In the early 1920s, to serve the downtrodden and to promulgate Tamil Literature, Rajah Sir S. R. M. Annamalai Chettiar founded Sri Minakshi College, Sri Minakshi Tamil College and Sri Minakshi Sanskrit College in a rural setup at Chidambaram. In 1928, Rajah Sir S. R. M. Annamalai Chettiar agreed with the local Government to handover the above said institution for establishing a University. Thus, on 01.01.1929 Annamalai University was established as per Annamalai University Act 1928 (Tamil Nadu Act 1 of 1929). The most significant development is the enactment of the Annamalai University Act, 2013 (Tamil Nadu Act 20 of 2013), which has come into force from September 25, 2013, after obtaining the assent of His Excellency, the President of India. Annamalai University, accredited with ‘A’ Grade by NAAC in 2014, is one of India’s largest public residential universities with Ten Faculties and 49 departments of study. Sprawling over 950 Acres of land, the University does yeoman service in taking education to the doorsteps of the people who are otherwise far from access to centres of higher learning.