Xavier Arakkal was an Indian politician from

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 ...

. He represented Paravur Assembly constituency in 5th

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 30 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 ...

. After that he was twice elected to the

Indian parliament The Parliament of India (ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President o ...

(

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

), first in 1980 and then in 1996.

Biography

Xavier Arakkal was born on April 16, 1935, the youngest of Manjummal Arakkal Varghese's six children. He studied at St. Albert's College, Ernakulam, St. Joseph's College, Thrissur and Thevara Sacred Hearts College. He then studied in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with the help of Archbishop Joseph Attipetti of Verapuzha. He also held a Master of Science in International Relations degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, a master's degree from

Loyola University Loyola University is one of several Jesuit Universities named for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola University may refer to: Democratic Republic of the Congo *Loyola University of Congo, Kinshasa, Congo Spain * Loyola University Andalusia, Sevilla ...

and a law degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Xavier stayed in the US and UK till 1970 and returned to India. After return, Xavier worked as government pleader in

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the List of high courts in India, highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Hig ...

during 1974–77. He held several other positions including convenor of National Forum of Lawyers and Legal Aid and chairman of Kerala Weightlifting Association.

Personal life and death

While in England, he met and married Jamaican woman Lereice. They have two daughters. He died on February 9, 1997, of kidney failure.

Political career

Winning the

1977 Kerala Legislative Assembly election Elections were held on 19 March 1977 to elect members to the fifth Niyamasabha. The United Front, led by INC and CPI won plurality of seats and remained in power, with K. Karunakaran as the Chief Minister. History Fourth Kerala Legislative ...

, Xavier Arakkal represented Paravur Assembly constituency in 5th

as an

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 ...

candidate. After that he was elected to the Indian parliament (Lok Sabha) in 1980 in Congress ticket. In the 1984 elections after the martyrdom of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, on the instructions of the then Kerala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran, Xavier Arakkal was dropped and

K. V. Thomas Kurupassery Varkey Thomas (born 10 May 1946) is an Indian politician from Kumbalangi in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. He represented Ernakulam Constituency from 1984 to 1996 and further from 2009 to 2019. He was the Minister of State ...

, a lecturer at Thevara College, was nominated.

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

directly called back Xavier, who was about to contest as a rebel candidate. In 1995 Xavier left Congress and became a follower of left wing politics. In 1996 he was again elected to the Lok Sabha as an independent candidate with the support from

Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of Left-wing politics, left-wing political parties led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the current List of current Indian ruling and opposition parties, r ...

. He died in 1997, before completing his term as an MP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arakkal, Xavier 1935 births 1997 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1996–1997 Kerala MLAs 1977–1979 Lok Sabha members from Kerala Malayali politicians University of Chicago alumni