With MAM Ramaswamy's death, who will control Chettinad Group legacy?

On Wednesday, M.A.M Ramaswamy, noted businessman, former parliamentarian, educationist, philanthropist and above all - horse lover with more than 500 classic races won - passed away at the age of 84.

Ramaswamy came from old money and was part of the famously industrious Nattukottai Chettiar community. His family is called 'The Rajah family' and he lived out of a 10-acre palace in the heart of Chennai. His family had built the Chettinad Group with interests in cement, logistics, education and real estate. Chettinad Group's annual revenues are estimated at more than Rs 5,000 Crore.

Ramaswamy, however, died a broken man. A dispute between him and his adopted son M.A.M.R Muthiah over how to control the group's assets and legacy means that it might not be a straight case of succession.

Ramaswamy had told BT in May 2015 that he would do his utmost to disinherit his adopted son. About a fortnight ago, M.A.M.R Muthiah had alleged that A C Muthiah, a cousin of Ramaswamy, was trying to grab assets of the group and had asserted his right to the same. A.C. Muthiah, who runs SPIC Group of companies, had denied the allegations.

The inheritance and legacy is likely to end up in a protracted legal battle unless a settlement is arrived, which however looks unlikely.

At stake is the family's name, wealth and honour built over four generations, which gave India its first private university in 1929 (the Annamalai University), the Chennai cricket stadium, which is named after a family member (M A Chidambaram) and which counts former finance minister P Chidambaram amongst its notable names. India Inc would be closely watching how the succession battle and dispute over assets gets resolved.