K.P.Kesava Menon

K.P. Kesava Menon was born in 1886 in Tharoor village of Palghat. He was the grandson of the Raja of palghat. He graduated in Arts from Madra University and Bar-at-law from Middle Temple.He joined the Indian National Congress in 1915 and served as the secretary of the Malabar branch of the Home Rule League after setting up practice in Calicut. He was a member of the Home Rule League under Annie Besant which proceeded to London to present a memoranda to the Secretary of State in 1917.

In 1921 he joined the Non-Cooperation movement after giving up practice. He did relief work as secretary of KPC C during Moplah rebellion. He became the Founder-Editor of the Mathrubhumi in 1923.He was imprisoned for six months in the Trivandrum Central jail for leading the famous Vaikom satyagraha.In 1927 he set up practice in Malaya due to financial difficulties as a result of full time political activity.

Kesava Menon became a member of the action committee of the Indian Independependence League which was organised by Ras Behari Bose in 1947. He was very active in INA but when Subash Chandra Bose assumed the leadership and formed Azad Hind Government, Kesavamenon parted ways from it as he found it difficult to cope with Subash's way of functioning. When the Japanese attempted to exploit the Indian freedom fighter in Malaya he resisted it. At Singapore he was arrested and confined to solitary imprisonment by the Japanese and was released only after the second world war.He resumed the editorship of Mathrubhumi in 1946. he was appointed as the High commissioner of Ceylon, but resigned due to difference of opinion.

When he was the president of the Aykya Kerala Committee he worked for the unified Kerala state. Ksavamenon has penned several books in Malayalam. He was honoured by the President of India with the 'Padma Vibhushan'. He was the first Executive President of the Kerala Sahtiya Academy. He was known as the Grand old man of kerala.Kesavamenon served as the Editor of the 'Mathrubumi'till his death on November 9,1978.