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V. K. Krishna Menon

Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and statesman.[1][2] During his tenure, Menon led India's foreign relations as de facto foreign minister and foreign policy architect, and acted as Nehru's personal diplomat.

V. K. Krishna Menon
Menon, c. 1950s
Union Minister for Defence
In office
17 April 1957 – 31 October 1962
Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru
Preceded byKailash Nath Katju
Succeeded byYashwantrao Chavan
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
In office
1952–1962
PresidentRajendra Prasad
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1957–1967
Preceded byVithal Balkrishna Gandhi
Succeeded byConstituency Abolished
ConstituencyMumbai North
In office
1971–1974
Preceded bySachindra Nath Maity
Succeeded byM. N. Govindan Nair
ConstituencyMidnapore (1969–71) Trivandrum (1971—74)
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
1956–1957
ConstituencyMadras State (1953–56)
Kerala (1956—57)
Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office
1947–1952
Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byB. G. Kher
Personal details
Born
Vengalil Krishna Kurup Krishna Menon

(1896-05-03)3 May 1896
Thalassery, Kannur district, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Kerala)
Died6 October 1974(1974-10-06) (aged 78)
Delhi, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
Other political
affiliations
India League and the Indian Independence Movement
Alma materPresidency College (BA)
Madras Law College
London School of Economics (BSc, MSc)
University College London (MA)
Middle Temple (Barrister-at-Law)
AwardsPadma Vibhushan (1954)
SourceParliament of India

Pre-1947, Menon represented the India League and Indian independence movement in London, towards the end of the 1940s, he became a presiding figure in Indo-British matters, selecting the last British Viceroy of India, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, with whom he had been friends.[3]

Post-independence, in early Cold War he facilitated international diplomacy, resolutions in situations as diverse as the Suez Crisis, Korean War, invasion of Hungary, Cyprus, Indochina, Taiwan, and the Chinese capture of American airmen, while publicly advocating the anti-colonial ethos of what he would eventually name the Non-Aligned Movement.[4][5] During his time, he served as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador to the United Nations, Minister without Portfolio, and Defense Minister.

He wrote the first draft of the Preamble to the Constitution of India,[6][7] conceptualized and created the Constituent Assembly of India,[7] and worked with Nehru, Mountbatten, Sardar Patel, and V.P. Menon to work out the mechanics of Indian independence. Returning to India, he was elected to both houses of the Indian parliament from constituencies such as Mumbai, Bengal, and Trivandrum in his native state of Kerala.

Early life and education edit

Menon was born into the aristocratic and matrilineal Nair Vengalil family at Thiruvangad Thalassery, later moving to Panniyankara in Kozhikode, Kerala, where the Vengalil tharavad maintained estates, including their sixteen-halled pathinarakettu seat. His family were Nairs, also known as Menons by the Zamorin of Calicut, and as Nayanars by the Raja of Chirakkal, and Mannadiars by the Maharaja of Cochin.

Menon had his early education at the Zamorin's College, Kozhikode. In 1918, he graduated from Presidency College, Chennai, with a B.A. in History and Economics.[8] While studying in the Madras Law College, he was involved in Theosophy and was associated with Annie Besant and the Home Rule Movement. He was a member of the "Brothers of Service", founded by Annie Besant who spotted his talent and helped him travel to England in 1924.[8]

Life and activities in England edit

Menon studied at London School of Economics and was awarded Bachelor of Science in economics and Master of Science in economics from University of London. Later he studied at University College London and in 1930, he was awarded an M.A. in Industrial Psychology with first class honours from University of London, for a thesis entitled An Experimental Study of the Mental Processes Involved in Reasoning, and in 1934 he was awarded an MSc in Political Science with first class honours from the London School of Economics, for a thesis entitled English Political Thought in the Seventeenth Century.

He had continued to study law and was called to the bar at Middle Temple, in 1934, marking the end of his formal education at the age of 37.[8] As a barrister, Menon represented poor lascas pro bono, and, Udham Singh, in his trial for the killing of Michael O'Dwyer in vengeance for the Amritsar Massacre.

During the 1930s, Menon worked as an editor for The Bodley Head and its Twentieth Century Library (1932-1935), for Selwyn & Blount and its Topical Books series, and then, from 1937, for Penguin Books and its founder Sir Allen Lane.[9][10][11][12] Menon was the editor of the educational series Pelican Books since its inception.[13]

Political life in the UK edit

After joining the Labour Party he was elected borough councillor of St Pancras, London, in which context he befriended Edwina Mountbatten, wife of Lord Mountbatten. The patronage of the Mountbattens, in pre-war British society was useful for Menon,[14] who was able to consolidate friendships and political alliances with Labour potentates like future prime minister Clement Attlee, future Chancellor Sir Stafford Cripps, Aneurin Bevan, while gaining entry to the social circles of even George VI and the then-Queen Elizabeth. Additional intimates included as well as such political and intellectual figures as Bertrand Russell, J.B.S. Haldane, Michael Foot, E.M. Forster, and Queen Frederica of Greece. St. Pancras later conferred on him the Freedom of the Borough, the other person so honoured being George Bernard Shaw. The Labour Party began preparations to nominate him as its candidate for the Dundee Parliamentary constituency in 1939 but that fell through because of his perceived connections with the Communist Party.[15] He resigned (or was expelled, according to other sources) from the Labour Party in protest but rejoined in 1944.[15][16]

India League and the independence movement edit

Menon worked as a journalist and as President of the India League from 1928 to 1947. Menon's relationship with Nehru would later be analogised by Sir Isaiah Berlin as like that of Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot. In 1932 he led a delegation by Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson to visit India, and edited its report entitled "Conditions in India", obtaining a preface from Bertrand Russell. Menon also worked to ensure that Nehru would succeed Mahatma Gandhi as the moral leader and executive of the Indian independence movement, and to clear the way for Nehru's accession as the first Prime Minister of an independent India. As Secretary, he built the India League into the Indian lobby in the British Parliament, and turned British sentiment towards the cause of Indian independence.[17]

He also took interest in the Colonial Seamen's Association from which he met Chris Braithwaite and Surat Alley.The origins of what would become the policy of non-alignment were evident in Menon's personal sympathies even in England, where he condemned both Britain and Germany, although he did march several times in anti-Nazi demonstrations. When asked whether India would prefer to be ruled by the British or the Germans, Menon replied that "[one] might as well ask a fish if it prefers to be fried in butter or margarine".[18]

Roles in post-independence India edit

 
V.K. Krishna Menon (age 62) giving a luncheon in 1958 in honour of His Royal Highness Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Andrei Gromyko, Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union.

