N. Gopala Menon

Last updated

N. Gopala Menon was a lawyer and an Indian politician of the Indian National Congress, also Member of the Legislative Assembly of Madras state. He served as the Speaker of the Madras Legislative Assembly from 1955 to 1956. [1]

Soon after the untimely death of his father (Ulanat Mootha Pannicker, a chieftain of the Zamorin of Calicut), Gopala Menon's mother with her six small children moved to Madras (the erstwhile Madras Presidency ). Gopala Menon did his schooling and higher studies in the Madras Christian College High School and graduate studies at Madras Christian College and the Law College, Madras. After qualifying in Law, he joined the Legal firm of Sir Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu who became his mentor. Sir KV Reddy, was the first Indian to be appointed Governor of a Presidency, when he became the Governor of the Madras Presidency in June 1936.

Gopala Menon set up his private law practice in Madras in the early 1920s, getting a good start from the extensive practice of Sir Reddy, a part of which was turned over to him.

Always a person who was sympathetic to the conditions of the under-privileged, Gopala Menon devoted his legal practice to the requirements of the needy. He virtually adopted a large cluster of poor households in Vepery and Choolai districts for whom he provided free legal service. He represented this Municipal constituency in the Madras Corporation for nearly twenty years from the early 1930s. During his Membership of the Madras Corporation, he was for many terms the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Finance and other important Committees and was elected the Deputy Mayor for a term.

He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952, (see 1952 Madras Legislative Assembly election) from the Ponnani constituency in the South Malabar district of Madras Presidency. This was a landmark victory as in these elections, the Communist Party of India and the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party had made a strong showing and his was one of only 5 victories for the INC out of 31 constituencies in what later became Kerala state.

In September 1955 he was elected as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Madras State (see List of speakers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly), the precursor of the present Tamil Nadu state. He was only the second person to occupy this office, following the first ever Speaker of the newly created Madras State J. Shivashanmugam Pillai who served from May 1952 to August 1955.

He published a book on Parliamentary Practices, which served as a handbook for newly elected lawmakers, who were unfamiliar with the subject.

N. Gopala Menon died on 9 February 1972.

Notes

  1. "Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly: Details of terms of successive Legislative Assemblies constituted under the Constitution of India". Government of India. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.


Related Research Articles

Reddiar is a Telugu speaking land owning, merchants, agricultural social group in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Achutha Menon</span> Former chief minister of Kerala

Chelat Achutha Menon was an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 4th Chief Minister of Kerala from November 1969 to August 1970 and again from October 1970 to 1977. He is viewed as one of the most influential Chief Ministers of Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai</span> Law college in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is also referred to as Government Law College or GLC, Chennai. It was established in 1891. It was renamed in 1990, as Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, by the Government of Tamil Nadu in commemoration of the birth centenary of B. R. Ambedkar. In 1997, the Government of Tamil Nadu passed an Act which brought the college under the wings of the newly established Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, splitting the college from the University of Madras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. T. Rajan</span> Prime Minister of Madras Presidency

Sir Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan was the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 4 April 1936, to 24 August 1936. He was also the last President of the Justice Party. P. T. Rajan was born in a Thondaimandala mudaliar family in Uthamapalayam. His ancestors were from Kanchipuram. He attended The Leys School, Cambridge and later, Jesus College, Oxford. He graduated in history and law, and practiced as an advocate for some time before joining the Justice Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan</span> Indian politician

Ponnambala Thyaga Rajan Palanivel Rajan was an Indian politician.

Raja Sri Ravu SvetachalapatiSir Ramakrishna Ranga RaoKCIE was an Indian politician and zamindar who served as the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 5 November 1932 to 4 April 1936 and 24 August 1936 to 1 April 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu Legislative Council</span> Defunct upper house in India

Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initially created as an advisory body in 1861, by the British colonial government. It was established by the Indian Councils Act 1861, enacted in the British parliament in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Its role and strength were later expanded by the second Council Act of 1892. Limited election was introduced in 1909. The Council became a unicameral legislative body in 1921 and eventually the upper chamber of a bicameral legislature in 1937. After India became independent in 1947, it continued to be the upper chamber of the legislature of Madras State, one of the successor states to the Madras Presidency. It was renamed as the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council when the state was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969. The Council was abolished by the M. G. Ramachandran administration on 1 November 1986. In 1989, 1996 and 2010, the DMK regime headed by M. Karunanidhi tried to revive the Council. The former AIADMK regime (2016-2021) expressed its intention not to revive the council and passed a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in this regard.

