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 practice as a junior to Adv. M. C. Joseph. He was the first treasurer of

Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham (KYS, ) is a rationalist organization based in Kerala, India. The organization says it stands for rationalism and humanism. It is the initiator of the umbrella organization for rationalism and humanism, Federation of ...

. He moved his practice to Ernakulam afterwards. Later in the 1930s he became prominent in the politics of the

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy wa ...

and served briefly as the Prime Minister of Cochin state in 1947. After the union 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 ...

and Cochin, he served as minister for education under Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai and minister for finance under A. J. John, Anaparambil. He was the Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin in 1955–1956. He represented

Mukundapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) Mukundapuram Lok Sabha constituency ( ml, മുകുന്ദപുരം ലോക്‌സഭാ നിയോജകമണ്ഡലം) was a Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala state in southern India. It was dissolved in 2008, and was replaced ...

from 1962 until his death. He became Union Minister for Law and Railways (1969–1970) and Minister of state for Food and Agriculture. He was also the political mentor of K. Karunakaran. In 2006, the birth centenary celebrations of Panampilly Govinda Menon were inaugurated by the then President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Later in his memory a college was built in Chalakudy named ''Panampilly Memorial Government College''. Early Life Govinda Menon was born on October 1, 1906 in the village of Kakkad which on the eastern bank of the Chalakudy River, in the district of Thrissur in Kerala, India. He was the fourth son of Kumarapilly Krishna Menon and Madhavi Amma. He grew-up under the wings of his uncle Kunjunni Menon. Education Govinda Menon studied at the Paliyam School from Second Standard to the Seventh Standard. He then moved to the Maharajas School in Eranakulam. During this time he was staying with his elder sister Janaki Amma and her husband Madhava Menon who was a lawyer. During this time, he got attracted to the Indian freedom movement and this did not go well with the school authorities. He moved to Chalakudy high school as a result. When

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

the famous poet visited Kerala, and was going to attend a public event at Aluva, via Chalakudy, Govinda Menon and his friends went to meet him. He was punished for this by the school authorities. As a student he also participated in the

Vaikom Satyagraha Vaikom Satyagraha, from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925, was a Nonviolence, nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple in the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore. Kingdom o ...

While he was in school Govindan excelled in public speaking, and in literary events. For his college education Govinda Menon joined the St Thomas College in Thrissur. During this time he got more engaged in the freedom movement and participated in multiple activities. He continued to excel in many fields and always came first in college level competitions in a range of activities such as English Oratory, Malayalam Oratory etc. He was a talking point among his teachers. After completing his intermediate from St Thomas College, he went to Tiruchirappalli St Joseph College for his BA (Honours) and then to

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 ...

for his Bachelor of Law degree.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Menon, Panampilly Govinda 1906 births 1970 deaths People from Thrissur district 20th-century Indian lawyers Malayali politicians Indian rationalists Indian independence activists from Kerala Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Chief Ministers of Kerala Law Ministers of India Railway Ministers of India St. Thomas College, Thrissur alumni India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 Lok Sabha members from Kerala Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Members of the Travancore–Cochin Legislative Assembly

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