Thaikkattusery Sankara Warrier (c. 1797 - 23 October 1856) was an Indian civil servant and administrator who served as the Diwan of the

Kingdom of Cochin The kingdom of Cochin or the Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It originated in the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until i ...

from 1840 to 1856. His sons T. Sankunni Menon and T. Govindan Menon have also served as Diwans of Cochin.

Early life

Sankara Warrier was born in a poor

Ambalavasi Ambalavasi, more properly Ampalavasi, (IAST: Ampalavāsi; ) is the generic name for a group of Caste system in India, castes among Hindus in Kerala, India, who have traditionally rendered temple services. Castes The Ambalavasis are broadly div ...

family in

Ollur Ollur is a major suburban area and an old commercial town in the city of Thrissur of Kerala state, South India. It is about away from Swaraj Round on old National Highway 47 (India) towards Kochi. From ancient time onwards, Ollur was a major bu ...

village near Trichur in January 1797. After his early schooling in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, Warrier migrated to

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

at the age of 17 and took employment as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

in the Appeal Court. Transferred to the Diwan's office, a year later, Warrier steadily rose to Head Rayasam (head of the correspondence department) at 24. Warrier served as Head of Rayasam from 1821 to 1832 and Huzur Sheristadar from 1832 to 1835. In 1835, he was appointed Diwan Peishkar or Assistant Diwan and served in the post til 1840, when he succeeded Venkitasubbaya as Diwan upon his resignation. The

. He joined the

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

state service as a clerk and rose to become Diwan in 1840. As Diwan he was noted for his administrative abilities, which enabled

to rise to the forefront among princely states. Sankara Warrier is, especially, remembered for prevailing upon the

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

to issue a proclamation abolishing slavery on 16 February 1854.

Death

Sankara Warrier died in 1856 and was succeeded as Diwan by

Venkata Rayar Venkata Rayar was an Indian administrator who served as the Diwan of Cochin kingdom from 1856 to 1860. He became Diwan in 1856 on the sudden death of the then Diwan, T. Sankara Warrier. He was highly unpopular for his repressive policies. Eventual ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warrier, T. Sankara 1856 deaths Diwans of Cochin People from Thrissur district 1790s births