MAM Ramaswamy passes away

Ramaswamy was Chairman of Chettinad Cements, the flagship of the group which did business in many of sectors including shipping, until he was dethroned by his former adopted son M.A.M.R. Muthiah.

The feud between father and son had ended with Ramaswamy declaring through Deccan Chronicle that Muthiah should not light his funeral pyre. A cousin of P. Chidambaram, former Union finance and home minister and A.C. Muthiah, retired head of SPIC group of industries, Ramaswamy was a flamboyant racehorse owner whose fame spread far beyond India as his thoroughbreds won more than 600 Indian classics like 1000 Guineas, 2000 Guineas, Derby races and the Indian Turf Invitation Cup. A great lover of sport, he was head of the Indian Hockey Federation in the ‘70s and India won the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in 1975 and the Olympic gold in Moscow in1980 when he was headings IHF.

He was instrumental in Chennai hosting many international events, including a famous Davis Cup match against Australia at the cricket stadium in Chepauk, which was once under the control of his uncle M.A. Chidambaram, President of BCCI. Said to have been worth anywhere up to Rs 6,000 crores, Ramaswamy leaves behind no heir but had made over all his property to two charitable trusts to be managed by his cousin A.C. Muthiah.

Known as “Monarch Among Monarchs” in racing circles, he was a controversial chairman of MRC, which became a virtual monopoly in his regime to the extent of famous trainers shying away from bringing their horses here to compete.