Kizhakkayil Mathai Chandy (6 August 1921 – 7 September 1998) was an Indian politician who served as the governor of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n states of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and the Union Territory of

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

. He was also the former president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and chairman of

Rubber Board The Rubber Board is a statutory body constituted by the Government of India, under the Rubber Act 1947, for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country. Head Office is in Kottayam, Kerala Genesis of the Rubber Board Commerc ...

. He was elected unanimously to the State Legislature after

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

at the age of 26 and he was re-elected in 1952 and 1954. Chandy was mainly responsible for the establishment and growth of many big co-operative institutions in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The first ever Youth Congress Unit was started by him in the year 1953. He founded the Meenachil Co-operative Land Mortgage Bank. He was also the

Founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

of the Palai Co-operative Marketing Society. The Kerala State Rubber Marketing Federation was founded by him in 1971. He founded the Indian Rubber Growers Association in 1966. The present B. Tech. Course in

rubber technology Rubber Technology is the subject dealing with the transformation of rubbers or elastomers into useful products, such as automobile tires, rubber mats and, exercise rubber stretching bands. The materials includes latex, natural rubber, synthetic ...

in the

Cochin University Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a state government-owned autonomous university in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1971 and has three campuses: two in Kochi (Kalamassery and Ernakulam) and one in Kuttanad, Al ...

is his brainchild. It was at his insistence that

joined the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC). He led a large number of delegations from India to conferences of

International Rubber Study Group International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), International Rubber Research Development Board held at

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, etc. from 1972 to 1978.

Early life

K. M. Chandy was born on 6 August 1921 at

Palai Pallai ( ta, பளை, si, පල්ලෙයි), also spelt Palai, is a small town in the Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is located near the coast on the northern peninsula, approximately south-east of Jaffna. ...

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

District as the son of Kizhakkayil Mathai and Mathai Mariyam. He had 3 younger brothers including Pala K.M. Mathew (Former

Member Of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

) and a sister. He had his schooling in his home town

and College education at

Changanacherry Changanassery or Changanacherry is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. History The first recorded history on the origin of Changanacherry is obtained from Sangam period literature. According to Sangam era d ...

and

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. He completed his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in English Language and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

in 1942.

Personal life

He was married to Mariakutty Chandy in the year 1939 at the age of 18. They have eight sons and two daughters.

Death

Chandy died on 7 September 1998, aged 77, at Lisie Hospital,

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

Biographies

He couldn’t complete his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

titled " Jeevitha Vazhiyorakazhchakal" due to his sudden death, but later it was published by Labour (India) publications in 1999 after his death. A

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

on him titled " Varika Varika Sahajare" was written by Pala K.M. Mathew published by Current Books in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandy, Kizhakkeyil 1921 births 1998 deaths Governors of Gujarat Governors of Madhya Pradesh Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry