Founding Fathers

Nalwadi KrishnaRaja Wadiyar

Founder, University of Mysore

Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar; 4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore, from 1894 until his death in 1940. At the time of his death, he was one of the world’s wealthiest men, with a personal fortune estimated in 1940 to be worth US$400 million, equivalent to $7 billion at 2018 prices. He was the second-wealthiest Indian, after Mir Osman Ali Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad.

He was a philosopher-king, who was seen by Paul Brunton as living the ideal expressed in Plato’s Republic. He has been compared to Emperor Ashoka by the English statesman Lord Samuel. Acknowledging Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV’s noble and efficient kingship, Lord John Sankey declared in 1930 at the Round Table Conference in London, “Mysore is the best administered state in the world”.

The vernacular name Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar comes from the word “nalwadi” meaning “the fourth” in Kannada.

Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar

Founder, University of Mysore

Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar(18 July 1919 – 23 September 1974), was the twenty-fifth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1940 to 1971, ruling from 1940 until the monarchy was abolished in 1950, continuing to hold the title of maharaja until princely titles were abolished in 1971, and remaining head of the erstwhile royal family with the unofficial title of maharaja thereafter through his death. He was a noted philosopher, musicologist, political thinker, and philanthropist.

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was the only son of Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar and Yuvarani Kempu Cheluvajamanni. He graduated from Maharaja’s College, Mysore in 1938, earning five awards and gold medals.

Sir M Visvesvaraya

Founder, University of Mysore

“Remember, your work may be only to sweep a railway crossing, but it is your duty to keep it so clean that no other crossing in the world is as clean as yours”

On the 15th of September 1861, more than a century ago a little boy was born in Muddenahalli in the Chikkaballapur Taluk of Kolar District (Mysore State). His father Srinivasa Sastry and his mother Venkachamma named him Visvesvaraya.

Hall of Fame 

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

“A good teacher must know how to arouse the interest of the pupil in the field of study for which he is responsible. He must himself be a master in the field of study and be in touch with the latest developments in the subject. He must himself be a fellow traveler in the exciting pursuit of knowledge.”

Sir Mirza Ismail

Sir Mirza Muhammad Ismail – Amin-ul-Mulq(24 October 1883 – 5 January 1959) was an Indian statesman who was the Diwan (Prime Minister) of the Kingdoms of Mysore, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

Sir Chetpat Pattabhirama Ramaswami Iyer, Diwan, Travancore considered him “one of the cleverest men in India”. Long-time friend Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman said that “Sir Mirza’s accessibility and personal charm coupled with his depth of knowledge and his keen sense of human and cultural values made him a great and highly successful administrator”.

Distinguished Alumni

Prof. C. N. R. Rao

Prof. C. N. R. Rao (born on 30 June 1934, Bangalore, India) is the National Research Professor as well as Honorary President and Linus Pauling Research Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.  He is also an Honorary Professor at the Indian Institute of Science.

Dr. K. V. Puttappa (Kuvempu)

K. V. Puttappa was born on 29th December 1904 of a well-to-do family of agriculturists. His father was Venkatappa and mother Seethamma. From his childhood, he imbibed everything he heard and saw from the forest-rich land of Malenad area. Plant and animal world provided constant company to this shy and self entertaining and ever-inquisitive boy.

Sri Sri Sri Shivakumara Swami

Shivakumara Swami (born Shivanna; 1 April 1907 – 21 January 2019) was an Indian supercentenarian, humanitarian, spiritual leader and educator. He was a Lingayat religious figure, he joined the Siddaganga Matha in 1930 Karnataka and became head seer from 1941. He also founded the Sri Siddaganga Education Society.[6] Described as the most esteemed adherent of Lingayatism, he was referred to as Nadedaaduva Devaru (walking God) in the state.

Before his death at the age of 111 years, 295 days, he was one of the oldest people living in India. In 2015, he was awarded by the Government of India the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award.

Dr. U. R. Ananthamurthy

Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy is a contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language and is considered as one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. He is well known among Indian authors. He is the sixth person among eight recipients of the Jnanpith Award for the Kannada language, the highest literary honor conferred in India.

Padma Shri S. L. Bhyrappa

Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa (born 26 July 1931) is an Indian novelist, philosopher and screenwiter who writes in Kannada. His work is popular in the state of Karnataka and he is widely regarded as one of modern India’s popular novelists. His novels are unique in terms of theme, structure, and characterization. He has been among the top-selling authors in the Kannada language and his books have been translated into Hindi and Marathi which have also been sellers.

Bhyrappa’s works do not fit into any specific genre of contemporary Kannada literature such as Navodaya, Navya, Bandaya, or Dalita, partly because of the range of topics he writes about. His major works have been at the center of several heated public debates and controversies. He was awarded the 20th Saraswati Samman in 2010. In March 2015, Bhyrappa was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship. The Government of India awarded him with the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016.

.