High Commissioner to the United Kingdom edit

After India gained independence in 1947, Menon was appointed High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, a post in which he remained until 1952. Menon's distrust of the West extended to the United Kingdom, and his opposition to British political manoeuvres led MI5 to deem him a "serious menace to security". From 1929 onwards Menon had been kept under surveillance, with a warrant to intercept his correspondence being issued in December 1933, identifying him as an "important worker in the Indian revolutionary movement".[19] Clandestine surveillance intensified following Menon's 1946 meeting in Paris with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, and Indian independence.[20] In 2007, hundreds of pages of MI5 files documenting their coverage of Menon were released, including transcripts of phone conversations and intercepted correspondences with other statesmen and Nehru himself.[21]

During his tenure as the high commissioner, Menon was accused of being involved in the Jeep scandal case of 1948, but the Government closed the case in 1955, ignoring suggestion by the Inquiry Committee.[22]

India's representative to the United Nations edit

 
1st Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru with V. K. Krishna Menon (age 60) in United Nations in December 1956.

In 1949, Menon accepted the command of the Indian delegation to the United Nations, a position he held until 1962. He headed India's diplomatic missions to the United Kingdom and the United Nations, and established himself in diplomatic matters including the Suez crisis. He engineered refined solutions to complex international political issues, including a peace plan for Korea, a ceasefire in Indo-China, the deadlocked disarmament talks, and the French withdrawal from the UN over Algeria.[17]

He led the overseas wing of the Indian independence movement, launching the India League in London, campaigning within the United Kingdom to win public support for Indian independence, and rallying the support of world powers such as the Soviet Union.

Diplomacy and non-alignment edit

During this period, Menon was a spokesman for Nehru's foreign policy, dubbed non-alignment in 1952,[23] charting a third course between the US and the Soviet Union. Menon was critical of the United States, and expressed sympathies with Soviet policies, earning the ire of many Indians by voting against a UN resolution calling for the USSR to withdraw troops from Hungary,[24] although he reversed his stance three weeks later under pressure from New Delhi.[25]

China and the United Nations edit

Menon also supported the admission of China to the United Nations, which earned him the enmity of many American statesmen, including Senator William F. Knowland. In 1955, Menon intervened in the case of several American airmen who had been held by China, meeting with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai before flying to Washington to confer with and counsel American President Dwight Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, at the request of British Prime Minister Anthony Eden.[26][27]

Nuclear disarmament edit

Menon was an opponent of nuclear weapons, and partnered with many in his quest against their proliferation. Throughout the 1950s, Menon liaised with Bertrand Russell, with whom he had collaborated in the India League.[citation needed]

Suez Crisis edit

During the Suez Crisis, Menon attempted to persuade Gamal Nasser to compromise with the West, and facilitated moving Western powers towards an awareness that Nasser might prove willing to compromise.[28] During the emergency conference on Suez convened in London, Menon, invited by British Prime Minister Anthony Eden, offered a counterproposal to John Foster Dulles' plan for resolution, in which Egypt would be allowed to retain control of the Suez Canal. While known for his alignment with the British Labour party and its Commonwealth analogues, by the 1950s world diplomats referred to the 'Menon Cabal', comprising Eden, British foreign minister Selwyn Lloyd, Canadian foreign minister and future premier Lester Pearson, and Australian foreign minister and future governor-general Richard Casey, particularly to the fury of US Secretary of State Dean Acheson. Menon's proposal was estimated by US diplomats to have more support than the Dulles plan, and was viewed as an attempt to hybridise the Dulles plan with Egypt's claims. The Dulles plan passed, with Menon voting against, alongside Russia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Menon, however, softened his opposition in the final hours, leaving Soviet Foreign Minister Dmitri Shepilov in contraposition.[29]

Speech on Kashmir edit

Why is that we have never heard voices in connection with the freedom of people under the suppression and tyranny of Pakistani authorities on the other side of the cease-fire line? Why is it that we have not heard here that in ten years these people have not seen a ballot paper? With what voice can either the Security Council or anyone coming before it demand a plebiscite for a people on our side who exercise franchise, who have freedom of speech, who function under a hundred local bodies?

-- Excerpt from Menon's marathon 1957 address to the United Nations Security Council, The Hindu.[30]

On 23 January 1957 Menon delivered an eight-hour speech defending India's stand on Kashmir. To date, the speech is the longest delivered in the United Nations,[31] covering five hours of the 762nd meeting on 23 January, and two hours and forty-eight minutes on the 24th,[32] concluding with Menon's collapse on the Security Council floor.[24] Between the two parts, Menon collapsed from exhaustion and had to be hospitalized.[33] During the filibuster, Nehru went onto consolidate Indian power in Kashmir. Menon's defence of Indian sovereignty in Kashmir enlarged his base of support in India, and led to the Indian press dubbing him the "Hero of Kashmir".[34]

Minister of Defence edit

Krishna Menon became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1953 from Madras. In 1956, he joined the Union Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio and was made Minister of Defence in April 1957, after winning the North Mumbai seat to the Lok Sabha.

Menon developed India's domestic military-industrial complex and educational systems[35], establishing the Sainik Schools, the Defence Research and Development Organization(DRDO), space agency INCOSPAR (later ISRO), and other educational and research institutions, while professionalizing the National Cadet Corps and similar entities.

Menon brought with him a degree of governmental, public, and international attention that India's military had not previously known. He suspended the seniority system within the army, replacing it with a merit-based method of promotion, and restructured much of India's military command system, eventually leading to the resignation of the Chief of the Army Staff, General K.S. Thimayya.[36]

Annexation of Portuguese India edit

The annexation of Goa was linked with the 1961 elections to the Lok Sabha. Menon addressed the issue of Indian sovereignty over the Portuguese colony of Goa, in a partial reprise of his earlier defence of Indian Kashmir. In New York, Menon met US Ambassador and two-time presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson behind closed doors,[37] before meeting with President John F. Kennedy, who had expressed his reservations about Menon's anti-imperialism during the state visit of Nehru. Menon lectured Kennedy on the importance of US-Soviet compromise, before returning to India. On 17 December 1961, Menon and the Indian Army overran Goa, leading to Western condemnation. Menon dismissed the admonishments of Kennedy and Stevenson as "vestige(s) of Western imperialism". Indian annexation of Goa had subtle ramifications throughout Asia, as in the case of Indonesian president Sukarno, who refrained from invading the Portuguese colony of East Timor partially from fear of being compared to Menon.[38] The invasion also spawned a complex mass of legal issues relating to differences between eastern and western interpretations of United Nations law and jurisdiction.[39]

