Diwan Bahadur Dewan Bahadur or Diwan Bahadur was a title of honour awarded during British rule in India. It was awarded to individuals who had performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special T ...

Sir Mannath Krishnan Nair KCIE (1870–1938) was an Indian politician from the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and later, Justice Party who served as a member of the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

and later, executive council of the

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...

. He also served as the Chief Justice of Travancore High Court and later Diwan of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

from 1914 to 1920(?)

Early life and political career

Krishnan Nair was born in 1870 in the Mannath family of landlords from the

Malabar district Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. Krishnan Nair had his schooling in Malabar district and higher education at the Government College, Calcutta and

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institu ...

. Krishnan Nair studied law at the

Madras Law College Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is also referred to as Government Law College or GLC, Chennai. It was established in ...

before enrolling as a lawyer. At a young age, he joined the

and participated in its meetings. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Council in 1904 and served as its member from 1904 to 1910. Both his sons were also in the Imperial Civil Service(ICS). Elder son P A Menon, was an ambassador for India, in many countries. Second son, P M Menon, too was a Secartary to Government of India. His daughter married Appu Nair who was Secretary to Madras Government and their daughter married P Govindan Nair also an ICS Officer.

Diwan of Travancore

Krishnan Nair was appointed Diwan of Travancore in 1914 and he succeeded Sir P. Rajagopalachari. Krishnan Nair served as Diwan of Travancore from 1914 to 1920.

Justice Party

In 1920, Nair joined the Justice Party and won the 1920 and 1923 elections, the latter by allegedly polarizing the communal atmosphere in the Malabar district in the wake of the 1922 Moplah riots. When the Justice Party joined hands with the

Swarajya Party The Swaraj Party, established as the ''Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party'', was a political party formed in India on 1 January 1923 after the Gaya annual conference in December 1922 of the National Congress, that sought greater self-government and ...

against the

Simon Commission The Indian Statutory Commission also known as Simon Commission, was a group of seven Members of Parliament under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon. The commission arrived in India in 1928 to study constitutional reform in Britain's largest a ...

, the then Governor of Madras, Lord Goschen appointed Krishnan Nair, then a Justice Party member, as his law member in order to woo the Justice Party. As law member, Krishnan Nair expressed support for the ''devadasi'' bill passed by

Muthulakshmi Reddy Muthulakshmi Reddy (also spelled Reddi in some British Indian sources; 30 July 1886 – 22 July 1968) was an Indian medical practitioner, social reformer and Padma Bhushan award recipient. Muthulakshmi Reddy was appointed to the Madras Legisl ...

Death

Krishnan Nair died in 1938.

Honours

In January 1930, Krishnan Nair was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, M. Krishnan Justice Party (India) politicians 1870 births 1938 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights Madras Christian College alumni Diwans of Travancore Dewan Bahadurs