundation[2] (that is partnered with Oregon State University[3]) in Bangalore, India, that has in turn established numerous institutes of higher learning including the M. S. Ramaiah Medical College[4] noted for its Collaborative Child Response Unit (CCRU) that aides children who are victims of sexual abuse.[5]

Early life

Mathikere Sampangi Ramaiah was born on 20 April 1922, in Madhugiri to Sampangappa and Narasamma. He had his early education completed in Mathikere, which was then in the outskirts of Bangalore city and moved on to agriculture due to paucity of funds. Later he went to work for the Indian railways for a period of two years.

He later ventured into the job of a contractor and started off as a supplier of bricks for military camps in Bangalore during World War II. His success in the field of civil works was marked by the construction of some of the major projects in the state such as the canals of the Ghataprabha Project, Talakalale Dam and also the Dharma Project.

Achievements

MSR Group of Institutions

In 1962, Ramaiah established the Gokula Education Foundation, which marked the beginning of Ramaiah Institute of Technology. In 1979, the M. S. Ramaiah Medical College was set up and as a requisite for medical education, the M. S. Ramaiah Technical Hospital was founded. With a vision of a multi-speciality centre, the M. S. Ramaiah Institute of Nephro–urology, M. S. Ramaiah Institute of Oncology and M. S. Ramaiah Institute of Cardiology was set up; the founding of M. S. Ramaiah Medical Teaching Hospital in 1985 added on to his list of milestones.

Institutions founded by Ramaiah:

Religion

In his heart, Ramaiah had always been a deeply religious man and has left an indelible mark in all his activities as the President of Karnataka’s ancient shrine ‘Kaiwara. In renovating the Ashram of Yogi Nareyana Yatindra, the space provided sanctity to a huge number of devotees along with the provision of free food everyday. In addition, he organised for the giving away of alms at religious congregations, particularly ‘Sadhu Sangama’.

Industrialisation

With M Vishweswariah as a role model, Ramaiah believed in industrialization and was its pioneer too. Some of the industries he promoted include:

Journalism

Being a multi-faceted personality with a political opinion, Ramaiah developed a deep interest in Journalism. In 1956, he acquired the Thainadu daily, the then oldest Kannada daily in Mysore State and not only led for it to thrive, but he also started Gokula a Kannada weekly and Kailasa a monthly. These became a herald of a neo-tri-colour nationalist era and are considered as model publications even today.

Humanitarian and philanthropic initiatives

The setting up of M. S. Ramaiah Charities Trust led to the assistance of impecunious and meritorious students to pursue a bright career. This trust provides a scholarship of around 25 lakhs to exemplary and backward class students annually. It also supports scholarships for candidates appearing for civil service exams such as the IAS and IPS.

Realising the importance of development in any society, he was responsible for the construction of housing facilities for poor and middle-class families to live at reasonable and affordable prices. Earlier a suburb, the locality has now turned into a modern downtown of a quarter million population.

Being the Chairman of the Reception Committee, he organised the Kannada Sahithya Sammelana at Kaiwara in the year 1990. This hosted the perfect suburban setting for the neoteric and literary minds of Kannada literature to convene and was considered one of the best meets held in the recent past.

2016 land controversy

In 2016, the family of Ramaiah was accused of encroaching on 76 acres of Indian government land worth Rs 5,000 crore that he and his family had acquired in 1991 before his death under the condition that residential complexes, hospitals, educational institutions and other public utility buildings would be constructed on it, but which the accusation claims was, instead, converted it into 280 plots and sold to private parties.[1]

Honours and awards

References

  1. 1 2 "M S Ramaiah encroached 76 acres of government land". Deccan Chronicle. India. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Tribute to our Founder" (PDF). M. S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology.
  3. ↑ "Division of International Programs". Oregon State University.
  4. ↑ "M. S. Ramaiah Medical College". msrmc.ac.in.
  5. ↑ Francis, Merlin (27 March 2016). "Cops propose response units for survivors". The Times of India. India. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
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