The Sino-Indian War edit

In 1962 China attacked India, leading to the Sino-Indian War, and a temporary reversal in India's non-aligned foreign policy. Menon was criticised both inside and outside parliament for ineffectiveness and poor handling of defence matters. The Indian government's analysis, the Henderson Brooks–Bhagat Report remains classified. Some suggest that aspiring to become a world leader, Menon undermined the intelligence reports dating back to 1955 about Chinese preparations to defend its land claim on disputed areas. Menon was responsible for India's lack of military readiness and had to tender his resignation on 31 October 1962 as Minister of Defence in spite of Nehru protecting him by making him Minister of Defence Production and then minister without portfolio.[40][41] He remained as a counselor to Nehru, member of parliament and elder statesman until his death.[42]

Although Menon's role in the development of India's military infrastructure was overshadowed by India's unpreparedness in the Sino-Indian War, later analysis and scholarship has focused on the importance of Menon's vision and foresight in military development, with political figures as varied as President and Minister of Defence R. Venkataraman and Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer of the Supreme Court of India analysing and defending Menon's role in India's rise as a military power.[43][44]

Elections edit

Rajya Sabha edit

Menon was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1953 from Madras which subsequently became a seat from Kerala following the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.[citation needed]

1957 edit

In 1957, Menon sought a seat in the Lok Sabha, contesting a constituency from North Mumbai. Admired for his defence of India's sovereignty in Kashmir on the world stage, Menon was met with rapturous receptions on the campaign trail, and won in a contest against PSP candidate Alvares Peter Augustus by 47,741 votes (171,708 to 123,967).[citation needed]

We visited countless villages, and everywhere it was the same thing. Huge crowds surged forward, blocking the streets, while Menon was drowned by the surrounding uproar, his umbrella knocked away by the ceaseless bombardment of flowers and bouquets. He insisted, in spite of the heat of the day, the dust and the exhaustion, on fulfilling his programme.

-- Eyewitness account of Menon's 1957 campaign, The Hindu.[45]

1961 edit

 
Menon was frequently vilified in the Western press, which described or depicted him as a "snake-charmer", as in TIME magazine's 1962 cover portrait.[46]

In October 1961, Menon, the sitting Defence Minister, was challenged by the 74-year-old Acharya Kripalani, a previous president of the Indian National Congress and close associate of the deceased Mohandas Gandhi. The race, which witnessed the direct intervention of Jawaharlal Nehru, was viewed as of importance due to the personas and influence of the two candidates.[1] Having previously endorsed Menon's foreign policies, Kripalani attacked Menon's persona, seeking to avoid confrontation with the prestige of Nehru and the Congress Party. Menon won nearly doubling the vote total of Kripalani, and winning majorities in all six of North Mumbai's districts. The electoral results established Menon as second to Nehru in Indian politics.[47]

1967 edit

By 1967, Menon had lost his public image after India's debacle in the 1962 war with China. However, he still wanted to contest elections and be a member of parliament. He was denied a seat from Mumbai by the Congress on the grounds that he was a non-Maharashtrian. This followed the surge in popularity for the Shiv Sena, with its sons-of-the-soil agenda. He was not offered a seat anywhere else in the country. Menon resigned from the Congress and stood for elections as an independent candidate from the North East Mumbai constituency, of which he was the sitting member of parliament. He lost to the Congress candidate, Mr. S.G. Barve, a retired ICS officer, by a margin of 13,169 votes. Mr. Barve died later that year, and his sister, Mrs. Tara Sapre, contested the by-election which ensued as the Congress candidate. Menon again stood as an independent, and lost to Mrs. Tara Sapre by a wider margin than had been the case with her brother.[48][49][50]

1969 edit

In 1969, Menon contested a seat in the Lok Sabha from the Bengal constituency of Midnapore, running as an independent in a by-election, and defeating his Congress rival by a margin of 106,767 votes in May of that year.[51]

1971 edit

 
Krishna Menon Museum, Kozhikode, where original oil portraits of Menon, as well as personal belongings, letters, news clips, and other materials related to Menon, are kept for public display.

In 1971, Menon contested as an independent candidate and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Trivandrum, in his home state of Kerala.

Controversies edit

Evaluations edit

Menon was a controversial figure during his life, and has remained so even well after his death. In response to US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles' assertion that US weapons supplied to Pakistan were intended for defence against a Soviet invasion, Menon stated that "the world has yet to see an American gun that can only shoot in one direction", and that "I am yet to come across a vegetarian tiger". In London, Menon responded to novelist Brigid Brophy: "my English is better than yours. You merely picked it up: I learnt it." When criticised for the Rolls-Royces he kept as official vehicles, he replied, "I can scarcely hire a bullock-cart to call on 10 Downing Street".[52]

 
No. 9 Kensington Palace Gardens - the townhouse Menon purchased for the formal residence of the Indian High Commissioner, though he deliberately declined to personally inhabit it.

Indian President R. Venkataraman described him as "the epitome of a representative of the Indian State, personally abstemious but at the same time uncompromising in maintaining the prestige of his high office."[53]

Privately, his Indian colleagues had a mixed view. Foreign Secretary Subimal Dutt commented that Menon, "did not always measure his words" . Another Indian diplomat, C.S. Jha, said that Menon was "an outstanding world statesman but the world's worst diplomat", adding that "his lack of diplomatic finesse and the abrasive manner in which he projected and expounded India's views caused offense and did India's and Nehru's image much harm", adding that Menon had an "acid tongue" and was "overbearing, churlish and vindictive".

Menon was reviled by Western statesmen who loathed his arrogance and anti-Western stances. American President Dwight D. Eisenhower considered Menon a "menace", governed by ambition to prove himself the international manipulator and politician of the age". Western publications referred to him as "India's Rasputin" or "Nehru's Evil Genius".[54][55]

Intellectual Reputation edit

Whether by his supporters or critics, Menon inspired adulation as well as detraction in both India and the West. To his supporters, he was an advocate of India in the face of Western imperialism, who "taught the white man his place".[56] According to The Tribune, "Few Indians have dominated global politics or aroused as much awe and antagonism as V. K. Krishna Menon, one of the prominent personalities of the 20th century.

As a student, his tutor, Harold Laski, described him as the "brilliant" student he had, and the one from whom he had learnt anything. While his thesis supervisor, Charles Spearman, in reviewing his work with C.E. Beeby, judged that "by virtue of intense intellectual study, together with natural capacity, he appears to have acquired mastery of psychological science.