Chief Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah

M. N. Venkatachaliah (born 25 October 1929) was the 25th Chief Justice of India. He served as Chief Justice from 1993 to 1994. He currently serves as the Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Deemed University)

N. Santosh Hegde

Nitte Santosh Hegde (born 16 June 1940) is a former justice of the Supreme Court Of India, former Solicitor General of India and was Lokayukta (ombudsman) for Karnataka State of India from 2006-2011.

N. R. Narayana Murthy

Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy (born 20 August 1946), commonly referred to as Narayana Murthy, is an Indian IT industrialist and the co-founder of Infosys, a multinational corporation providing business consulting, technology, engineering, and outsourcing services.

R. K. Laxman

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Laxman (24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He was best known for his creation The Common Man and for his daily cartoon strip, “You Said It” in The Times of India, which started in 1951.

Padma Bhushan Prof. M. Mahadevappa

Madappa Mahadevappa(born 4 August 1937), popularly known as Rice Mahadevappa is an Indian agricultural scientist and plant breeder, renowned for developing high yielding hybrid varieties of rice. He served as the Vice-chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad for two terms and as the chairman of Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board under Indian Council of Agricultural Research of which he is a current member of governing council. He is the recipient of Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour and various other accolades.

Kengal Hanumanthaiah

Kengal Hanumanthaiah (14 February 1908 – 1 December 1980), also spelt as Kengal Hanumanthaiya, was the second Chief Minister of Karnataka (then, Mysore State) from 30 March 1952 to 19 August 1956. He contributed to the construction of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the state legislature.
He graduated in Arts from the Maharaja College in Mysore in 1930 and later earned a degree in Law from Poona Law College in 1932. During his college days, he was elected as the Secretary of the Students Union and the Karnataka Sangha. After his graduation, he joined the bar council in the same year.

S. Nijalingappa

Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa (10 December 1902 – 8 August 2000) was an Indian freedom fighter, Congress Party politician, and lawyer who served two terms as the Chief Minister of Karnataka (then Mysore State) first between 1956 and 1958, and once again from 1962 to 1968.

He played an important role not only in the Indian freedom movement but also the Karnataka Unification movement.

D. Devaraj Urs

D. Devaraj Urs (20 August 1915 – 6 June 1982)[1] was an Indian politician who served two terms as the eighth Chief Minister of Karnataka (1972–77, 1978–80), a state in southern India. He entered politics in 1952 and was an MLA for 10 years. When the Indian National Congress split in 1969 as Samstha(Congress(O)) and Indira Congress (Congress (R)), he stood with Indira Gandhi. He became the Chief Minister of Karnataka (fifth Assembly) for the first time from 20 March 1972 to 31 December 1977 and later for the second time from 17 March 1978 to 8 June 1980 (sixth Assembly).

 

S. M. Krishna

Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna (born 1 May 1932) is an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2009 to October 2012.A member of the Indian Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, Krishna was the 16th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the 19th Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008.

B. Rachaiah

Basavayya Rachaiah (10 August 1922 – 14 February 2000) was an Indian politician. He was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Chamarajanagar Karnataka in 1977. He was the governor of Kerala and Himachal Pradesh. He was a Dalit leader, who was a member of the Karnataka state cabinets headed by S. Nijalingappa, B. D. Jatti, Devraj Urs, Veerendra Patil, Ramakrishna Hegde and S. R. Bommai.

For the services rendered to the State, A circle on SayyajiRao Road in Mysore is named after Sri rachaiah.

Devegowda Javaregowda

Devegowda Javaregowda (6 July 1915 – 30 May 2016) was an Indian Kannada author, also known as De Ja Gou or simply Javaregowda. He was disciple of authors T.N. Srikantaiah and Kuvempu.His literary career spans over decades in which he wrote over thirty-four biographies in Kannada language and other works including children’s literature. He campaigned for the promotion of Kannada language. He had received Pampa Prashasti (1998), Padma Shri (2001) and the Karnataka Ratna (2008) awards for his contributions in literature and education. He became a centenarian in 2015 and died on 30 May 2016.

B. M. Shri

Belluru Mylaraiah Srikantaiah(ಬೆಳ್ಳೂರು ಮೈಲಾರಯ್ಯ ಶ್ರೀಕಂಠಯ್ಯ), known popularly as B. M. Shri ( ಬಿ. ಎಂ. ಶ್ರೀ), was an Indian author, writer and translator of Kannada literature.

S. Siddaramaiah

S. Siddaramaiah (born 12 August 1949) has been the 22ndChief Minister of Karnataka, a state in South India, since 2013. Currently a leader of the Indian National Congress party, Siddaramaiah was a member of various Janata Parivar factions for several years. Earlier, as a Janata Dal (Secular) leader, he was Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka on two occasions. On 13 May 2013 he was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka. S Siddharamaiah, an atheist, is known for his socialist, secular and anti-caste outlook.

