C. H. Mohammed Koya
Cheriyan Kandi Muhammad Koya (15 July 1927–28 September 1983), known as C. H. Muhammad Koya, was an Indian politician who served as the Minister of Education in Kerala state Government from 1967 to 1979.[2] He also led the cabinet as the eighth Chief Minister of Kerala from 12 October to 1 December 1979.[2][3]
C. H. Mohammad Koya | |
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| 8th Chief Minister of Kerala | |
| In office 12 October 1979 – 1 December 1979 | |
| Preceded by | P. K. Vasudevan Nair |
| Succeeded by | President's rule |
| Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 9 June 1961 – 11 November 1961 | |
| Preceded by | K. M. Seethi Sahib |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Parambithara |
| 2nd Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala | |
| In office 28 December 1981 – 17 March 1982 | |
| Preceded by | R. Sankar |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| In office 24 May 1982 – 28 September 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Self |
| Succeeded by | K. Avukader Kutty Naha |
| Member of Parliament Lok Sabha | |
| In office 25 February 1962 – 21 February 1967 | |
| Preceded by | K. P. Kutti Krishnan Nair |
| Succeeded by | Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait |
| Constituency | Kozhikode |
| In office 5 February 1973 – 20 March 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Ismail |
| Succeeded by | Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait |
| Constituency | Manjeri |
| MLA | |
| In office 5 April 1957 – 6 March 1962 | |
| In office 6 March 1967 – 5 February 1973 | |
| In office 25 March 1977 – 28 September 1983 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 July 1927 Atholi, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Died | 28 September 1983 (aged 56) Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Political party | Indian Union Muslim League |
| Spouse(s) | K. K. Amina (married on 1 June 1950)[1] |
| Children | Two daughters and a son (M. K. Muneer) |
| As of 2 November, 2007 Source: Govt. of Kerala | |
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As the Minister of Education (1967–79), Koya championed the progress of the education of backward classes in northern Kerala.[3] He also served as the Home Minister (1969–73) and the Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala (1981–83).[2]
Life and career
Cheriyan Kandi Muhammad Koya was born in 1927 at Atholi, in northern Kerala, to Payampunathil Ali and Mariyumma.[2][4]
Koya started the Muslim Students Federation, the youth wing of the All-India Muslim League, while a school student at Zamorin's College, Calicut. He later helped to receive prominent Muslim League leader Liaquat Ali Khan at Calicut (1945).[3] He joined the Chandrika newspaper, the official organ the Muslim League, in 1946.[5][3][2][6]
Koya was first elected to Kerala Assembly in the 1957 legislative elections. He went on to hold several key Kerala cabinet posts (Minister for Education, Deputy Chief Minister, Home Affairs Minister, and Minister for Finance) under a number of Chief Ministers (E. M. S. Namboodiripad, C. Achutha Menon, K. Karunakaran, A. K. Antony, and P. K. Vasudevan Nair) in the following decades.[3][2]
In 1962 (1962–67) and in 1973 (1973–77), Koya was elected to the Parliament of India.[3] He was a Member in Kerala University Senate and served as Chairman, Governing Body, REC, Calicut.[7]
Koya died on 28 September, 1983 while serving as Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala.[7] He was aged just 56 at the time of his death.[7]
Legacy
"Young men like C. H. Muhammad Koya realized that violent revolt promised nothing for them [the Kerala Muslims]. Electoral politics, on the other hand, might offer a great deal."
Koya was known his eloquent oratory and was described by scholar R. E. Miller as "grassroots star of the Mappila community" and the "ranking hero of Muslim youth" in Kerala.[3] He also acted as a "bridge-builder" among various social and religious groups of Kerala.[3]
- Koya is remembered for his "spirited" reply to Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India (when the latter publicly criticized Indian Union Muslim League as "a dead horse" at Calicut in 1955).[3]
As the Minister of Education, Koya championed the progress of the Mappila community in secular education, but also advocated higher standards in the 'Arabic Colleges' (Kerala 'Arabic Colleges' are the equivalent of north Indian madrasas).[3]
- During Koya's tenure, the University of Calicut was established (in northern Kerala).[3]
Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly
- 1st Assembly (1957–59) – Tanur[7]
- 2nd Assembly (1960–64) – Tanur (resigned on 6 March 1962)[7]
- 3rd Assembly (1967–70) – Mankada[7]
- 4th Assembly (1970–77) – Kondotti (resigned on 5 February 1973)[7]
- 5th Assembly (1977–79) – Malappuram[7]
- 6th Assembly (1980–82) – Manjeri[7]
- 7th Assembly (1982–87) – Manjeri (died on 28 September, 1983)[7]
In Kerala council of ministers
Pattom Ministry
Speaker (independent)
2nd E. M. S. Ministry
Minister for Education
1st Achutha Menon Ministry
Minister for Education and Home
- 01-11-1969 to 01-08-1970 (1st Achutha Menon Ministry)
2nd Achutha Menon Ministry
Minister for Education and Home
- 04-10-1970 to 01-03-1973[2] (2nd Achutha Menon Ministry)
1st Karunakaran Ministry
Minister for Finance and Education
- 25-03-1977 to 25-04-1977[2] (1st Karunakaran Ministry)
1st Antony Ministry
Minister for Education
P. K. V. Ministry
Minister for Education
Koya Ministry
Chief Minister of Kerala – 12 October to 1 December 1979 (Koya Ministry)
2nd Karunakaran Ministry
Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala
- 28 December 1981 – 17 March 1982[2] (2nd Karunakaran Ministry)
3rd Karunakaran Ministry
Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala
- 24 May 1982 – 28 September 1983[2] (3rd Karunakaran Ministry)
Works[7]
- My Haj pilgrimage
- Caux-London-Cairo
- The Malaysia I Saw
- How Legislative Assembly Works
- Soviet Union
- Muslim Rule in India Through Stories
- Five Days in Sri Lanka
- Camel to Cadillac
- Travel Around the world
References
- Loksabha Profile (1962)
- Chief Minister of Kerala (Official Website)
- Miller, E. Roland. "Mappila Muslim Culture" State University of New York Press, Albany (2015); p. 204, 235–36, 329, 333, and 345.
- Miller, Roland. E., "Mappila" in "The Encyclopedia of Islam". Volume VI. E. J. Brill, Leiden. 1987. pp. 458–56.
- Jeffrey, Robin. "Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala became a Model" Palgrave McMillan (1992); 112 and 114.
- Speakers & Deputy Speakers Book – Kerala Legislative Assembly
- Kerala Legislative Assembly
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to C. H. Mohammed Koya. |
- C. H. Mohammad Koya: Interview (India Today) 1979
- C. H. Mohammed Koya in Louis Malle's Phantom India (video) (@ 39.20)
| Preceded by P.K. Vasudevan Nair |
Chief Minister of Kerala 1979– 1979 |
Succeeded by E.K. Nayanar |
| Preceded by Seethi Sahib |
Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly 1961– 1961 |
Succeeded by Alexander Parambithara |
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