Thenpattinam Ponnuswamy Meenakshisundaram (8 January 1901 – 27 August 1980), popularly known as Te Po Meenkshisunadaranar, was an Indian scholar, writer of Tamil and English literature[1] and the founder and vice chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University.
[2] Born on 8 January 1901 at Thenpattinam, in the erstwhile Chengelput district of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu to S. Ponnusami Gramani, Meenakshisundaram did his college studies at Pachaiyappa's College from where he secured his BA (1920), BL (1922), MA in History (1923) and a Diploma in Economics.
[3] After starting his career in 1923 as a lawyer and serving the Madras Corporation Council in 1924, he shifted his career as a professor of Tamil and served Annamalai University from 1954 to 1958 and the Presidency College, Chennai till 1961.
He was serving as the director of the Center for Advanced Study in Dravidian Linguistics of Annamalai University when he was appointed as the founder vice chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University[4] in 1966, a post he held till 1971.
The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1977, for his contributions to literature and education.