A. J. John
Birth date18 July 1893
Birth placeThalayolaparambu, Travancore, British India
Death date1 October 1957 (aged 64)
Death placeMadras, Madras State, India
Office3rd Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin
Term start12 March 1952
Term end16 March 1954
PredecessorC. Kesavan
SuccessorPattom A. Thanu Pillai
ConstituencyPoonjar
PartyTravancore State Congress (Merged with Indian National Congress)
Blank 1Source
Predecessor 2Sri Prakasa
Term start 11956
Office 1Governor of Madras State
First minister 1K. Kamaraj
Term end 11957
Succeeded 1Bhishnuram Medhi
Appointer 1Rajendra Prasad

Anaparambil Joseph John (18 July 1893 – 1 October 1957) was an Indian politician and statesman. He was Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin and Governor of Madras State.

Early life

He was born in 1893, to Joseph of the Anaparambil house at Thalayolaparambu and had his primary education at the local school and finished his school final from Vaikom High School. After doing the degree in law in 1919 from the Law College, Madras, he began his career as a lawyer.

The turning point in John's life came when he plunged into freedom struggle after abandoning his bright future in his profession. He was one of the founding leaders of Travancore State Congress.

He was in the forefront of the historic Abstention Movement which rocked Travancore for some time; an agitation against social injustice staged by the weaker sections and backward classes for proportionate representations in government service. He fought against Independent Travancore proposed by C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar in 1946.

Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin

In the first general elections held in India in 1951–52, John was elected from Poonjar constituency to the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly. The Congress formed Government with A. J. John as Chief Minister in March 1952 with the support of the Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress (T.T.N.C.). The ministry lost confidence motion due to the withdrawal of support from the T.T.N.C.[1]

He also served as Speaker of the first Travancore Legislative Assembly in 1948, and as Minister in all subsequent ministries up to 1956.[2]

Governor of Madras State

A. J. John was appointed Governor of Madras State in 1956 and continued in that office until his death.[3]

References

  1. ^ Yogeeswaran, B. History of Travancore Tamil Struggle
  2. ^ "Lost in the annals of history"
  3. ^ "Lost in the annals of history". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2018-11-01.