John Flugel, predicted that when published Menon's dissertation "would (render him) one of the young and brilliant psychologists of this century."V.K. Krishna Menon, Man of the Century. (2000). India: B.R. Publishing Corporation. In 1951, Nehru commented “From a intellectual point of view, I cannot remember having met any person with a keener intellect”.[57]

Shashi Tharoor identified his "brilliance, intellectual stamina' and mastery "of the discourse on world affairs, human history and international politics." Swedish Ambassador Alva Myrdal attributed Menon's hold over Nehru to Menon's capacities and for being the "only genuinely intellectual foil Nehru had in his government, with whom he could discuss Marx and Mill, Dickens and Dostoevsky.[58]

Jeep scandal edit

The jeep scandal case in 1948 was the first major corruption case in independent India. Menon, then Indian high commissioner to Britain, ignored protocols and signed a Rs 8 million contract for the purchase of army jeeps with a foreign firm.[59][60]

 
 
Blue plaque erected in 2013 by English Heritage at 30 Langdon Park Road, Highgate, London N6 5QG, London Borough of Haringey.

Personal life edit

In private, Menon abstained from tobacco, alcohol and meat,[18] fasting for days, and forwent his luxury townhouse in Kensington Palace Gardens in favour of a single room in the Indian High Commission during his official tenure in London. As high commissioner, Menon drew the token salary of one rupee per month,[61] later refusing a salary outright.[62] Menon dressed publicly in bespoke suits, earning him the epithet "Mephistopheles in a Savile Row suit".[46] Menon died at the age of 78 on 6 October 1974.

Commemoration edit

The V. K. Krishna Menon Institute was established in 2006 to commemorate and facilitate the life, times and achievements of Menon. One of the Institute's objectives include awarding people from India and diaspora from Asia for their accomplishments in the fields of science, literature, economics, politics, diplomacy and human rights.[63] A blue plaque commemorating Menon was placed at 30 Langdon Park Road, in Highgate, London by English Heritage in 2013.[64]

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  59. ^ . Outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  60. ^ . The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  61. ^ ukmalayalee.com. ukmalayalee.com.
  62. ^ "Sarasota Journal – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  63. ^ . HT Media Limited. 19 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  64. ^ "MENON, V. K. KRISHNA (1896–1974)". English Heritage. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

Bibliography edit

  • Abraham, Itty. "From Bandung to NAM: Non-alignment and Indian Foreign Policy, 1947–1965", Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 46#2 (2008): 195–219.
  • Brecher, Michael. "Elite Images and Foreign Policy Choices: Krishna Menon's View of the World." Pacific Affairs 40.1/2 (1967): 60–92. online
  • Brecher, Michael, and Janice Gross Stein. India and world politics: Krishna Menon's view of the world (Praeger, 1968).
  • George, T. J. S. (1965). Krishna Menon: A Biography. Taplinger. online free to borrow
  • Lengyel, Krishna_Menon (1962) online free
  • McGarr, Paul M. "'A Serious Menace to Security': British Intelligence, V.K. Krishna Menon and the Indian High Commission in London, 1947–52." Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 38.3 (2010): 441–469.
  • McGarr, Paul M. ""India's Rasputin"?: V.K. Krishna Menon and Anglo–American Misperceptions of Indian Foreign Policymaking, 1947–1964." Diplomacy & Statecraft 22.2 (2011): 239–260.
  • Janaki Ram, V. K. Krishna Menon: a personal memoir (1997).
  • Ramesh, Jairam (2019). A chequered brilliance : the many lives of V.K. Krishna Menon. Haryana, India: Penguin Random House India. ISBN 9780670092321.

External links edit

  • P. N. Haksar:
  • T. J. S. George: `Krishna Menon', Jonathan Cape, 1964.
  • Neglect of Krishna Menon memorial project[usurped]
  • How a young man from Calicut became the publisher who helped change British thinking
Political offices
Preceded by
Unknown
Minister for Defence Production Succeeded by
Unknown
Preceded by Minister of Defence
1957–1962
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
First Holder
High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom
1947–1952
Succeeded by
Preceded by
First Holder
Ambassador of India to Republic of Ireland
1949–1952
Succeeded by
Lok Sabha
Preceded by
Sachindra Nath Maity
Member of Parliament
for Lok Sabha (Medinipur)

1969–1971
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Unknown
Member of Parliament
for Lok Sabha (Mumbai North)

1957–1967
Succeeded by
Unknown
Rajya Sabha
Preceded by
N/A
Member of Parliament
for Rajya Sabha (Kerala)

1956–1957
Succeeded by
N/A
Preceded by
N/A
Member of Parliament
for Rajya Sabha (Madras State)

1953–1956
Succeeded by
N/A

krishna, menon, krishna, menon, redirects, here, guru, atmananda, krishna, menon, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, lead, section, long, pl. Krishna Menon redirects here For the guru see Atmananda Krishna Menon This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s lead section may be too long Please read the length guidelines and help move details into the article s body December 2023 This article is written like a personal reflection personal essay or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor s personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style December 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon 3 May 1896 6 October 1974 was an Indian academic politician and statesman 1 2 During his tenure Menon led India s foreign relations as de facto foreign minister and foreign policy architect and acted as Nehru s personal diplomat V K Krishna MenonMenon c 1950sUnion Minister for DefenceIn office 17 April 1957 31 October 1962Prime MinisterJawaharlal NehruPreceded byKailash Nath KatjuSucceeded byYashwantrao ChavanPermanent Representative of India to the United NationsIn office 1952 1962PresidentRajendra Prasad Sarvepalli RadhakrishnanPrime MinisterJawaharlal NehruMember of Parliament Lok SabhaIn office 1957 1967Preceded byVithal Balkrishna GandhiSucceeded byConstituency AbolishedConstituencyMumbai NorthIn office 1971 1974Preceded bySachindra Nath MaitySucceeded byM N Govindan NairConstituencyMidnapore 1969 71 Trivandrum 1971 74 Member of Parliament Rajya SabhaIn office 1956 1957ConstituencyMadras State 1953 56 Kerala 1956 57 Indian High Commissioner to the United KingdomIn office 1947 1952Prime MinisterJawaharlal NehruPreceded byPosition establishedSucceeded byB G KherPersonal detailsBornVengalil Krishna Kurup Krishna Menon 1896 05 03 3 May 1896Thalassery Kannur district Madras Presidency British India now in Kerala Died6 October 1974 1974 10 06 aged 78 Delhi IndiaPolitical partyIndian National CongressOther politicalaffiliationsIndia League and the Indian Independence MovementAlma materPresidency College BA Madras Law CollegeLondon School of Economics BSc MSc University College London MA Middle Temple Barrister at Law AwardsPadma Vibhushan 1954 SourceParliament of IndiaIn this Indian name the name Vengalil Krishnan is a patronymic and the person should be referred to by the given name Krishna Menon Pre 1947 Menon represented the India League and Indian independence movement in London towards the end of the 1940s he became a presiding figure in Indo British matters selecting the last British Viceroy of India Earl Mountbatten of Burma with whom he had been friends 3 Post independence in early Cold War he facilitated international diplomacy resolutions in situations as diverse as the Suez Crisis Korean War invasion of Hungary Cyprus Indochina Taiwan and the Chinese capture of American airmen while publicly advocating the anti colonial ethos of what he would eventually name the Non Aligned Movement 4 5 During his time he served as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Ambassador to the United Nations Minister without Portfolio and Defense Minister He wrote the first draft of the Preamble to the Constitution of India 6 7 conceptualized and created the Constituent Assembly of India 7 and worked with Nehru Mountbatten Sardar Patel and V P Menon to work out the mechanics of Indian independence Returning to India he was elected to both houses of the Indian parliament from constituencies such as Mumbai Bengal and Trivandrum in his native state of Kerala Contents 1 Early life and education 1 1 Life and activities in England 1 1 1 Political life in the UK 1 1 2 India League and the independence movement 2 Roles in post independence India 2 1 High Commissioner to the United Kingdom 2 2 India s representative to the United Nations 2 2 1 Diplomacy and non alignment 2 2 2 China and the United Nations 2 2 3 Nuclear disarmament 2 2 4 Suez Crisis 2 2 5 Speech on Kashmir 2 3 Minister of Defence 2 3 1 Annexation of Portuguese India 2 3 2 The Sino Indian War 3 Elections 3 1 Rajya Sabha 3 2 1957 3 3 1961 3 4 1967 3 5 1969 3 6 1971 4 Controversies 4 1 Evaluations 4 2 Intellectual Reputation 4 3 Jeep scandal 5 Personal life 6 Commemoration 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External linksEarly life and education editMenon was born into the aristocratic and matrilineal Nair Vengalil family at Thiruvangad Thalassery later moving to Panniyankara in Kozhikode Kerala where the Vengalil tharavad maintained estates including their sixteen halled pathinarakettu seat His family were Nairs also known as Menons by the Zamorin of Calicut and as Nayanars by the Raja of Chirakkal and Mannadiars by the Maharaja of Cochin Menon had his early education at the Zamorin s College Kozhikode In 1918 he graduated from Presidency College Chennai with a B A in History and Economics 8 While studying in the Madras Law College he was involved in Theosophy and was associated with Annie Besant and the Home Rule Movement He was a member of the Brothers of Service founded by Annie Besant who spotted his talent and helped him travel to England in 1924 8 Life and activities in England edit Menon studied at London School of Economics and was awarded Bachelor of Science in economics and Master of Science in economics from University of London Later he studied at University College London and in 1930 he was awarded an M A in Industrial Psychology with first class honours from University of London for a thesis entitled An Experimental Study of the Mental Processes Involved in Reasoning and in 1934 he was awarded an MSc in Political Science with first class honours from the London School of Economics for a thesis entitled English Political Thought in the Seventeenth Century He had continued to study law and was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1934 marking the end of his formal education at the age of 37 8 As a barrister Menon represented poor lascas pro bono and Udham Singh in his trial for the killing of Michael O Dwyer in vengeance for the Amritsar Massacre During the 1930s Menon worked as an editor for The Bodley Head and its Twentieth Century Library 1932 1935 for Selwyn amp Blount and its Topical Books series and then from 1937 for Penguin Books and its founder Sir Allen Lane 9 10 11 12 Menon was the editor of the educational series Pelican Books since its inception 13 Political life in the UK edit After joining the Labour Party he was elected borough councillor of St Pancras London in which context he befriended Edwina Mountbatten wife of Lord Mountbatten The patronage of the Mountbattens in pre war British society was useful for Menon 14 who was able to consolidate friendships and political alliances with Labour potentates like future prime minister Clement Attlee future Chancellor Sir Stafford Cripps Aneurin Bevan while gaining entry to the social circles of even George VI and the then Queen Elizabeth Additional intimates included as well as such political and intellectual figures as Bertrand Russell J B S Haldane Michael Foot E M Forster and Queen Frederica of Greece St Pancras later conferred on him the Freedom of the Borough the other person so honoured being George Bernard Shaw The Labour Party began preparations to nominate him as its candidate for the Dundee Parliamentary constituency in 1939 but that fell through because of his perceived connections with the Communist Party 15 He resigned or was expelled according to other sources from the Labour Party in protest but rejoined in 1944 15 16 India League and the independence movement edit See also India League Menon worked as a journalist and as President of the India League from 1928 to 1947 Menon s relationship with Nehru would later be analogised by Sir Isaiah Berlin as like that of Ezra Pound and T S Eliot In 1932 he led a delegation by Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson to visit India and edited its report entitled Conditions in India obtaining a preface from Bertrand Russell Menon also worked to ensure that Nehru would succeed Mahatma