Most people who walk through the gates of Yenepoya Medical College in Deralakatte are thinking about exams, rounds, or patients waiting in the OPD. Few pause to think about how a 32-acre campus of medical, dental and nursing colleges came to exist on what was once undeveloped land on the edge of the city. Behind it is one man's decision to take his father's modest business dream and turn it into an institution.
That man is Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi.
A Family Business Rooted in Timber
Born on November 14, 1947, in Kasaragod, Abdulla Kunhi had his early education at St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru, before completing a B.A. from Mysore University. The business he would eventually take charge of, the Yenepoya Group, was founded in 1940 by his father, the late Al Haj Yenepoya Moideen Kunhi, starting out in the timber trade before diversifying into commerce, industry and hospitality.
Abdulla Kunhi took over management of the group from his father and steered it into new territory altogether: education and healthcare. Today, the Yenepoya Group's businesses and social service ventures together provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of people in and around Mangaluru.
Turning a Father's Dream Into 32 Acres
The Yenepoya Deralakatte campus.
The clearest expression of that shift sits at Deralakatte, on the outskirts of Mangaluru. Realising what family accounts describe as one of his father's most cherished dreams, Abdulla Kunhi developed an all-encompassing 32-acre campus that now houses Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya Dental College, and the Yenepoya Institute of Nursing Sciences, alongside a multi-specialty hospital and the Yenepoya Institute of Medical Sciences and Research. Separate hostels for boys and girls complete a campus designed to be largely self-contained.
Around this cluster of health sciences institutions, Abdulla Kunhi went on to establish Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), a multidisciplinary institution created with a particular focus on the upliftment of minority communities, especially the Muslim community, while offering programmes in medicine, dentistry, nursing, allied health sciences, law and management to students from across India and abroad. He currently serves as its Chancellor.
The Trust Named After His Father
Yenepoya Ayurveda Medical College & Hospital
Not all of Abdulla Kunhi's work happens on a fee-paying campus. In his father's memory, he conceived the Yenepoya Moideen Kunhi Memorial Educational and Charitable Trust, built to render financial and material help to underprivileged sections of the community for education, the rehabilitation of orphans and people with disabilities, and even conducting marriages for those who cannot afford one. The trust also runs a charitable 200-bed hospital that provides healthcare free of cost to the poor and deprived.
What began as a timber business in 1940 is now, through decades of work, a university, a medical and dental college network, and a free hospital rooted in the same Mangaluru soil.
His philanthropic footprint extends further still. As Founder and President of the Islamic Cultural Centre, and through his involvement with the Islamic Trust and Zeenath Baksh, he has supported mosques and madrasas across the region. Through the Malja-Ul-Islam Orphanage, which he runs as Trust President, more than a hundred orphaned and destitute children receive free education and food, alongside the Malja-ul Islam English Medium School at Pachambala, which offers free schooling to children from financially weaker sections. A separate initiative, the Yenepoya Care Fund, supports around fifty destitute children.
Recognition That Followed the Work
Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi, Honorable Chancellor, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) for being awarded Honorary Doctorate by Gulbarga University
Abdulla Kunhi's contributions have not gone unnoticed by the state or his peers. In 1992, he received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, one of the state's highest civilian honours, for his service in industry, education and social work. In 2006, the Mangalore Management Association recognised him with its Outstanding Manager Award. More recently, Gulbarga University conferred an Honorary Doctorate on him during its 40th Annual Convocation on April 27, 2022, for his contributions to education, the honour by which he is now widely addressed as "Dr." Abdulla Kunhi. He has also been featured in national lists recognising influential Indian Muslim achievers for his work in education and healthcare.
Colleagues who have worked closely with him over the years describe an administrator known for precision, foresight and an unusually sharp read on people, qualities, they say, that shaped not just a business group but an entire institution.
Colleagues describe an administrator known for precision, foresight and an unusually sharp read on people.
Beyond the Campus Gates
Outside the Yenepoya Group itself, Abdulla Kunhi has held positions including Vice President of the Badria Educational Institution, Vice-Chairman of the Islamic Trust, and Trustee of the P.A. Educational Trust. Earlier in his career, he also served as a Director of Air India Ltd. and Indian Airlines Ltd., a reminder that his reach extended well beyond Mangaluru's city limits even before the university existed.
A Legacy Still Being Built
What began as a timber business in 1940 is now, through Abdulla Kunhi's decades of work, a university, a medical and dental college network, multiple charitable trusts, an orphanage and a free hospital, all rooted in the same Mangaluru soil his father started with. For a city that measures its progress partly by the strength of its education and healthcare institutions, Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi's name sits quietly behind a considerable share of that progress.
Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi — Key Milestones and Recognition
| Milestone | Year | Detail |
| Yenepoya Group founded | 1940 | Established by his father, Al Haj Yenepoya Moideen Kunhi, starting in the timber trade |
| Karnataka Rajyotsava Award | 1992 | For service in industry, education and social work |
| Outstanding Manager Award | 2006 | Awarded by the Mangalore Management Association |
| Honorary Doctorate | 2022 | Conferred by Gulbarga University at its 40th Annual Convocation |
FAQ
1.Who is Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi?
Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi is the Chancellor of Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) in Mangaluru and the leader of the Yenepoya Group, a business and philanthropic conglomerate founded by his father in 1940.
2. Who founded the Yenepoya Group, and when?
The Yenepoya Group was founded in 1940 by Al Haj Yenepoya Moideen Kunhi, Abdulla Kunhi's father, starting in the timber trade before diversifying into other businesses.
3. What institutions did Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi establish in Mangaluru?
He developed the 32-acre Yenepoya campus at Deralakatte, which includes Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya Dental College, the Yenepoya Institute of Nursing Sciences, a multi-specialty hospital, and Yenepoya (Deemed to be University).
4. What awards has Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi received?
He received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 1992, the Outstanding Manager Award from the Mangalore Management Association in 2006, and an Honorary Doctorate from Gulbarga University in 2022.
5. What charitable work is he known for besides the university?
He runs the Yenepoya Moideen Kunhi Memorial Educational and Charitable Trust, which supports underprivileged students and runs a free 200-bed hospital, along with the Malja-Ul-Islam Orphanage, a free English medium school at Pachambala, and the Yenepoya Care Fund for destitute children.
6. Why is Yenepoya University significant for minority education?
Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) was established with a particular focus on uplifting minority communities, especially the Muslim community, while offering health sciences, law and management programmes to students from India and abroad.
7. Did Dr. Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi have roles outside the Yenepoya Group?
Yes. He has served as Vice President of the Badria Educational Institution, Vice-Chairman of the Islamic Trust, Trustee of the P.A. Educational Trust, and earlier as a Director of Air India Ltd. and Indian Airlines Ltd.