S. Krishna Kumar (born 6 September 1939, Kowdiar,

Trivandrum district Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...

, Kerala) is a bureaucrat turned Indian politician from

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 ...

. He was also a technologist, technocrat, trade unionist, political and social worker, sportsman, Engineer and civil servant (Indian Administrative Service). He was a former leader of

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 ...

in Kerala and joined

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

on 20 April 2019. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha three times during 80s and 90s, and was also a minister in the

Rajiv Gandhi ministry Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister of India on 31 October 1984. Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet included 7 Agriculturists, 15 Lawyers, 4 Journalists and 3 former Princely state rulers. Cabinet ;Key * Died in office * Resigned ...

and

Rao ministry P. V. Narasimha Rao was sworn in as Prime Minister of India on 21 June 1991. Cabinet Ministers of state * Ram Lal Rahi, Ministry of Home Affairs * Suresh Pachouri, Ministry of Defence 1995-1996 ...

. He served as a member of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

representing Quilon (Lok Sabha constituency). He was elected to 8th, 9th and

10th Lok Sabha List of Members of the 10th Lok Sabha, (20 June 1991 – 10 May 1996) elected during 1991 Indian general election held during May–June 1991. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India, four sitting memb ...

Personal life

He was born in

Kowdiar Kowdiar is one of the main localities in the city of Trivandrum, Kerala, India. It is one of the most expensive and cleanest localities in Trivandrum. It is the starting point of the Rajapatha (Royal Path) that stretches to the East Fort. It lie ...

Thiruvananthapuram district Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...

(Kerala) on 6 September 1939 as son of C.P.Shankara Pillai. He got married on June 1970 to Smt. Usha Krishna Kumar, who later became the general secretary of

All India Mahila Congress All India Mahila Congress (AIMC), also referred to as Mahila Congress, is the women's wing of the Indian National Congress (INC). The most recent President was Sushmita Dev who left office in 2021. Currently Netta D'Souza heads the All India Mah ...

. He has two children one son and a daughter. His daughter has married to the family of

Khushwant Singh Khushwant Singh (born Khushal Singh, 2 February 1915 – 20 March 2014) was an Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. His experience in the 1947 Partition of India inspired him to write ''Train to Pakistan'' in 1956 (made ...

. He is currently settled in Delhi.

Career

He completed graduation in Mechanical engineering from

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

with gold medal in the year 1960.

Bureaucrat

He cleared the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

exam and joined the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

in the year 1963. While in service he served as

District magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part o ...

from 1969 to 1973. During this period he spearheaded

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

and

land reforms Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

projects in the district. This efforts helped Kerala reduce population growth and ensure fair redistribution of land. He is also regarded as the architect of 'modern

Kochi 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 ...

' because of efforts to develop city into a modern city through institutions such as Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA)and also he was founding chairman of GCDA from 1976 to 1980. He has also served in the capacities of Civil Supplies Commissioner, Industries Commissioner, Principal Secretary (Industries, Local Administration, Urban Development, Fisheries & Social welfare) in

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

Politics

He quit

and entered politics in 1980 through

and

K. Karunakaran Kannoth Karunakaran (5 July 1918 – 23 December 2010) was an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC). He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala four times during the late 1970s through the mid 1990s. He is the ...

as his mentor. He expected a seat in

1982 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The elections to the Seventh Kerala Assembly were held on May 19, 1982. Background After the election of 1980, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) formed a government led by E. K. Nayanar. By 20 October 1981, LDF lost their majority in the Ass ...

but that didn't came through. However he was appointed as the chairman of

HLL Lifecare HLL Lifecare Limited (formerly Hindustan Latex Limited) (HLL) is an Indian healthcare product manufacturing company based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. A Government of India -owned corporation (Public-sector undertaking). Products It ...