Gandhi as the moral leader and executive of the Indian independence movement and to clear the way for Nehru s accession as the first Prime Minister of an independent India As Secretary he built the India League into the Indian lobby in the British Parliament and turned British sentiment towards the cause of Indian independence 17 He also took interest in the Colonial Seamen s Association from which he met Chris Braithwaite and Surat Alley The origins of what would become the policy of non alignment were evident in Menon s personal sympathies even in England where he condemned both Britain and Germany although he did march several times in anti Nazi demonstrations When asked whether India would prefer to be ruled by the British or the Germans Menon replied that one might as well ask a fish if it prefers to be fried in butter or margarine 18 Roles in post independence India edit nbsp V K Krishna Menon age 62 giving a luncheon in 1958 in honour of His Royal Highness Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Andrei Gromyko Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union High Commissioner to the United Kingdom edit After India gained independence in 1947 Menon was appointed High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom a post in which he remained until 1952 Menon s distrust of the West extended to the United Kingdom and his opposition to British political manoeuvres led MI5 to deem him a serious menace to security From 1929 onwards Menon had been kept under surveillance with a warrant to intercept his correspondence being issued in December 1933 identifying him as an important worker in the Indian revolutionary movement 19 Clandestine surveillance intensified following Menon s 1946 meeting in Paris with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and Indian independence 20 In 2007 hundreds of pages of MI5 files documenting their coverage of Menon were released including transcripts of phone conversations and intercepted correspondences with other statesmen and Nehru himself 21 During his tenure as the high commissioner Menon was accused of being involved in the Jeep scandal case of 1948 but the Government closed the case in 1955 ignoring suggestion by the Inquiry Committee 22 India s representative to the United Nations edit nbsp 1st Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru with V K Krishna Menon age 60 in United Nations in December 1956 In 1949 Menon accepted the command of the Indian delegation to the United Nations a position he held until 1962 He headed India s diplomatic missions to the United Kingdom and the United Nations and established himself in diplomatic matters including the Suez crisis He engineered refined solutions to complex international political issues including a peace plan for Korea a ceasefire in Indo China the deadlocked disarmament talks and the French withdrawal from the UN over Algeria 17 He led the overseas wing of the Indian independence movement launching the India League in London campaigning within the United Kingdom to win public support for Indian independence and rallying the support of world powers such as the Soviet Union Diplomacy and non alignment edit During this period Menon was a spokesman for Nehru s foreign policy dubbed non alignment in 1952 23 charting a third course between the US and the Soviet Union Menon was critical of the United States and expressed sympathies with Soviet policies earning the ire of many Indians by voting against a UN resolution calling for the USSR to withdraw troops from Hungary 24 although he reversed his stance three weeks later under pressure from New Delhi 25 China and the United Nations edit Menon also supported the admission of China to the United Nations which earned him the enmity of many American statesmen including Senator William F Knowland In 1955 Menon intervened in the case of several American airmen who had been held by China meeting with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai before flying to Washington to confer with and counsel American President Dwight Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles at the request of British Prime Minister Anthony Eden 26 27 Nuclear disarmament edit Menon was an opponent of nuclear weapons and partnered with many in his quest against their proliferation Throughout the 1950s Menon liaised with Bertrand Russell with whom he had collaborated in the India League citation needed Suez Crisis edit During the Suez Crisis Menon attempted to persuade Gamal Nasser to compromise with the West and facilitated moving Western powers towards an awareness that Nasser might prove willing to compromise 28 During the emergency conference on Suez convened in London Menon invited by British Prime Minister Anthony Eden offered a counterproposal to John Foster Dulles plan for resolution in which Egypt would be allowed to retain control of the Suez Canal While known for his alignment with the British Labour party and its Commonwealth analogues by the 1950s world diplomats referred to the Menon Cabal comprising Eden British foreign minister Selwyn Lloyd Canadian foreign minister and future premier Lester Pearson and Australian foreign minister and future governor general Richard Casey particularly to the fury of US Secretary of State Dean Acheson Menon s proposal was estimated by US diplomats to have more support than the Dulles plan and was viewed as an attempt to hybridise the Dulles plan with Egypt s claims The Dulles plan passed with Menon voting against alongside Russia Indonesia and Sri Lanka Menon however softened his opposition in the final hours leaving Soviet Foreign Minister Dmitri Shepilov in contraposition 29 Speech on Kashmir edit Why is that we have never heard voices in connection with the freedom of people under the suppression and tyranny of Pakistani authorities on the other side of the cease fire line Why is it that we have not heard here that in ten years these people have not seen a ballot paper With what voice can either the Security Council or anyone coming before it demand a plebiscite for a people on our side who exercise franchise who have freedom of speech who function under a hundred local bodies Excerpt from Menon s marathon 1957 address to the United Nations Security Council The Hindu 30 On 23 January 1957 Menon delivered an eight hour speech defending India s stand on Kashmir To date the speech is the longest delivered in the United Nations 31 covering five hours of the 762nd meeting on 23 January and two hours and forty eight minutes on the 24th 32 concluding with Menon s collapse on the Security Council floor 24 Between the two parts Menon collapsed from exhaustion and had to be hospitalized 33 During the filibuster Nehru went onto consolidate Indian power in Kashmir Menon s defence of Indian sovereignty in Kashmir enlarged his base of support in India and led to the Indian press dubbing him the Hero of Kashmir 34 Minister of Defence edit Krishna Menon became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1953 from Madras In 1956 he joined the Union Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio and was made Minister of Defence in April 1957 after winning the North Mumbai seat to the Lok Sabha Menon developed India s domestic military industrial complex and educational systems 35 establishing the Sainik Schools the Defence Research and Development Organization DRDO space agency INCOSPAR later ISRO and other educational and research institutions while professionalizing the National Cadet Corps and similar entities Menon brought with him a degree of governmental public and international attention that India s military had not previously known He suspended the seniority system within the army replacing it with a merit based method of promotion and restructured much of India s military command system eventually leading to the resignation of the Chief of the Army Staff General K S Thimayya 36 Annexation of Portuguese India edit The annexation of Goa was linked with the 1961 elections to the Lok Sabha Menon addressed the issue of Indian sovereignty over the Portuguese colony of Goa in a partial reprise of his earlier defence of Indian Kashmir In New York Menon met US Ambassador and two time presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson behind closed doors 37 before meeting with President John F Kennedy who had expressed his reservations about Menon s anti imperialism during the state visit of Nehru Menon lectured Kennedy on the importance of US Soviet compromise before returning to India On 17 December 1961 Menon and the Indian Army overran Goa leading to Western condemnation Menon dismissed the admonishments of Kennedy and Stevenson as vestige s of Western imperialism Indian annexation of Goa had subtle ramifications throughout Asia as in the case of Indonesian president Sukarno who refrained from invading the Portuguese colony of East Timor partially from fear of being compared to Menon 38 The invasion also spawned a complex mass of legal issues relating to differences between eastern and western interpretations of United Nations law and jurisdiction 39 The Sino Indian War edit In 1962 China attacked India leading to the Sino Indian War and a temporary reversal in India s non aligned foreign policy Menon was criticised both inside and outside parliament for ineffectiveness and poor handling of defence matters The Indian government s analysis the Henderson Brooks Bhagat Report remains classified Some suggest that aspiring to become a world leader Menon undermined the intelligence reports dating back to 1955 about Chinese preparations to defend its land claim on disputed areas Menon was responsible for India s lack of military readiness and had to tender his resignation on 31 October 1962 as Minister of Defence in spite of Nehru protecting him by making him Minister of Defence Production and then minister without portfolio 40 41 He remained as a counselor to Nehru member of parliament and elder statesman until his death 42 Although Menon s role in the development of India s military infrastructure was overshadowed by India s unpreparedness in the Sino Indian War later analysis and scholarship has focused on the importance of Menon s vision and foresight in military development with political figures as varied as President and Minister of Defence R Venkataraman and Justice V R Krishna Iyer of the Supreme Court of India analysing and defending Menon s role in India s rise as a military power 43 44 Elections editRajya Sabha edit Menon was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1953 from Madras which subsequently became a seat from Kerala following the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 citation needed 1957 edit In 1957 Menon sought a seat in the Lok Sabha contesting a constituency from North Mumbai Admired for his defence of India s sovereignty in Kashmir on the world stage Menon was met with rapturous receptions on the campaign trail and won in a contest against PSP candidate Alvares Peter Augustus by 47 741 votes 171 708 to 123 967 citation needed We visited countless villages and everywhere it was the same thing Huge crowds surged forward blocking the streets while Menon was drowned by the surrounding uproar his umbrella knocked away by the ceaseless bombardment of flowers and bouquets He insisted in spite of the heat of the day the dust and the exhaustion on fulfilling his programme Eyewitness account of Menon s 1957 campaign The Hindu 45 1961 edit nbsp Menon was frequently vilified in the Western press which described or depicted him as a snake charmer as in TIME magazine s 1962 cover portrait 46 In October 1961 Menon the sitting Defence Minister was challenged by the 74 year old Acharya Kripalani a previous president of the Indian National Congress and close associate of the deceased Mohandas Gandhi The race which witnessed the direct intervention of Jawaharlal Nehru was viewed as of importance due to the personas and influence of the two candidates 1 Having previously endorsed Menon s foreign policies Kripalani attacked Menon s persona seeking to avoid confrontation with the prestige of Nehru and the Congress Party Menon won nearly doubling the vote total of Kripalani and winning majorities in all six of North Mumbai s districts The electoral results established Menon as second to Nehru in Indian politics 47 1967 edit By 1967 Menon had lost his public image after India s debacle in the 1962 war with China However he still wanted to contest elections and be a member of parliament He was denied a seat from Mumbai by the Congress on the grounds that he was a non Maharashtrian This followed the surge in popularity for the Shiv Sena with its sons of the soil agenda He was not offered a seat anywhere else in the country Menon resigned from the Congress and stood for elections as an independent candidate from the North East Mumbai constituency of which he was the sitting member of parliament He lost to the Congress candidate Mr S G Barve a retired ICS officer by a margin of 13 169 votes Mr Barve died later that year and his sister Mrs Tara Sapre contested the by election which ensued as the Congress candidate Menon again stood as an independent and lost to Mrs Tara Sapre by a wider margin than had been the case with her brother 48 49 50 1969 edit In 1969 Menon contested a seat in the Lok Sabha from the Bengal constituency of Midnapore running as an independent in a by election and defeating his Congress rival by a margin of 106 767 votes in May of that year 51 1971 edit nbsp Krishna Menon Museum Kozhikode where original oil portraits of Menon as well as personal belongings letters news clips and other materials related to Menon are kept for public display In 1971 Menon contested as an independent candidate and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Trivandrum in his home state of Kerala Controversies editEvaluations edit Menon was a controversial figure during his life and has remained so even well after his death In response to US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles assertion that US weapons supplied to Pakistan were intended for defence against a Soviet invasion Menon stated that the world has yet to see an American gun that can only shoot in one direction and that I am yet to come across a vegetarian tiger In London Menon responded to novelist Brigid Brophy my English is better than yours You merely picked it up I learnt it When criticised for the Rolls Royces he kept as official vehicles he replied I can scarcely hire a bullock cart to call on 10 Downing Street 52 nbsp No 9 Kensington Palace Gardens the townhouse Menon purchased for the formal residence of the Indian High Commissioner though he deliberately declined to personally inhabit it Indian President R Venkataraman described him as the epitome of a representative of the Indian State personally abstemious but at the same time uncompromising in maintaining the prestige of his high office 53 Privately his Indian colleagues had a mixed view Foreign Secretary Subimal Dutt commented that Menon did not always measure his words Another Indian diplomat C S Jha said that Menon was an outstanding world statesman but the world s worst diplomat adding that his lack of diplomatic finesse and the abrasive manner in which he projected and expounded India s views caused offense and did India s and Nehru s image much harm adding that Menon had an acid tongue and was overbearing churlish and vindictive Menon was reviled by Western statesmen who loathed his arrogance and anti Western stances American President Dwight D Eisenhower considered Menon a menace governed by ambition to prove himself the international manipulator and politician of the age Western publications referred to him as India s Rasputin or Nehru s Evil Genius 54 55 Intellectual Reputation edit Whether by his supporters or critics Menon inspired adulation as well as detraction in both India and the West To his supporters he was an advocate of India in the face of Western imperialism who taught the white man his place 56 According to The Tribune Few Indians have dominated global politics or aroused as much awe and antagonism as V K Krishna Menon one of the prominent personalities of the 20th century