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V. K. Krishna Menon
Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, independence activist, politician, lawyer, and statesman. Menon contributed to the Indian independence movement and India's foreign relations. He was among the major architects of Indian foreign policy, was India's first High Commissioner to United Kingdom and later India' Defence Minister.
In 1928, Menon founded the India League in London to demand total independence from the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. Whilst in Britain he worked as an editor and helped found Pelican Books. Towards the end of the 1940s, he presided Indo-British matters and caused the selection of the last British Viceroy of India, Louis Mountbatten. He worked with Nehru, Mountbatten, Sardar Patel, and V.P. Menon to work out the mechanics of Indian independence.
After the independence of India, he facilitated international diplomacy and resolutions in situations such as the Suez Crisis, Korean War, invasion of Hungary, Cyprus, Indochina, Taiwan, and the Chinese capture of American airmen, while supporting the anti-colonial ethos of what he would eventually name the Non-Aligned Movement. Since the independence of India, he served as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador to the United Nations, and Defence minister. As a Defence minister, he played a role in military conflicts such as Congo Crisis, Annexation of Goa, and Sino-Indian War. During his tenure as defence minister, India saw establishment of domestic military-industrial complex and educational systems, the Sainik Schools, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and other defence and military institutions, while professionalizing the National Cadet Corps and similar entities.
He was elected to both houses of the Indian parliament from constituencies such as Mumbai, Bengal, and Trivandrum in his native state of Kerala. He remained a member of the Lok Sabha until his death.
Menon was born into an aristocratic Nair family at Thiruvangad, Thalassery, later moving to Panniyankara in Kozhikode, Kerala, where the Vengalil family had a tharavad house. He was named after his father Adv [Vakkeel] Komath Krishna Kurup one of the leading criminal advocates of Thalassery and Calicut Bar, only son of reigning Porlathiri Udaya Varma Raja of Kadathanad kingdom and Smt. Komath Sreedevi kettilamma kurup, one of the wealthiest men of Kerala at that time who maintained Komath Nalukettu, Sree Thazhe Komath Bhagavathi Temple in Ayanchery and also maintained vast estates in Ayanchery and Kuttiyadi regions of Vatakara
Menon had his early education in Ayanchery and Thalassery and later pursued his higher education at the Zamorin's College, Kozhikode. In 1918, he graduated from Presidency College, Chennai, with a B.A. in History and Economics. While studying in the Madras Law College, he was involved in Theosophy and was associated with Annie Besant and the Home Rule Movement. He was a member of the "Brothers of Service", founded by Annie Besant who helped him travel to England in 1924.
Menon studied at London School of Economics, securing Bachelor of Science in economics and Master of Science in economics from University of London. Whilst there he studied under Harold Laski who, according to historian Jack Bowman, became a great personal and political inspiration for Menon. Later, he studied at University College London and in 1930, he was awarded an M.A. in Industrial Psychology with first class honours from University of London, for a thesis entitled An Experimental Study of the Mental Processes Involved in Reasoning. In 1934, he secured a MSc in Political Science with first class honours from the London School of Economics, for a thesis titled English Political Thought in the Seventeenth Century.
In 1934, he continued to study law and was called to the bar at Middle Temple, marking the end of his formal education at the age of 37. As a barrister, Menon represented poor lascas pro bono, and, Udham Singh, in his trial for the killing of Michael O'Dwyer in vengeance for the Amritsar Massacre.
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V. K. Krishna Menon
Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, independence activist, politician, lawyer, and statesman. Menon contributed to the Indian independence movement and India's foreign relations. He was among the major architects of Indian foreign policy, was India's first High Commissioner to United Kingdom and later India' Defence Minister.
In 1928, Menon founded the India League in London to demand total independence from the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. Whilst in Britain he worked as an editor and helped found Pelican Books. Towards the end of the 1940s, he presided Indo-British matters and caused the selection of the last British Viceroy of India, Louis Mountbatten. He worked with Nehru, Mountbatten, Sardar Patel, and V.P. Menon to work out the mechanics of Indian independence.
After the independence of India, he facilitated international diplomacy and resolutions in situations such as the Suez Crisis, Korean War, invasion of Hungary, Cyprus, Indochina, Taiwan, and the Chinese capture of American airmen, while supporting the anti-colonial ethos of what he would eventually name the Non-Aligned Movement. Since the independence of India, he served as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador to the United Nations, and Defence minister. As a Defence minister, he played a role in military conflicts such as Congo Crisis, Annexation of Goa, and Sino-Indian War. During his tenure as defence minister, India saw establishment of domestic military-industrial complex and educational systems, the Sainik Schools, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and other defence and military institutions, while professionalizing the National Cadet Corps and similar entities.
He was elected to both houses of the Indian parliament from constituencies such as Mumbai, Bengal, and Trivandrum in his native state of Kerala. He remained a member of the Lok Sabha until his death.
Menon was born into an aristocratic Nair family at Thiruvangad, Thalassery, later moving to Panniyankara in Kozhikode, Kerala, where the Vengalil family had a tharavad house. He was named after his father Adv [Vakkeel] Komath Krishna Kurup one of the leading criminal advocates of Thalassery and Calicut Bar, only son of reigning Porlathiri Udaya Varma Raja of Kadathanad kingdom and Smt. Komath Sreedevi kettilamma kurup, one of the wealthiest men of Kerala at that time who maintained Komath Nalukettu, Sree Thazhe Komath Bhagavathi Temple in Ayanchery and also maintained vast estates in Ayanchery and Kuttiyadi regions of Vatakara
Menon had his early education in Ayanchery and Thalassery and later pursued his higher education at the Zamorin's College, Kozhikode. In 1918, he graduated from Presidency College, Chennai, with a B.A. in History and Economics. While studying in the Madras Law College, he was involved in Theosophy and was associated with Annie Besant and the Home Rule Movement. He was a member of the "Brothers of Service", founded by Annie Besant who helped him travel to England in 1924.
Menon studied at London School of Economics, securing Bachelor of Science in economics and Master of Science in economics from University of London. Whilst there he studied under Harold Laski who, according to historian Jack Bowman, became a great personal and political inspiration for Menon. Later, he studied at University College London and in 1930, he was awarded an M.A. in Industrial Psychology with first class honours from University of London, for a thesis entitled An Experimental Study of the Mental Processes Involved in Reasoning. In 1934, he secured a MSc in Political Science with first class honours from the London School of Economics, for a thesis titled English Political Thought in the Seventeenth Century.
In 1934, he continued to study law and was called to the bar at Middle Temple, marking the end of his formal education at the age of 37. As a barrister, Menon represented poor lascas pro bono, and, Udham Singh, in his trial for the killing of Michael O'Dwyer in vengeance for the Amritsar Massacre.