C. Arunachala Perumal
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C. ARUNACHALA PERUMAL C. Arunachala Perumal was born on 8th December 1927 in Mangavilai village near Kanyakumari in an agricultural family. After his primary education in the London Missionary Society School nearby his native village, secondary education at Carmel High School, Kottarand the Intermediate course at Scott Christian College , Nagercoil , he obtained his B.A.(Hons.), (Tripos) in History, Politics and Economics from the University of Travancore. He joined the Lucknow University, where he pursued the M.A. (Pol. Science), LL.B. and Ph.D degrees. His outstanding performance in M.A. won for him the 'Acharya Narendra Deva- Madhava Rao' Gold Medal. He thus graduated summa cum laude from the University of Lucknow. He taught for a brief period at St. Thomas College, Palai near Kottayam in Kerala. In 1957 he was appointed Lecturer in Politics, University of Madras and was elevated as Reader in Politics and Public Administration in 1960. During 1963-1964 he was selected as a Fulbright Smith-Mundt Scholar to prosecute his graduate studies in Public Administration at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. In 1965, while still in his thirties, he was appointed as the Professor & Head of the Dept. of Politics and Public Administration which position he held till he retired in 1987. He was appointed Tagore Professor in Humanities in1987 which he adorned until 1992 when he was appointed Professor Emeritus for Life in the Department of Politics & Public Administration. As a Research Supervisor, he has guided nearly 100 candidates including overseas students, who received their Ph. D. Degrees from the University of Madras and other Indian as well as overseas Universities. His contributions to the University of Madras are numerous. To mention only a few, he was responsible for instituting the Departments of Sociology and the Anna Centre for Public Affairs. He also served with distinction as the Warden of the P.G. Hostel for men between 1971 and 1980, a period described as the Golden Period in the annals of the hostel. As a keen student of the discipline, he had constantly engaged himself in writing and has published more than 60 articles on a variety of themes in leading national and International journals. Besides, he has himself edited the Madras University Journal, Section A: Humanities, from 1977 to 1984. His lasting contribution to the growth of the disciplines of Political Science and Public Administration has been, in his capacity as the President of the Indian Political Science Association and the Indian Public Administration Association, in transforming them as premier organisations of academic excellence of international recognition and reputation. For this singular contribution, Professor Perumal was awarded the 'Swami Pranavananda Saraswati National Award' in Political Science for the year 2004 by the University Grants Commission of India, the citation proclaims him as The Bhisma-Pitamah of Political Science. With his undying passion for teaching and his thirst for knowledge still unquenched, as the Professor Emeritus for Life, he continues to teach graduate students in Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Madras. IPSA gives condolences on his demise. General Secretary, IPSA .