| Aiyappan Pillai | |
 | |
| Birth: | 24 May 1914 Mundanad House, Trivandrum, Travancore State, British Raj (present-day Kerala, India) |
| Death: | 5 January 2022 Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India |
| Age: | 107 years, 226 days |
| Country: |  IND
|
| Centenarian | |
M. R. Ry. Kumar Aiyappan Pillai (24 May 1914 – 5 January 2022) was an Indian lawyer, politician, former member of legislative council and a writer. He turned 100 in May 2014.
Biography[]
Early life and education[]
The son of Kumara Pillai of Nagercoil, Aiyappan Pillai was born in the princely state of Travancore to an aristocratic family related to the ruling dynasty of Travancore. He was educated privately and graduated from the Law College, Trivandrum.
Career[]
Born into the Mundanad family of Kayamkulam as the nephew of the Thachudaya Kaimal, but following a meeting with Mahatma Gandhi, chose to give up a stately sinecure and agitate for responsible government. He participated in the Quit India Movement Gandhi advised him to serve the people directly which prompted him to stand for elections in the newly formed legislature of Travancore representing Trivandrum as an Indian National Congress candidate.
As a lawyer and close-confidante of the Maharaja of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, when India attained Independence, he was asked by the Maharaja to carry on secret negotiations with Indian National Congress and the Government of Travancore in 1947.
In 1971, he was requested to be a figurehead for the newly created Bharatiya Janata Party. Thereafter, he has remained behind the scenes in the region's politics, as Chairman at various times and as a vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party since 1971.
Pillai died of heart disease in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India in the early hours of 5 January 2022 at the age of 107 years, 226 days.
References[]
- Man Who Walked with History for 100 Years The New Indian Express, 24 May 2014
- "Gandhiji told me to work for the people" Meet 102-year old lawyer,Ayyappan Bar and Bench, 21 June 2016
- On 75th anniversary of Quit India Movement, children meet 103-year-old freedom fighter Times of India Videos (indiatimes.com), 13 August 2017
- Meet a 106-year-old freedom fighter from Kerala The New Indian Express, 15 August 2019
- Veteran BJP leader K Aiyappan Pillai passes away Onmanorama, 5 January 2022
- Freedom fighter K Ayyappan Pillai passes away at 107 Mathrubhumi, 5 January 2022