Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar (16 June 1893 – 29 July 1974), often called the 'Textile King ' or 'Textile Baron ', was an Indian independence activist, industrialist and the founder of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Thiagarajar school of management and Thiagarajar Polytechnic College, Salem.
[1][2][3] Chettiar was born in 1893 to Muthukaruppan Chettiar and Vinaitherthal achi (Sivakami achi) was born in Sivagangai District, Madras Presidency.
He was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
He edited a newspaper championing the cause of the plantation workers.
In his lifetime Chettiar established fourteen textile mills - notable among these The Sree Meenakshi Mills which was once adjudged Asia’s most modern spinning mill and Rukmini Mills , purchased the Loyal Textile Mills -currently a BSE Listed Company, P.Orr and Sons - luxury watch makers and retailers popularly known as the ‘Time keepers of Madras’ , the Bank of Madurai, and the Madurai Insurance Company.