P. G. N. Unnithan (1898 – 5 April 1965) was the last Diwan (Prime Minister) of independent

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 ...

. He succeeded

C. P. Ramaswami Iyer Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer (12 November 1879 – 26 September 1966), popularly known as Sir C. P., was an Indian lawyer, administrator and politician who served as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency from 1920 to 1923, Law m ...

on 20 August 1947 following the latter's resignation (subsequent to the attempt on Iyer's life at the Swathi Thirunal Music Academy on 25 July 1947). He chaired the Travancore Constitutional Reforms Committee. He relinquished office on 24 March 1948 when people's government led by

Pattom Thanu Pillai Raja Shri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (15 July 188527 July 1970) was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the chief minister of Kerala from 22 February 1960 to 25 September 1962. He was known as the 'Bhishmacharya' o ...

as Prime Minister took over.

Early life

P. G. N Unnithan hailed from the Edassery Pattaveettil Family of

Mavelikkara Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the '' Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River. Etymology The name Mavelikar ...

which had a history of high military service to the

Royal Family. His father Ittamar Koil Thampuran was from the

Haripad Haripad is a Municipality in '' Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha District, Kerala, India located between Alappuzha and Kollam on the National Highway 66. Haripad is bordered on the east by Pallippad, Veeyapuram and Karuvatta to the nort ...

Palace and nephew of

Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran ( ml, കേരളവർമ്മ വലിയ കോയിത്തമ്പുരാൻ; 19 February 1845 – 22 September 1914) also spelt Kerala Varma Valiya Koilthampuran and known as Kerala Varma, w ...

. He married Bhargavi Amma, the daughter of P. G. Govinda Pillai (Government advocate at Alappuzha) of Pullampilla Pichanattu (Viruthiyathu) Family of Chengannur, who was among the earliest women of the region to support the national movement starting with the boycott of foreign clothes at Alleppey organised and led by the veteran freedom fighter and P. G. N. Unnithan's classmate K. Kumar of Travancore. His sister was married to the son of famed Artist Raja Ravi Varma of the Royal Family of

. He had four children. He died on 5 April 1965.

Legacy

''Unnithan Lane'' at

Sasthamangalam Sasthamangalam () is a ward in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 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 ...

Thiruvananthapuram 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 ...

is named after him.

References

1898 births 1965 deaths Diwans of Travancore Indian Hindus Politicians from Thiruvananthapuram Malayali politicians {{Kerala-politician-stub