Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 30 (IANS): A social reformer, businessman, author, publisher, visionary, and “largest employer in the world,” Thangal Kunju Musaliar (TKM) was a multifaceted personality.
TKM's base was Kollam, once the cashew capital of the country, and he was one of the stalwart cashew magnates. Even today, the family continues to be engaged in the business.
A new silver jubilee edition of the biography penned by Kayamkulam Yoonus has enabled many to relive TKM and his contributions to Kerala. It continues to ignite many.
Born on January 12, 1897, TKM was the quintessential renaissance man.
Musaliar’s zeal in uplifting the society around him had him set up the ‘Janakshema Samajam’, the cooperative movement he spearheaded. It was a direct manifestation of his efforts in this regard, which was the fire behind the empire he built.
He took the cashew business to a new height when there were 26 factories employing nearly 30,000 people, of which 25,000 were women.
TKM was popularly referred to as Musaliar and was named the “single largest employer in the world” by Fortune Magazine of the US.
The words of India's first President Dr Rajendra Prasad, when he came to lay the foundation stone of the Thangal Kunju Musaliar College on February 3, 1956 at Kollam, will ring in the minds of many: “If all the rich men of our country had come forward like Janab Musaliar (TKM), many of our problems would have been solved.”
This institution encapsulated Musaliar’s vision of holistic social development and the Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering inaugurated on July 3, 1958.
He also dabbled in journalism -- he published ‘Prabhatham’ daily for long; it had a significant influence on the literary, social and political lives of its readers.
He authored a few books as well.
The impact of Musaliar was such that, the government of India honored him with a commemorative stamp on the occasion of his birth centenary.
Yoonus, when he felt that Musaliar never got due recognition, decided to write a biography in 1997, and then went in for silver jubilee edition, given the huge response to the first edition.