Kizhakke Potta Kesava Menon (1 September 1886 – 9 November 1978) was an Indian nationalist, idealist and Indian independence activist. Menon was the founder of ''

Mathrubhumi ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle against the British. The word "Mathrubhumi" translates to 'mother land'. ...

'', a popular daily newspaper which earned the second place in circulation in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

. In 1924, he led the Vaikom Satyagraha in Travancore. He was awarded the third highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan, by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in 1966. He was conferred with an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

( D.Litt) posthumously by University of Calicut in 1987. He was also the second Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president and activist of INC.

Early life

He was born in Tharoor, a village near Palakkad, in what was then Malabar District of the Madras Presidency, now the state of Kerala, as the son of Naduviledathil Bheemanachan and Meenakshi Amma. He earned graduation in Arts from Madras University and obtained Bar-at-law from

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

Activism

After his education, he became the secretary of Malabar Home rule League. In 1915 he joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. He served as the secretary of the Home Rule League's Malabar branch after starting practicing in Calicut. He was a part of the Home Rule League under the leadership of Annie Besant which presented a memorandum to the Secretary of State in London in 1917. He also wrote a dozen of books and collections of essays. In 1919, in Madras he organised sweepers and rikshaw drivers. He was among the earliest in Kerala to argue for abolition of 'untouchability'.Social History of India – SN Sadasivan – Page 511

''Mathrubhumi''

Kesava Menon established the Malayalam language newspaper, ''

'' in 1923. He was its Chief Editor from the beginning till his death, except for a brief interregnum he moved out of Kerala and went to practice law in Malaysia and Singapore. There also he was actively involved in nationalist movements. His autobiography, with the Malayalm title "Kazhinya Kaalam" and the English translation, "Bygone Days" has been published by Mathrubhumi Books.

Personal life

Kesava Menon married Akathethara Malikalmaladom Laxmi Nethyaramma. Palakkatsseri Valiyaraja Malikalmaladom Shekhari (M.S.) Varma (the former Maharajah of Palghat) was the second of his five children (Since the first and second Rajas are residing outside India, it was the third Raja, KK Itti Pangi Achan who performed the religious duties on their behalf). The other four children are: Chellamma, Thankam, Padmini and Leela. The noted Malayalam film playback singer K. P. Udayabhanu was his nephew, being the son of his sister Ammu Nethyaramma.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menon, K. P. 1886 births Indian independence activists from Kerala Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Malayali people People from Palakkad district 1978 deaths Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs Malayalam-language journalists Government Victoria College, Palakkad alumni Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Presidents of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee