The beyond 100 living legend, IIT Ramaiah

The revered IIT Ramaiah is now a radiant centenarian. On every November 20, we must celebrate a man who has completed a hundred years — greeting everyone with a full heart, standing tall, moving in his wheelchair, offering and inspiring us with his presence.

Ironically, though thousands live in Vidyanagar, many do not know who Chukka Ramaiah is. The reason: either they have not been educated, or they have no understanding of education. True to its name, Vidyanagar is essentially Chukka Ramaiah Nagar. People themselves say this: Ramaiah belongs to this locality. Even if the government does not declare it so, this is indeed Chukka Ramaiah’s city.

This is IIT Ramaiah’s Vidyanagar:

Ramaiah’s daughter was selected for IIT. During admissions, he noticed that very few Telugu students were getting into IITs. Moved by this, he decided to personally train Telugu students for IIT-JEE and in 1985 he established his coaching institute.

At 4 am, students and their parents would walk towards Nallakunta with hope and determination. Thousands realised their dreams and aspirations. About 175 of them were selected through the institute’s own entrance test. In time, “coaching to get into Ramaiah coaching,” and even “coaching for the entrance test of the coaching,” became a phenomenon.

For Ramaiah, learning mathematical formulas by rote was meaningless; conceptual understanding was everything. Word of mouth alone brought countless students to him. His institute grew phenomenally. Thousands of students from his institute entered IITs. Because many sought entries through an entrance exam, other institutions even started coaching specifically for that exam.

With such unprecedented success in helping students crack IIT admissions, he came to be known as IIT Ramaiah.

A simple man he made the elite IIT examination accessible to thousands. The humble retired government schoolteacher, freedom fighter, and extraordinary individual, used stand near Shankar Math in Hyderabad and offered “educational alms” to students. Across the world, lakhs of engineers who studied in IITs recall him with reverence. For generations across continents, the name IIT Ramaiah will endure.

A Guiding Star of Learning

Ramaiah was born on November 20 1925 in Gudur village, Palakurthi mandal, Jangaon district. His parents were Narasamma and Anantha Ramaiah, a priest.

Boycotted by Brahmins...

He fought against the Nizam’s rule and the Razakars and was jailed. His participation in the anti-untouchability movement led other Brahmins to ostracize his family. Revolutionary ideas spreading through Osmania University inspired him to fight against feudalism and untouchability in his village. This activism led to his expulsion from his own Brahmin community. Yet he was unfazed and remained committed to the struggle.

For Freedom

Professors Haragopal, Vanamala, senior journalist Pasham Yadagiri, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, friends, his daughter and son remember him as one of the living symbols of activism that shaped the identity of Telangana.

No profession is nobler than teaching:

Firm that no profession is greater than teaching, he chose to become a teacher and began teaching mathematics in schools. While working as a principal at Nagarjuna Sagar, he took voluntary retirement in 1983, before the official age of 58. As a result, he lost his government pension and other benefits, making survival difficult thereafter.

He spent a week at the Saraswati temple in Basara and contemplated his future. There, he decided to continue teaching privately.

Elected to the Legislative Council:

In 2007, Ramaiah was elected to the Telangana Legislative Council from the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Teachers’ Constituency and served for six years.

M S Acharya Memorial Lecture:

In the memorial lecture on December 16, 2016, at Kakatiya University, Ramaiah delivered sharp critiques of democracy and press freedom. He warned that media silence on anti-people policies of governments was dangerous. “If the press is silent, it means the people’s voices are being suppressed,” he said.

Chaduvula Thatha:

His book Chaduvula Thatha (Grandfather of Learning) was released by the then Chief Minister Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Subsequently, he authored around 16 highly inspirational books in Telugu, including Chinna Paatham, Badipanthulaku Rajakiyala?, Chitti Chetulu (essays), Maroka Paatham and Taragathi.

His books show that only a true teacher understands the art of teaching children. The centenarian Ramaiah of today will live for a hundred years more through his writings.

(The writer is Professor, School of Law, Mahindra University, Hyderabad)