CHENNAI: The Sanmar Group on Saturday unveiled a biography of its founder, SNN Sankaralinga Iyer, one of South India’s pioneering industrialists whose entrepreneurial ventures helped shape the country’s industrial landscape in the pre-Independence era.
Titled Cementing Legacies: The Life of SNN Sankaralinga Iyer – A Pioneering Polymath, the book, authored by journalist K Balakumar, traces the life and legacy of the businessman, who is the great-grandfather of Sanmar Group chairman Vijay Sankar.
Sankaralinga Iyer founded several landmark enterprises, including Indo-Commercial Bank and The India Cements, at a time when institutional support for Indian entrepreneurs was limited. Drawing on his banking experience, he ventured into sectors such as salt, rubber, ink, cement and chemicals, reflecting his belief in India’s economic self-reliance. Among his notable achievements was leading The India Cements’ public issue—the first in independent India—which was oversubscribed.
The biography also explores his life beyond business, highlighting his nationalist ideals, Gandhian values, philanthropy and passion for languages. A firm believer that language should unite rather than divide, he learnt Hindi in his thirties, authored a Hindi primer and wrote novels in the language.
The book recounts several lesser-known aspects of his life, including his determination in establishing the Thalaiyuthu cement plant after an extensive search for limestone reserves in Tirunelveli. When production began at the plant in 1949, his focus quickly shifted to marketing Sankar Cement and developing Thalaiyuthu into a township modelled on Jamshedpur. It also recounts how, after a near-fatal car accident in 1958, his first concern upon regaining consciousness was the safety of his driver.