Panampilly Govinda Menon
Union Minister for Railways
In office
4 November 1969 — 18 February 1970
Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi
Preceded byRam Subhag Singh
Succeeded byGulzarilal Nanda
Member of Parliament for Mukundapuram
In office
1962 — 1970
Preceded byNarayankutty Menon
Succeeded byA. C. George
5th Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin
In office
10 February 1955 – 23 March 1956
RajpramukhChithira Thirunal Balarama Varma
Preceded byPattom Thanu Pillai
Succeeded byPresident's rule
1st Prime Minister of Cochin
In office
14 August 1947 – 22 October 1947
MonarchKerala Varna VII
Preceded byOffice Established
Succeeded byT. K. Nair
Personal details
Born(1906-10-01)1 October 1906
Chalakudy, Kingdom of Cochin, British India
Died23 May 1970(1970-05-23) (aged 63)
Political partyIndian National Congress
Alma materSt Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli,
Madras Law College
Statue of Panampilly Govinda Menon which used to be at Chalakudy Junction. This was broken in a vehicle accident. A new one has been placed in 2017.

Panampilly Govinda Menon (1 October 1906 – 23 May 1970) was an Indian politician, freedom fighter, and lawyer.

He was born in a village near Kathikkudam and completed graduation from St.Thomas College, Thrissur. He started his legal practice as a junior to Adv. M. C. Joseph. He was the first treasurer of Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham. He moved his practice to Ernakulam afterwards.

Later in the 1930s he became prominent in the politics of the Kingdom of Cochin and served briefly as the Prime Minister of Cochin state in 1947. After the union of Travancore and Cochin, he served as minister for education under Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai and minister for finance under A. J. John, Anaparambil. He was the Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin in 1955–1956. He represented Mukundapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) from 1962 until his death. He became Union Minister for Law and Railways (1969–1970) and Minister of state for Food and Agriculture. He was also the political mentor of K. Karunakaran.

In 2006, the birth centenary celebrations of Panampilly Govinda Menon were inaugurated by the then President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[1][2][3] Later in his memory a college was built in Chalakudy named Panampilly Memorial Government College.

Early Life

Govinda Menon was born on October 1, 1906, in the village of Kakkad which on the eastern bank of the Chalakudy River, in the district of Thrissur in Kerala, India. He was the fourth son of Kumarapilly Krishna Menon and Madhavi Amma. He grew-up under the wings of his uncle Kunjunni Menon.

Education

Govinda Menon studied at the Paliyam School from Second Standard to the Seventh Standard. He then moved to the Maharajas School in Eranakulam. During this time he was staying with his elder sister Janaki Amma and her husband Madhava Menon who was a lawyer. During this time, he got attracted to the Indian freedom movement and this did not go well with the school authorities. He moved to Chalakudy high school as a result.

When Rabindranath Tagore the famous poet visited Kerala, and was going to attend a public event at Aluva, via Chalakudy, Govinda Menon and his friends went to meet him. He was punished for this by the school authorities. As a student he also participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha

While he was in school Govindan excelled in public speaking, and in literary events.

For his college education Govinda Menon joined the St Thomas College in Thrissur. During this time he got more engaged in the freedom movement and participated in multiple activities. He continued to excel in many fields and always came first in college level competitions in a range of activities such as English Oratory, Malayalam Oratory etc. He was a talking point among his teachers. After completing his intermediate from St Thomas College, he went to Tiruchirappalli St Joseph College for his BA (Honours) and then to Madras Law College for his Bachelor of Law degree.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Emulate leaders of the past, President tells politicians". The Hindu. 21 December 2006. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  2. ↑ "President's Address at the Inauguration of the Birth Centenary Celebrations of Panampilly Govinda Menon". Press Information Bureau: Government of India. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  3. ↑ "Panampilly's services recalled". The Hindu. 3 March 2009. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.

Further reading

  • L. V. Harikumar: Panampilly Govinda Menon: Charithravazhiyile Deepashikha - Biography, 2nd Edition published by Kerala State Institute of Languages, Thiruvananthapuram, ISBN 978-81-7638-832-0
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panampilly Govinda Menon.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.