VK Krishna Menon (1896 - 1974)

VK Krishna Menon is the leader who was described by Time magazine as the most powerful person in the country after Nehru. He played an important role in shaping India's foreign policy. Born on May 3, 1896 in Panniyankara, Kozhikode. His parents were Komath Krishna Kurup, a famous lawyer from Thalassery, and Vengalil Lakshmikuttyamma. His father was the son of the King of Kadathanadu and his mother was the granddaughter of a Diwan of Travancore. He was nicknamed 'Appa'. After his primary education, he graduated from the Madras Presidency College. He joined the Law College to study law, but could not continue his studies as he was attracted by the Home Rule movement led by Annie Besant. He went to England in 1924. He graduated from the London School of Economics. He got the opportunity to become the favorite disciple of the prominent socialist thinker and Labour Party leader Prof. Harold Laski during his studies at the School of Economics. Laski described Krishnamenon as "the most brilliant student he ever saw." He also earned a law degree from England.

Laski's disciple

Menon's stay in England lasted 27 years. He was involved in the efforts to revive the Commonwealth of India League, which was founded in 1922. In 1928, Menon formed an organization called the India League, which worked for the complete independence of India. He used his teacher-disciple relationship with Prof. Laski to create a pro-India attitude in the British Labour Party. Krishna Menon came to India in 1932 as a representative of the India League. He collected information about the atrocities of British rule in India and prepared a report. That report was brought to the attention of the philanthropic English in Britain. From 1934, he worked as a Labour Party representative for 14 years and also as a member of the St Pancras Municipal Council in central London. It was during this time that he co-founded the famous Penguin Books.

Menon also succeeded in establishing extensive friendships in England. He maintained close relations with Bertrand Russell, Stafford Cripps, EM. Forster, Louis Mountbatten, etc. He also succeeded in gaining the sympathy of the Allies for the Indian national movement during the Second World War. Menon's efforts for eleven years finally paid off. The Labour Party adopted the resolution to grant independence to India. The Labour Party government that came to power under the leadership of Clement Attlee implemented the political decision in favor of Indian independence within a year. He also played an important role in the decision to send Lord Louis Mountbatten to India as the new Viceroy of India.

Krishna Menon maintained close relations with most of the Indian national leaders. He was a close friend of Jawaharlal Nehru. Their similar views on national and international issues strengthened that friendship. After independence, Prime Minister Nehru used Menon's services in diplomatic matters. He was posted to many foreign countries. From 1947 to 1952, he served as the Indian High Commissioner to Britain. Although Menon was initially appointed as the head of the American delegation, the post had to be given to Vijayalakshmi Pandit. When he arrived in Washington as the deputy head, his wise and courageous stance on the Korean issue raised India's prestige. 

Hero of Kashmir

Krishna Menon's speech on the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly in 1957 is famous. The speech, which lasted 5 hours on January 23 and 2 hours and 48 minutes on the 24th, is considered the longest speech in the history of the UN. The speech gained great international recognition for the positions taken by India on the Kashmir issue. Menon came to be known as the Hero of Kashmir. It was he who suggested that name for the Non-Aligned Movement. He played an important role along with Nehru in formulating Indian foreign policy. He gave priority to pragmatism in foreign policy. The cornerstone of the foreign policy followed by India for two decades from 1950 was based on Menon's ideas and strategies. 

Defence Minister

In 1953, Menon was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madras. In 1956, he was appointed as a Minister without Portfolio in the Union Cabinet. In 1957, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mumbai North. He became the Defence Minister on 17 April 1957. This period witnessed many important events in the history of the country. Operation Vijay was a joint mission of the Army, Air Force and Navy to liberate the Portuguese territories in India. It began on 17 December 1961. After 36 hours, the Portuguese territories were liberated. Although others, including US President John F. Kennedy, strongly criticized the Goa military operation, Krishna Menon ignored them.

As the Defense Minister, Krishna Menon implemented many reforms. He gave importance to efficiency instead of seniority in military posts. He implemented the concept of military schools. INCOSPAR, the predecessor of ISRO, and DRDO were also formed during his tenure as the Defense Minister. With brilliant administrative victories, Menon contested the Lok Sabha for the second time in 1961 as a Congress representative from Mumbai North. Menon defeated former Congress president and senior national leader Acharya J.B. Kripalani (Praja Socialist Party) by a majority of more than two lakh votes.

But the Chinese attack in 1962 turned the situation upside down. On October 20, about 3,000 Chinese soldiers crossed the McMahon Line and attacked Ladakh and the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA). Menon's enemies, both within the Congress Party and the opposition, used the defeats in the war as weapons. The Defense Minister was attacked both inside and outside Parliament. Mistakes were blamed on him. On October 31, 1962, Menon was forced to resign from his ministerial post. Prime Minister Nehru took over the Defense Ministry and tried to keep Krishna Menon in the cabinet as the Minister of Defense Equipment Manufacturing and a Minister without Portfolio, but things got out of hand.

The Indo-China War, which lasted for a month and a day, ended on 21 November 1962. In 1967, Menon wanted to contest again from Mumbai North, but was denied the opportunity. He resigned from the Congress and contested as an independent candidate, but lost to the Congress candidate SG Barve. Menon again contested as an independent in the by-elections that followed Barve's death. He lost miserably to Tara Sapre (Congress), who was also Barve's sister. However, with the support of the Left, he won from Midnapore (1969) in West Bengal and from Thiruvananthapuram in 1971 and entered the Lok Sabha.

Krishna Menon's decline began with the death of Nehru in 1964. In 1962, Time magazine predicted that he would be the most powerful person in India after Nehru, but he gradually became irrelevant. Menon could not get along with Indira Gandhi, who was also Nehru's daughter, who later came to power. He died unmarried on October 6, 1974, in Delhi at the age of 78.