Kandasamy Kandar
Kandasamy Kandar or Vallal Kandasamy Kandar was a philanthropist, from (Paramathi) Velur, region of Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu
Early life
Sankara Kandaswami Kandar was born to Sankara Kandar and Veerayi Ammal on 23 May 1880 in Nanjai Edayar. He had two siblings. His father was the village Munsiff and had close interactions with the people around there. Sankara Kandaswami Kandar succeeded his father as Munsiff and was an efficient administrator despite having had only elementary education. His work was enriched by his cleverness and his sense of social service and philanthropy. His agricultural enterprises prospered and he grew rich. He wanted to use his wealth for good causes.[1]
Charity
He spent money on renovating and building temples and helping devotees to visit religious places and offering worship. He also planned the uplift to the downtrodden not only in his village but in the entire Cauvery belt and Namakkal. He called a meeting of his Vanniyar community elders, govt officials, socially conscious leaders and many others whom he regarded as well -wishers. The meeting, it was actually a state-wide conference- was organized and held at Nanjai Edayar in 1914, and the event had a tremendous impact in the region. Prominent leaders and personalities from far and wide attended it and Sri Sankara Kandaswami Kandar outlined his plans for the uplift of the people in the region with his own resources. At the end of the deliberation, he was awarded the title of Sambu Kulasekarar in honour of his far reaching plans for social reforms.[1]
Kandasamy Kandar Trust
He founded the Kandasamy Kandar Educational Trust by starting College in Velur. K. Kamaraj then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu blessed the endeavour and the University of Madras gave affiliation first for the Pre-University course and later to Degree courses in Arts and Science subjects. The College functioned in temporary buildings for some time while new building activities were going on. In 1967 the college moved to its own premises and C. N. Annadurai, then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu declared it open. In 1971 the Postgraduate courses in many science subjects like Microbiology, Biotechnology, etc., were started. The University of Madras approved our research facilities leading to the award of Ph.D degree. This was a singular honour for a college in a rural area.[2]
Present
Presently the trust runs several Educational Institutions in the region. And trust is governed by Tamil Nadu Vanniyar Public Properties Welfare Board as he Belongs to the Vanniyar Community[3][4]