Paravoor Thazhathuveettil Krishnan Kartha Narayana Pillai (25 March 1890 – 23 June 1971) was an Indian freedom fighter during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

in India and was a member of 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 ...

(INC) which fought against the British rule in

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 ...

. He was the last

Prime Minister of Travancore The chief minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the Indian state of Kerala. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Fol ...

and the first

Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

at the time of its formation in 1949. He was commonly known as Parur TK.

Early life

Paravoor TK was born in North Paroor,

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 ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, as the son of Thazhathuveettil Madhavi Amma and Cheranalloor Krishnan Kartha. He was educated at the Union Christian College in

Alwaye Aluva (; also known by its former name Alwaye) is a town in the Ernakulam District in Kerala, India. It is a part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is situated around from the city center on the banks of Periyar River. A major transpor ...

, and earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1911.

Political career

Early career

In 1924, Paravoor TK became the thaluk president of the Indian National Congress (INC), North Parur unit. He went on to become the Travancore-Cochin secretary of the INC in 1932, and its president in 1938. He was a founding member of the

Travancore State Congress Travancore State Congress also known as the State Congress is a political party which was formed in 1938 to demand responsible governance in the princely state of Travancore. Background Following the formation of People's Ministries (responsible g ...

. In 1939, Paravoor TK was arrested along with several other leaders for their allegations against the Diwan of Travancore

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 ...

, and was held until they withdrew the allegations. In 1948, Paravoor TK became the president of the Aikya Thiruvithamcore-Cochin Grandhasala Sanghom, a group that promoted public libraries in Travancore and

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

As Premier

On 22 October 1948, Parur TK became the second and last

. His government took large-scale measures to suppress the communist movement that was gaining strength in the state and organising riots against feudal lords. The next year, he became the first

, after the new state was created by merging the princely states of

and Travancore. His successes in the state of Travancore-Cochin is attributed to a lot of men who were his staunch supporters, among them his personal secretary, the famous freedom fighter from Karikkakom in

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 ...

, Karikkakom S. Narayana Pillai. He was unanimously elected the leader of the Congress Legislature Party and he assumed charge as the Chief Minister from 1 July 1949. In 1951,

Annie Mascarene Annie Mascarene (6 June 1902 – 19 July 1963) was an Indian independence activist, politician and lawyer from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala who served as a Member of the Parliament of India and was the first woman to do so. Family and educatio ...

, the former Minister for Health and Power who had resigned in January 1950, accused Minister for Public Works E. John Philipose of corruption. Parur TK stood by Philipose, but

Panampilly Govinda Menon 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 pra ...

, education minister, insisted that Philipose resign. In this circumstance, Parur TK forwarded the resignation of the entire cabinet to Rajpramukh

Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancore ...

on 24 February 1951. Philipose later filed a defamation suit against Mascarene at the high court; this was transferred to

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

at Mascarene's request, where Philipose was cleared of scandal and Mascarene was found guilty and ordered to pay compensation to Philipose.

Later career

Paravoor TK became the Minister for Food, Labour and Education during the next ministry which was headed by

C. Kesavan C. Kesavan (23 May 1891 – 7 July 1969) was a politician, social reformer, statesman and the Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin during 1950–1952. He led the Nivarthana agitation in Travancore to gain the democratic authority for the citizen ...

. Paravoor TK retired from politics and devoted his time to writing. He was bed ridden for a few years with

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

until his death.

Legacy

The playback singer

Sujatha Mohan Sujatha Mohan (credited as Sujatha) is an Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. She has also sung for Kannada, Badaga, Hindi and Marathi movies. In a career spanning 48 years, she has recorde ...

and late

Radhika Thilak Radhika Thilak (1969 – 20 September 2015) was an Indian Malayalam-language playback singer. She sang 70 songs for Malayalam films. Career Some of her songs are "Arunakirana deepam", "Deva sangeetham", "Maya manchalil", "Kaithapoo manam", "Th ...

are his grand daughters and another playback singer Swetha Mohan is his great-granddaughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai 1971 deaths People from Aluva People of the Kingdom of Travancore University of Madras alumni 20th-century Indian lawyers Indian independence activists from Kerala Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Malayali politicians Chief Ministers of Kerala Chief ministers from Indian National Congress 1890 births Members of the Travancore–Cochin Legislative Assembly