Eminent Alumni List

Padmashree Awardees

Sri Pandit Taranath

Renowned Musician

Dr.V.Prakash

Former Director(CFTRI)

Dr.Ramana Rao

Cardiologist

Dr. C.N.Manjunath

Director

Jayadeva Hospital

Mr. Javagal Srinath

Famous Cricketer

Karnataka Rajyotsava Awardees

Dr. Latha Rajashekhar

(Swarna Latha) Poetess

2012

Dr. Vasanth Kumar Thimakapura

Agri Scientist

2013

Smt. Aryambha Pattabhi

Famous Kannada Writer

2015

Dr. Cha. Sarvamangala

Educationist

2016

Sri S. Thippeswamy World Renowned Photographer

2017

Honorable Vice Chancellors

Prof. Ha Ma Nayak

Prof. S.N.Hegde

Prof. J.Shashidar Prasad

Prof. K.S.Rangappa

Prof. G.Hemantha Kumar

Prof. S.R.Niranjana

Prof. Y.S.Siddegowda

Prof. Padma Shekar

Prof. Eashwar Bhat

Prof. B. R. Ananthan

Prof. E. T. Puttaiah

Prof. T. C. Shivashankar Murthy

Prof. M. Muniyamma

Prof. Anjana Murthy

Prof. H. A. Ranganath

Prof. K. M. Safee Ulla

Prof. J. A. K. Tareen

Prof. Chidanada Gowda

Prof. Sri Mali

Prof. Venkatarmaiah

Prof. Ambalike Hiriyanna

Dr. M. Madaiah

The following great Personalities are the Proud alumni of our University

Diwan Sir Mirza Ismail

Sri Srikantadatta Narsimaraja Wadeyar, Prince of Mysore

Smt. Pramodadevi  Wadeyar, Maharani of Mysore

Sri Sri Sri Deshikendra Maha Swamiji

Dr. H. V. R. Iyengar, Former Reserve Bank of India Governor

Sri S.V.Krishna Murthy Rao, Former Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Sri  Nittoor Srinivasa Rao, former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court

Justice  M. H. Hombe Gowda

Dr. M.H.Mari Gowda, Father Of Indian Horticulture

Sri. B.S.Keshavan, Renowned Librarian

Dr.V. S. Arunachalam

Sri K. V. Subbanna, Renowned Dramatician

Prof. G. Venkatasubbayya, A Centenarian

Smt. D. Kanakalakshamma The  first lady graduate

Smt. D. Venkatasubbamma, The first lady medical graduate

Smt. Vijayalakshmi and  Smt. Sharada, the first two lady law graduates

Smt. Ranganayaki, the first lady engineering graduate

Sri R. K. Narayan  Famous Novelist, Writer

Sri R. K. Laxman Renowned Cartoonist

Prof.  A. N. Prahlada Rao

Sri Gopalakrishna Adiga Famous Kannada Writer

Prof. B. G. L. Swamy Writer, Botanist

Sri Adagur H. A. K. Ramanujan

Prof. Narayana Rao G.T. Famous Astronomist

Prof. Krishnaswami  Iyengaar H.S. Famous  Writer

Prof. Bahaddhur. USA,  Donor of B.N. Bahaddur Institute of Management

Dr. C. L. Laxmipathi Gowda, Former Dy.Director General, ICRISAT

Sri Jaggi vasudev, Famous Spiritual leader

Prof. C. D. Narasimhaiah. Dwanya Loka

Prof. Mahadevaiah. STEP, JSS Institute

Notable Literary Figures 

Prof.  Prabhushankara

Prof. B. M. Srikantaiah

Prof. G.Venkatsubaiah

Prof. C. P. Krishnakumar

Sri  Alanahally Krishna

Dr. Pradhana Gurudutt

Sri Chaduranga

Prof. K. S. Bhagawan

Prof. Maleyuru Guruswamy

Dr. Kale Gowda Nagavara

Prof. Neelagiri Talawar

Sri Na. Naagachandra

Prof. Shubhachandra

Prof. Preethi  Shubhachandra

Prof. C. V. Sridhara Murthy

Prof. K. Bhairava Murthy

Prof. Malali Vasantha Kumar

Prof. Morabada Mallikarjuna

Sri Indudhara Honnapura

Dr. Kabbinale Bhardawaj

Prof. Ramadas  Kannada Writer

Prof. L. Siddaveeregowda Zoology Professor, Former UPSC Member

Prof. Krishnegowda Kannada  orater

Prof. Anne Gowda English Writer

Other Officers

Dr. A. C. Lakshman IFS

Prof. R. Vasudeva Murthy Educationist, Mahajana Education Institutions

Prof. V K Nataraj

Notable Doctors

Dr. H. B. Rajashekhar, Rajashekhar Health Foundation

Dr. S. P. Yoganna, Suyoga Hospital

Dr. Vishnumurty, Gopal Gowda Hospital

Dr. Ankegowda Children Specialist

Dr. Shekar M. A

Dr. Govindappa B. M. Hospital