T. Ananda Rao
Sir Tanjore Ananda Rao | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Tanjore Ananda Rao | |
| 18th Diwan of the Mysore kingdom | |
| In office 1 April 1909 – 10 November 1912 | |
| Monarch | Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV |
| Preceded by | V. P. Madhava Rao |
| Succeeded by | M. Visvesvaraya |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 May 1852 Madras Presidency |
| Died | July 1919 |
| Alma mater | Presidency College, Chennai |
| Profession | civil servant |
Tanjore Ananda Rao CIE (alternatively known as Ananda Rao Thanjavarkar) (15 May 1852 – 19 July 1919) was an Indian administrator and statesman who served as the Diwan of the Mysore kingdom from 1909 to 1912. He was the eldest son of Sir T. Madhava Rao.
Early life and education
Ananda Rao was born on 15 May 1852 at Padma Vilas, Trivandrum Fort, to prominent Indian statesman Sir T. Madhava Rao who was known for his work as the Diwan of Travancore and Baroda and as one of the early pioneers of the Indian National Congress. The Royal family belonged to a Thanjavur Marathi speaking Deshastha Brahmin community of Thanjavur district.
Rao had his schooling in Madras and completed his matriculation in first class in 1867 and his F. A. in first class in 1869. He completed his B. A. (History) in first class from the Presidency College, Madras and in logic and psychology from the Maharaja's College, Trivandrum.
Career
Rao was initially employed as a tutor to Tukaji Rao Holkar of Baroda before joining as an attache to the Mysore Commission on 14 November 1873. Rao was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Bangalore on 7 July 1876 and was in charge of palace accounts from 1 December 1879 to January 1883.
Rao served as the Assistant Commissioner for Hassan and Kadur from 1883 to 1886 and Acting Deputy Commissioner of Hassan and Mysore from 1886 to 1889. He served as the Chief Secretary to the Diwan of Mysore from 1889 to 1897 and Director of Agricultural and other statistics from 1897 to 1904. Rao was appointed Revenue Commissioner on 14 March 1904 and served in the Mysore Legislative Council from 14 March 1906 till taking over as Diwan on 1 April 1909.
Diwan of Mysore
Rao served as the Diwan of Mysore from 1 April 1909 till 10 November 1912. During his tenure, a lot of measures were taken for the economic development of Mysore. A reservoir was constructed in 1910 for the power station at Shivanasamudra. In the same year, the Mysore-Hassan railway line was extended linking Saligram and Yedatur with the line at Arsikere. The 1st Mysore Economic Conference was inaugurated on 10 June 1910 and met once every year. In 1911-1912, the construction of the Krishnarajasagara Dam across the Cauvery at Kannambadi was commenced. It was Diwan T Anand Rao who invited Sir M Visvesvaraya to be the chief engineer and secretary to government of Mysore during 1909 CE.
Honours
Rao was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1910.
- A major road junction along the Race Course Road in central Bangalore, is named after him as Dewan T. Ananda Rao Circle.
References
- Mysore Gazetteer. pp. 3124–3125.
- Mysore Gazetteer. pp. 3026–3032.