Subburaman Thirunavukkarasar is an Indian politician. He was the State President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee till 2 February 2019 and former secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) of the Indian National Congress (INC) party. His introduction to politics in 1977 was facilitated by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. G. Ramachandran. Ramachandran founded the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in 1972 and was facing his first elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election in 1977. He identified Thirunavukkarasar, a lawyer by profession, to contest the Aranthangi assembly constituency. Thirunavukkarasar won the seat, aged 27, and was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He continued in that capacity till 1980. Subsequently, he served as Tamil Nadu state minister from 1980 to 1987 in the MGR cabinet, holding portfolios that included Industries, Housing Board, Excise and Handlooms. Later, he became a member of the Lok Sabha – the lower house of the Parliament of India – when he won the erstwhile Pudukottai Lok Sabha constituency. He served as Union Minister of state for shipping and later for telecommunications and information technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 Madras State Legislative Assembly election</span>

The first legislative assembly Election to the Madras state based on universal adult suffrage was held in 27 March 1952. This was the first election held in Madras state after the Indian Independence. This election was officially known as the 1951 Madras State Election, even though through delays, actual voting didn't take place until early 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1957 Madras State Legislative Assembly election</span>

The second legislative assembly election to the Madras state was held on 31 March 1957. This was the first election held after the linguistic reorganisation of Madras State in 1956. Indian National Congress and its leader, K. Kamaraj won the election and defeated their rival, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In 1954, due to the resignation of C. Rajagopalachari, for his controversial Kula Kalvi Thittam, the leadership of Congress was contested between K. Kamaraj, and C. Subramaniam. Eventually, K. Kamaraj, won the support of the party, was elected leader and chief minister of Madras State in 1954. In a surprise move, he appointed both M. Bhaktavatsalam and C. Subramaniam, to his cabinet, allowing great unity amongst the Congress that ruled the state of Madras, for the next decade. This election saw future DMK leaders M. Karunanidhi and K. Anbazhagan win their first MLA seats in the legislative assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kala Venkata Rao</span> Indian independence activist and politician

Kala Venkata Rao was an Indian independence activist and politician. He served as the Minister for Revenue in the governments of the Madras Presidency and Andhra Pradesh. He also served as the Minister of Finance in the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly</span> Unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembly is the Speaker. The term of the Assembly is five years, unless dissolved earlier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. M. Nallaswamy</span> Indian politician

Thottakurichi Muthuswamy Nallaswamy,popularly known as T.M.N, was an Indian politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the 2nd, 3rd & 4th Madras State Legislative Assemblies, later renamed Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, as an Indian National Congress candidate from Karur constituency in the Madras State Legislative Assembly elections in 1957, 1962 and 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Madras Presidency Legislative Assembly election</span>

The second legislative assembly election for the Madras Presidency after the establishment of a bicameral legislature by the Government of India Act of 1935 was held in 1946. The election was held after 6 years of Governor's rule starting from 1939, when the Indian National Congress government of C. Rajagopalachari resigned protesting Indian involvement in World War II. This was the last election held in the presidency - after Indian independence in 1947, the presidency became the Madras state. The election was held simultaneously with that of the Legislative Council. The Congress swept the polls by winning 163 out of 215 seats. The years after this election saw factionalism in Madras Congress party with divisions across regional and communal lines. Competition among T. Prakasam, C. Rajagopalachari and K. Kamaraj resulted in the election of Prakasam as the prime minister initially. But he was later defeated by Omandur Ramaswamy Reddiar with Kamaraj's support. In turn, Reddiar himself was ousted to make way for P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja with the support of Kamaraj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920 Madras Presidency Legislative Council election</span>

The first legislative council election to Madras Presidency after the establishment of dyarchical system of government by the Government of India Act 1919, was held in November 1920. Indian National Congress boycotted the election due to its participation in the Non-cooperation movement. The election occurred during the early stages of non-Brahmin movement and the major issue of the election was anti-Brahminism. Justice party won the election with no significant opposition and A. Subbarayalu Reddiar became the inaugural First Minister of the presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Muhammad Ismail</span> Indian politician (1896–1972)

M. Muhammad Ismail Rowther Sahib was an Indian politician and social worker from southern Indian state Tamil Nadu. he was a founder of the Indian Union Muslim League party after the partition of British India. He was popularly known in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as the "Quaid-e-Millat". Ismail was a member of Madras Legislative Assembly and Leader of the Opposition (1946—52). He was also a member (1948—50) of the Constituent Assembly, the drafting body of the constitution of India. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha (1952—58) and Lok Sabha.

Diwan Bahadur Sir Mannath Krishnan NairKCIE (1870–1938) was an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress and later, Justice Party who served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council and later, executive council of the Governor of Madras. He also served as the Chief Justice of Travancore High Court and later Diwan of Travancore from 1914 to 1920(?)

T. N. Anandanayaki (1931-2001) was an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu.She also served as the president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. She was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as an Indian National Congress candidate from Basin Bridge (Two Times) and Mylapore