Thangal Kunju Musaliar
Thangal Kunju Musaliar (January 12, 1897 - February 19, 1966) was an industrialist, educationalist and visionary, known for his contributions to the cashew industry, and higher education in the state of Kerala, India. Cashew business. He was born in a middle-class family in Kollam that traces its ancestry to Malik ibn Deenar, Persian scholar and traveller who came to India in the 8th century. After travelling to Sri Lanka, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia for employment, he returned home and started a cashew processing unit, which became successful. He purchased raw cashew from small scale farmers, and supplied  the kernels to industrialists after processing. He then set up the first full-fledged cashew factory in Kerala. The company "A. Thangal Kunju Musaliar AND Sons Private Limited" was incorporated in Kerala on 10 Jun, 1946. In the 1940s, Musaliar had 26 cashew units and is believed to have employed around 25,000 to 30,000 people directly. He was called the "Cashew King" in national and international markets, and "Fortune" magazine named him as the single biggest individual employer in the world, at the time. Publishing and education. He set up a book publishing house "Vignana Poshini", and in 1944 started  a weekly newspaper "Prabhatham", which was later on made a daily. He authored multiple books in Malayalam including "Prayogikadwaitam", translated to English as "Man and the world, practical philosophy and law of nature.", by S Sathyavageeswara Iyer. In 1956, Musaliar formed the TKM Educational Trust to cater for the educational needs of the people of Kerala. The Trust established institutions such as TKM College of Engineering, TKM College of Arts and Science, TKM Institute of Technology, TKM Institute of Management, TKM Secondary School, T.K.M. Centenary Public School and the TKM School of Architecture. Legacy. India Post issued a commemorative stamp  on Musaliar on 26 October, 2001. A biography of Thangal Kunju Musaliar was written by P. Meerakutty in Malayalam, titled "A. Thangal Kunju Musaliar".