Muhammad Ali Wallajah, son of Muhammad Anwaruddin was born in 1717. He was present at the battle of Ambur when his father, at the age of ninety, was defeated and slain by Chanda Sahib and the French in the year 1749. Muhammad Ali Wallajah escaped with the wreck of the army to Trichinopoly, of which place he was the Governor.

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The English supported his claim to the throne (Musnad). But he was defeated in 1750 and forced to fly to Arcot. Five years later, after Major-General Stringer Lawrence had repeatedly repulsed the French, he was formally invested as Nawab of Arcot in gratitude for the assistance he had rendered. By this time, his prime rival for the Nawabship took refuge with the Rajah of Tanjore (by whom he was later murdered). In 1754, the struggle between the English and the French ended with a treaty by which Muhammad Ali Wallajah was practically left the Nawab of the entire Carnatic.

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In 1765, the Emperor of Delhi completely released him from all dependency upon or allegiance to the Wazir of the Deccan and thereby created him an independent ruler of the Carnatic. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 also acknowledged him as the Nawab and ally of the King of England.

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Muhammad Ali Wallajah was the first sovereign ruler of the Carnatic. In 1770, Admiral Sir John Lindsay arrived as the King's Minister to the Court of the Nawab Wallajah. Governor Dupleix strongly objected to such recognition of the Nawab. However, Wallajah was twice asked by the King of England to undergo the ceremony of his investiture with the insignia of the order of the Bath, first through Lindsay in 1771 and again through Sir Hector Munro in 1779, which he did in the Chepauk Palace, his residence. He supported the British against the French and was instrumental in the establishment of the British Empire in South India.

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Lord Clive spoke highly of the Nawab's great qualities in London and paid glowing tributes to his sincerity and majestic ruling. On the 20th May 1773, when the British Ship “H.M.S. Wester” arrived at the Madras Fort, the Captain of the ship handed over a letter from the King of England reiterating the hope that his friendship with the Nawab should grow from generation to generation.

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The Nawab was very glad to hear this and he immediately arranged for a grand Durbar to receive the letter. He distributed presents and held a Dinner for the Governor and entourage.

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He was a loyal friend of the East India Company. It was unfortunate that his friendship was not reciprocated by the British. During the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84), the Nawab was even deprived of his administrative independence, as it was taken away by the English.

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After the war, these powers were restored. During the Third Anglo­-Mysore War (1790-92), his administrative control was again taken away by the English.

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As a man, Muhammad Ali Wallajah had a majestic bearing and as a ruler, he was kind to his subjects and noble to his foes. When the French, who were a constant source of irritation, were subdued; he did not bear any ill-feeling towards them, but treated them kindly. The Pondicherry Governor had very great regard and respect for the Nawab Wallajah.

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During his reign, he did a great deal for the uplift of the people of South India. The Rajahs of Tanjore, Travancore and Pudukkottai were his vassals. Almost all the Zamindars of this State of Tamil Nadu owe their present position to the generosity of the Nawab and still sport their titles conferred by Nawab Wallajah.

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Muhammad Ali Wallajah had not only mixed moderation in his politics, but also in religion. The Nawab respected all religions. Most of his trusted officials were Hindus. In spite of the presence of many Muslims in his Court, he entrusted the work of maintaining his personal diary to Kishan Chand, as he considered him a man of high integrity. Rajah periya Bahadur, the contractor of Mohamedpur in Arcot was a close friend of the Nawab. When he came to Madras on 9th February 1774, the Nawab convened a special Durbar to honour his visit.

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In October 1773, some sepoys attempted to enter a temple at Tiruvarur, in spite of the objections of the "pandits" on learning this, Nawab Wallajah gave strict instructions to his Khazis that religious places should be respected and that the traditions of the places of worship should be maintained at all times.

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The Nawab envinced great interest in the welfare of the people of South India. He built a large hospital in Madras, where the poor were given free medical treatment. He gave strict instructions to Hakim Ghulam Ali Khan, the head Hakim of the hospital that poor patients should be treated with utmost care and courtesy.

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In those days, the ryots (peasants) were put to heavy losses on account of the marching of the armies through their agricultural fields. Nawab Wallajah used to pay full compensation to the ryots for the loss of the yield irrespective of the fact whether it was his own army or those of his enemy which caused the havoc.

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He donated vast lands for the construction of mosques, temples and churches and maintained perfect religious harmony and unity amongst the members of different religious communities. It is a well­known fact that the land of the Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple in Srirangam near Trichy was a gift of the Nawab, with a sizeable estate, which is called "Nawab Thottam" even today. Similarly in Tirupati, Tiruvarur, Tirunelveli and Madras lands were donated for Hindu temples.

