| Avinashilingam Chettiar
was born on 5 May 1903 at Tiruppur in Coimbatore
district, Tamilnadu, in a wealthy Hindu merchant
family. His father was K. Subrahmanya Chettiar,
and mother Palaniammal. Avinashilingam is a nephew
of T.A. Ramalingam, Chettiar, the famous leader
of the Co-operative Movement and a brother of
T. S. Kandaswami Chettiar.
Avinashilingam had his early education at
the Tiruppur High School and at the London Mission
High School, Coimbatore. Later he joined the
Pachaiyappa’s College, Madras, from where
he graduated in 1923. He studied at the Madras
Law College and took his Law degree in 1925.
He was enrolled as an advocate in 1926. He has
remained unmarried, and under the influence
of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda leads
a simple, almost ascetic life.
Avinashilingam Chettiar was drawn to politics
quite early in life. He joined the Civil Disobedience
Movement and toured extensively, addressing
numerous political meetings in which he spread
the Gandhian message. For some time he was the
President of the Coimbatore District Congress
Committee. During Gandhi’s tour of South
India in 1934 he played a large part in conducting
the tour and collecting two and a half lakhs
of rupees from the Coimbatore district, which
he presented to the Congress fund.
He joined the Individual Satyagraha in 1941
and was imprisoned more than once, being finally
released in 1944. He was elected to the Central
Legislative Assembly in 1935 and continued as
a member till 1945. As a legislator he evinced
great interest in finance and education. Later
he was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly,
and from 1946 to 1949 he served as the Education
Minister in the Government of Madras. One of
his principal achievements as education Minister
was the introduction of Tamil as the medium
of instruction in the secondary schools in Madras.
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The influence of Swami
Sivananda and Brahmananda of the Ramakrishna Mission
led him to found the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya
in 1930-31 at Perianayackenpalayam, in Coimbatore
district. He placed before it the ideas of Sri
Ramakrishna and prescribed a life of purity, discipline
and service to those associated with it. The Vidyalaya
includes a residential high school, a Teacher’s
Training College and a Rural Welfare Centre. Avinashilingam
Chettiar also founded a Home Science College at
Coimbatore.
Avianshilingam Chettiar takes a keen interest
in Tamil language and literature. He started the
Tamil Valachi Kalagam for the promotion of Tamil
literature. The Kalagam has brought out a Tamil
Encyclopaedia, the first of its kind among Indian
languages, and is now engaged in the preparation
of a Children’s Encyclopaedia. Avinashilingam
himself is a successful writer in Tamil. He has
written an account of his pilgrimage to Tirukkedaram
and two treatises on Economics and Education,
besides works on the Gandhian Educational Experiments
and the Wardha Scheme.
Avinashilingam holds typically Gandhian views
on economic planning and feels that a sound agricultural
policy alone can lead to successful industrialisation.
He is of the view that economic plans based on
profit motive and not on a desire to improve the
condition of the masses will not really succeed.
In his opinion the implementation of economic
plans must be entrusted to people who are in touch
with the masses. He is not opposed to modernisation
but he believes that it should not be divorced
from the roots of Indian culture.
A deeply religious man, he is all in favour
of progressive social reforms. He condemns caste
system and approves of widow re-marriage. But
he holds that reforms. He condemns caste system
and approves of widow re-marriage. But he holds
that reforms must be consistent with Indian
culture.
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