, a central Public sector undertaking. It was a loss making entity and was transformed into a leading

Condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

and medical accessories manufacturer in Asia. Then he moved to

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

and started becoming active in Trade union activities of Cashew industry in Kollam. In 1984

CAPEX Capital expenditure or capital expense (capex or CAPEX) is the money an organization or corporate entity spends to buy, maintain, or improve its fixed assets, such as buildings, vehicles, equipment, or land. It is considered a capital expenditure ...

the only

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

in cashew sector was started in his leadership. Soon he got elected into

from

Kollam (Lok Sabha constituency) Kollam Lok Sabha constituency ( ml, കൊല്ലം (ലോക്‌സഭാ നിയോജകമണ്ഡലം) (formerly Quilon Lok Sabha constituency) is one of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala state in southern India. Assembl ...

in the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

and

. He was a

Union Minister The Union Council of Ministers Article 58 of the ''Constitution of India'' is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which is responsible for being the senior decision making body of the executive branch. It is chaired by t ...

handling Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Textiles, Information and Broadcasting from 1984 to 1989 in

and Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Defence, Non Conventional Energy and Agriculture in

from 1991 to 1996. He worked for universalisation of Television in India and established microwave link across

in record time. In 1990's there were a series of allegations were raised against Krishna Kumar, including amassing of wealth disproportionate to the known sources of income and benami real estate deals. His wife Usha Krishnakumar was arrested for violation of the

Foreign Exchange Regulation Act The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), is an Act of the Parliament of India "to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly d ...

and was sent to

Tihar Jail Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one ...

. In elections to the

11th Lok Sabha General elections were held in India in 1996 Indian general election, April–May 1996 to elect the members of the 11th Lok Sabha. The result of the election was a hung parliament, which would see three Prime Ministers in two years and force t ...

of 1996, Krishna Kumar lost to

N. K. Premachandran N. K. Premachandran (born 25 May 1960) is an Indian politician. He is presently the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Member of Parliament from Kollam Lok Sabha constituency. He was the former minister for Water Resources in the Government of Ke ...

. Nina Pillai, wife of biscuit tycoon

Rajan Pillai Rajan Pillai (1947 – 7 July 1995) was an Indian businessman, popularly known as the 'Biscuit Baron'. He died in custody four days after his arrest, largely because he was denied medical treatment while in custody; the subsequent investigations ...

also contested this elections as a BJP-supported candidate against Krishna Kumar. Following this he distanced himself from electoral politics and took on the role of an education and industrial consultant. There are many analysts who believe that, machinations against

within

both at national level and state level due to differences he had with

Rao __NOTOC__ Rao may refer to: Geography * Rao, West Sumatra, one of the districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia * Råö, a locality in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden Transport * Dr. Leite Lopes–Ribeirão Preto State Airport , IAT ...

and Antony along with the downfall of Karunakaran's clout both at

and Delhi following the

ISRO espionage case ISRO espionage case was a now-disproven allegation of espionage made by Indian investigation agencies in the 1990s against some employees of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Various Indian intelligence agencies and the Kerala police ...

have seriously impacted the political career of

Karunakaran Karunakaran may refer to: * K. Karunakaran (1918–2010), Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC) * Dr. T. Karunakaran (1946-2019), Indian academic, social reformer, rural developer, founder of AGRINDUS * Karunakaran (ac ...

loyalists like Krishnakumar. In 2003, he left

due to differences with

and joined

. He contested in BJP ticket from

Mavelikara (Lok Sabha constituency) 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 Mavelikara ...

for the

2004 Indian general election General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governm ...

. However, in 2006 he joined back in the

. He was active in poll campaigns of 2014 elections for

. In 2014, he did a doctorate in Public policy from

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) is a Deemed university in Pilani, Jhunjhunu, India. It focuses primarily on higher education and research in engineering and sciences. After expansion to a campus in Dubai, it has b ...

. In 2019 at his age of 80, he again left Congress and joined

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishna Kumar S. India MPs 1991–1996 People from Thiruvananthapuram district 1939 births Living people India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1984–1989 Lok Sabha members from Kerala People from Kollam district Indian Administrative Service officers