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The Nawab also permitted the establishment of the Christian Church in South India and not only gave lands to Christian mission, but also was present in person on the occasion of the inauguration of Dr. Schwartz's School in Trichy. This is still being mentioned year after year in the calendar of the Bishop Heber College at Trichy.

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Nawab Wallajah constructed a number of mosques in South India. Almost all the mosques in the Carnatic were maintained either directly by him or by the large Endowments created by him. The Wallajah Big Mosque situated in Triplicane High Road, Chennai is one of the biggest mosques in South India. This Mosque is probably the only mosque in the entire world which contains a chronogram written by a non-Muslim (his Private Secretary Raja Makhan Lal Khirat).

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Nawab Muhammad Ali Wallajah was a great patron of learning. He invited many people of his native place at Gopamou, Hardoi District, U.P., to come down and settle in the Carnatic. He treated the scholars and poets of this place with great honour and respect. He awarded "Jagirs' and lands to many people.

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The Nawab had his own permanent staff stationed at Makkah in the Hijaz in Arabia for the distribution of charity to the poor there. He supplied a ladder covered with gold and silver at Makkah to enable the pilgrims to get into the precincts of the Kaaba during the Haj. He provided carpets and lights to the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah (Masjid-e-Nabavi). The Nawab had great respect for the Syeds, who were the descendents of the Holy Prophet. He set apart a sum of Rs.12,OOO/- (in 18th century rupees) every year for distribution to the Syeds.

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The Nawab purchased two ships, "Safinathullah" and "Safinathun Nabi" for commerce and trade, but they were mainly used for transporting Haj pilgrims from the Carnatic. The Nawab also purchased lands and constructed Rubats (lodgings) which are known as "Arcot Rubats" in Arabia in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah for the benefit of the pilgrims from South India. To this day, a number of pilgrims from Tamil Nadu take advantage of the benefits offered to them by the present Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, who is the direct descendent of Nawab Wallajah. So long as Amir-ul-Umra, Nawab Wallajah's second son lived, his charities poured into Makkah and Madinah without reserve.

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On 13th August 1773, the Nawab's army entered Tanjore and the Rajah was made a prisoner. By the 27th August 1773, the whole of Tanjore was captured by the Nawab's army. When the news of the victory was conveyed to the Nawab, he was overjoyed, at the prospect of accreation of land and wealth to his kingdom. But the Nawab met with his first disappointment when he found that nothing was left in the Rajah's Toshe Khana (Storehouse) except a few jewels and dresses of the ladies of the Palace, which he ordered his son, who conducted the campaign to return to the owners; which was duly done out of compassion. When the Rajah was defeated, Nawab Wallajah gave strict instructions to his son, Amir-ul-Umra that the Rajah's family should be treated with the utmost respect. He sent his pranam to the Mathaji, the mother of the Rajah and instructed his officers to attend to her comfort.

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The Nawab built himself the famous Chepauk Palace in the year 1768 at this own cost. It lies in an area of 121 acres from the Cooum to Pycrofts Road. It comprised two blocks, the southern block called 'Kalas Mahal' in two floors, and the northern block called 'Humayun Mahal', which contained the Diwan Khana, (the land of which now accommodates the PWD Offices, Board of Revenue, Senate House, Madras University, State Guest House and M.A.C. Stadium).

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The Senate House was built on the site of the Nawab of Carnatic's artillery park from where salvos were fined to greet visiting dignitaries.

The bathing pavilion of Nawab Muhammad Ali Wallajah, Nawab of the Carnatic subsequently became the residence of Governor Clive, and Wellesley and later the residence of the Surgeon-General.

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It was demolished in 1930, and the Madras University Library and the Department of Research came up in its place. When Nawab Wallajah built a marine villa in the palace compound at the South end of the Cooum River, it was merely his personal bathing pavilion. For Governor Clive (1798-1803), it was a salubrious residence.

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Governor-General Wellesly too stayed here during the operations of the last Mysore War in 1799, and later the Surgeon General moved in. In this august villa, the University of Madras housed the offices of the Tamil Lexicon and the Department of Indian History and Archaeology, till it was demolished in 1930. In 1795, Nawab Wallajah, the most celebrated of the Carnatic rulers passed away at the age of seventy-eight, after a glorious reign of forty-six years. His name is commemorated by a bastion and gate of Fort St. George and by the bridge outside it. The road which leads from Triplicane to the Palace is still known as Wallajah Road, The districts Wallajabad and Wallajahpet were named after Nawab Wallajah. He was buried at Santhome, Madras, but two years later his remains were conveyed according to his wishes to Trichinopoly, with full honours and buried at the feet of the holy saint Hazrath Tabray Alam.