HISTORY

But Dr. Pai,  a man of grit that  he was, did not give  up the idea that he had cherished for long and created a public opinion in favour of the college, thawed the icy  mind of unwilling donors, blew the mist of misgivings,  persuaded liberal minded men to unstring their purse  and  bent  the  will  of  the reluctant  authorities  of  the  government  and  the university of Madras and secured the permission to found a college in the practically rural environs of Udupi.
Hurdles in the path were many. One among them was unwillingness of University of Madras to allow lady  students to be admitted to the college. This was  solved  by  one Shantha who asserted her democratic right of equality  by approaching the High court of Madras. The matter, then in the court of Governor Sri Prakash, was settled in favour of girls with the intervention of Smt Indira Gandhi.
Once Dr. Pai's  sincerity  was  realized, the support  he got  became Spontaneous  and overwhelming. The Swamijis of Udupi blessed the project. The public of Udupi rendered Shramadan to raise the building on the site at Sagri where the college, started first in the rooms let by an elementary school, was shifted in the year 1952. A band of eminent citizens of Udupi rallied behind Dr. Pai and the dream of the college became a reality.
That is the story of five decades ago and the college  has witnessed in this course  of period phenomenal growth and expansion. It became a premier institution sponsored by the Academy of General Education, Manipal and a source of inspiration to the citizens of many other towns in the district who approached Dr. Pai for advice in the matter of starting  new colleges. Thus began an  era of higher education in this district which led to its economic revolution  too.  On the threshold  of the Golden Jublee year 1999 the college  can  look back with pride upon the different stages of development and growth,  including  the  recent  inauguration  of  Madhav Raksha,  the magnificent  new administrative  block by Hon'ble Minister for Human resources development, Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi on the occasion of inaugurating the Birth Centenary Celebration of our Founder Dr. T. M.A. Pai                           

Our Founder 

Dr. T M A Pai, Tonse Madhava Ananth Pai, born on April 30, 1898, was one  of the  architects of modern Karnataka.  He was, from the economic and social standpoint,  an ordinary  man.  The triumph  of Dr. Pai  was  in breathing new  life  into the Indian context, in establishing in  a rural track like Manipal an education complex with the dimensions of a University, an ultra-modern hospital, small  industries and outstanding banking institutions.
Dr. Pai practised surgery for 15 years.  But realizing the dire need to assure economic security to the poor and also to teach them lessons in savings, he gave up his medical practice in favour of banking.  Soon he established the Syndicate Bank which helped greatly in transforming the lot of the poor section of the society.
In  1933 Dr. Pai  bought 107  acres of land  on  top of  a  rocky hill 3 miles to the east of Udupi, which  at that time had no takers.  Soon he established an institution called Canara Land Investment for the development of this barren land.  The place then called "Mannapalla"  in the local Tulu vernacular, meaning mud pond, became Manipal, the modern name for the region atop the hill.
Initially  the  Pai brothers established a  few small  scale diverse  industries there : a tile factory,  an agricultural improvement society, a T. B. sanatorium (1934) and a weaving factory. Of these the tile  factory  survives till  today,  the rest  failed  to click and vanished in due course of time. Dr. Pai also opened an elementary  school (1936)  and Hindu Orphanage (1938)  both of  which  were  later closed down.  But the Higher Primary School and High School (1939), today have  become  the  Manipal  Pre- University  College.  
In 1948 he started the " Academy  of  General Education ".  After having established a High School in Manipal he thought of opening a college in Udupi.  He had to  convince  the stern  university  officials, particularly the Vice Chancellor of the Madras University, that the efforts to start the college were genuine.  with his spirit of adventure and perseverance, he started the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in 1949 amidst many challenging circumstances.  This success inspired him to start a medical college in Manipal in private sector.  Persuading the parents of students to bear the cost of their education, Dr. Pai started the Kasturba Medical College on a self-financing basis. On the basis of the financing formula of the Kasturaba Medical  College (both in Mangalore and Manipal) three more professional colleges followed : the Manipal Engineering  College (1957) (now called Manipal Instiute of Technology), the Udupi Law College(1957) (now Vaikunta Baliga College of Law) and the Manipal  College of  Education (1965) (now Dr. T M A Pai College of Education). For giving full-fledged  medical  education in  Manipal a hospital with  adequate facilities was a necessity.  Therefore he established the Kasturaba General Hospital. Now Manipal also has colleges in Pharmacy, Dental Science, Nursing, Hotel Administration, Management institutes and numerous other institutes which train students in specialized courses. 
It is difficult to  believe  that  once upon a  time Manipal was nothing  but a grazing  ground for the cattle. But today there is no other place in India where modern amenities are so densely congregated as here : education, banking, business, employment and health-care.  One finds buses departing every five minutes, and brimming with people on  the  sides, hospital wards filled to  overflowing with  patients and their relatives, buzzing  groups of  medical and engineering students, workers employed in industries, banks, workshops and in the press.  Students from different parts of the country and the world are studying in the colleges here - from Malayasia, East Africa, US and Iran. 
This is the story of the success of Manipal, the story of the metamorphosis  of a wilderness into a teeming township.  It is  a unique example of the genius and organizational skill that is latent in the heart of rural India.  Of the few born planners that India could boast of, Madhava Pai was certainly one and one of the greatest.  His eventful life came to its close on May 29, 1979.From the institutions started by him, flourishing still as model institutions, serve to remind the generations in future that there was a miracle man called dr. T M A Pai. 

Institutions sponsored by Academy of General Education ( A G E )

PRINCIPALS OF THE COLLEGE

Our founder principal was Prof. H. Sunder Rao. He was a man of great discipline and decorum, he established a tradition of discipline and academic commitment in the college. 
The golden era of Development of college in all directions began when Prof. K. S. Haridas Bhat became the Principal of the college in 1964.During the 14 years of his tenure as Principal the collge virtually became a mini University becoming an un officially recognized wing of the University of Mysore.
The eminent personalities who have served our college as Principals are

   Prof. H. Sunder Rao (1949-64)
   Prof. K. S. Haridasa Bhat (1964-79)
   Prof. K. Ramadas (1979-84)
   Prof. K. K. Eshwaran (1984-88)
   Prof. K. Rama Bhat (1988-90)
   Prof. Dr. A. D'Souza (1990-94)
   Prof. K. Shreesha Acharya (1994-97)
   Prof. P. N. N. Murthy (1997-98)
   Prof. Sam Daniel (1998-2001)
   Prof. Dr. Gopalan Puthusseri (2001-2002)    
   Prof. Ganapathi Bhat (2002-2004)
   Prof. Malpe Laxminarayana Samaga (2003- ) 

MAHATMA GANDHI - A RESUME

Mahatma Gandhi, Father of our Great nation, in whose memory this college was established in 1949,was born at Porbandar on 2nd October,1869. 
With truth and ahimsa as his weapons he subdued the mighty British Empire into granting independence for India
He was an original thinker. He was an apostle of simple living and high thinking. Few men in their life aroused stronger emotions and touched deeper chords of humanity than Gandhi.
He fell to assassin's bullet  on 30th January ,1948.