As a student his tutor Harold Laski described him as the brilliant student he had and the one from whom he had learnt anything While his thesis supervisor Charles Spearman in reviewing his work with C E Beeby judged that by virtue of intense intellectual study together with natural capacity he appears to have acquired mastery of psychological science John Flugel predicted that when published Menon s dissertation would render him one of the young and brilliant psychologists of this century V K Krishna Menon Man of the Century 2000 India B R Publishing Corporation In 1951 Nehru commented From a intellectual point of view I cannot remember having met any person with a keener intellect 57 Shashi Tharoor identified his brilliance intellectual stamina and mastery of the discourse on world affairs human history and international politics Swedish Ambassador Alva Myrdal attributed Menon s hold over Nehru to Menon s capacities and for being the only genuinely intellectual foil Nehru had in his government with whom he could discuss Marx and Mill Dickens and Dostoevsky 58 Jeep scandal edit The jeep scandal case in 1948 was the first major corruption case in independent India Menon then Indian high commissioner to Britain ignored protocols and signed a Rs 8 million contract for the purchase of army jeeps with a foreign firm 59 60 nbsp nbsp Blue plaque erected in 2013 by English Heritage at 30 Langdon Park Road Highgate London N6 5QG London Borough of Haringey Personal life editIn private Menon abstained from tobacco alcohol and meat 18 fasting for days and forwent his luxury townhouse in Kensington Palace Gardens in favour of a single room in the Indian High Commission during his official tenure in London As high commissioner Menon drew the token salary of one rupee per month 61 later refusing a salary outright 62 Menon dressed publicly in bespoke suits earning him the epithet Mephistopheles in a Savile Row suit 46 Menon died at the age of 78 on 6 October 1974 Commemoration editThe V K Krishna Menon Institute was established in 2006 to commemorate and facilitate the life times and achievements of Menon One of the Institute s objectives include awarding people from India and diaspora from Asia for their accomplishments in the fields of science literature economics politics diplomacy and human rights 63 A blue plaque commemorating Menon was placed at 30 Langdon Park Road in Highgate London by English Heritage in 2013 64 References edit a b The 1962 Election in North Bombay PDF Archived from the original PDF on 18 March 2012 Fuller C J 30 December 1976 The Nayars today Christopher John Fuller Google Books Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521290913 Retrieved 11 July 2012 Ramesh J 2019 Chequered Brilliance India Penguin Books India PVT Limited Why ditch the non aligned movement Business Line 16 September 2016 V K Krishna Menon the evil genius behind the non aligned movement The Print 6 October 2018 Krishna Menon drafted Constitution s preamble The Hindu 19 January 2020 a b The Many Lives of V K Krishna Menon Carnegie Endowment for International Peace a b c Krishna Menon open ac uk Open University 11 July 2017 Hartley John 2003 A Short History of Cultural Studies SAGE pp 22 ISBN 9780761950288 Retrieved 18 September 2012 Lewis Jeremy 2006 Penguin Special The Life and Times of Allen Lane London Penguin Books pp Multiple ISBN 0141015969 Sairam Krishnan How a young man from Calicut became the publisher who helped change British thinking scroll in Retrieved 14 July 2023 Bodley Head Making Britain Discover how South Asians shaped the nation 1870 1950 open ac uk Retrieved 14 July 2023 Penguin Books Making Britain www5 open ac uk Retrieved 8 February 2024 A Serious Menace to Security British Intelligence V K Krishna Menon and the Indian High Commission in London 1947 52 Paul M McGarr a b Communists and suspected communists The National Archives UK Retrieved 1 November 2012 Krishna Menon The Open University Making Britain Database Retrieved 18 September 2012 a b Chakravarty Suhash 100 People Who Shaped India V K Krishna Menon Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine India Today 2000 Retrieved 23 March 2012 a b Foreign News The Great I Am Time 18 October 1954 Archived from the original on 30 September 2007 Communists and suspected communists The National Archives Saga of India Russia diplomatic ties Russia amp India Report Indrus in Retrieved 11 July 2012 Krishna Menon a sick man say MI5 documents The Times of India 3 March 2007 Archived from the original on 17 May 2013 Dipankar Paul 30 April 2011 The Republic of Scams Jeep purchase 1948 MSN Archived from the original on 17 August 2011 Retrieved 20 December 2011 Ma Aroof Mohammad Khalid 1 January 1987 Afghanistan in world politics a Mohammad Khalid Ma aroof Google Books Gian Publishing House ISBN 9788121200974 Retrieved 11 July 2012 a b India The Favourite Time 29 April 1957 United Nations Who Must Obey Time 3 December 1956 Archived from the original on 14 December 2008 Boyle Peter G 2005 The Eden Eisenhower correspondence Anthony Eden Earl of Avon Dwight David Eisenhower Peter G Boyle Google Books Univ of North Carolina Press ISBN 9780807829356 Retrieved 11 July 2012 The Southeast Missourian Google News Archive Search news google com Kyle Keith 15 February 2011 Suez Britain s End of Empire in the Keith Kyle Google Books Bloomsbury Academic ISBN 9781848855335 Retrieved 11 July 2012 SUEZ Putting the Question Time 3 September 1956 Archived from the original on 14 December 2008 Excerpt from Menon s marathon 1957 address to the United Nations Security Council The Hindu Longest UN speech Guinness World Records Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 16 March 2012 Retrieved 5 February 2016 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Keating Joshua 25 September 2009 The Top 10 Craziest Things Ever Said During a U N Speech Bhandari Romesh April 2002 Krishna Menon His Contributions and Vision Think India Quarterly 5 2 Retrieved 24 September 2012 Krishna Rao K V 1 March 1991 Prepare or perish a study of K V Krishna Rao Google Books Lancer Publishers ISBN 9788172120016 Retrieved 11 July 2012 Thomas Raju G C 1980 The Armed Services and the Indian Defense Budget Asian Survey University of California Press 20 3 280 297 doi 10 2307 2643745 JSTOR 2643745 World MENON S WAR Time 29 December 1961 Archived from the original on 13 July 2010 George McTurnan Kahin 2003 Southeast Asia a testament Routledge p 146 ISBN 9780415299763 Retrieved 11 July 2012 Oliver Covey 56 Am J Int l L 540 1962 Judicial Decisions Involving Questions of International Law heinonline org Verghese B G 50 YEARS AFTER 1962 Subbu Forum Archived from the original on 15 January 2014 Retrieved 24 September 2012 India s Krishna Menon Resigns From Cabinet After Border attack The Sydney Morning Herald 7 November 1962 Retrieved 24 September 2012 Brecher and Stein eds India and world politics Krishna Menon s view of the world 1968 Wood Glyn Daniel Vaagenes July 1984 Indian Defense Policy A New Phase Asian Survey 24 7 721 735 doi 10 2307 2644185 JSTOR 2644185 A political paradigm The Hindu Chennai India 12 May 2002 Archived from the original on 3 July 2003 Lewis Charles 11 March 2007 Krishna Menon s campaign in Mumbai The Hindu Archived from the original on 14 March 2007 Retrieved 24 September 2012 a b Magazine Columns An unusual life The Hindu 29 April 2007 India Mandate for Menonism Time 9 March 1962 Archived from the original on 4 February 2013 1967 electionsresults PDF Election Commission of India Retrieved 24 September 2012 Morkhandiker R S 21 October 1967 The Shiv Sena An Eruption of Nationalism Economic and Political weekly Archived from the original on 18 May 2013 Retrieved 24 September 2012 Anandan Sujata 19 June 2015 How Bombay s businessmen and the Congress helped create the Shiv Sena Scroll in Narain Iqbal 1970 Democratic Politics and Political Development in India Asian Survey University of California Press 10 2 88 89 doi 10 2307 2642243 JSTOR 2642243 Humour in politics The Hindu 22 July 2001 Reddy E S Damodaran A K eds 1990 Krishna Menon at the United Nations India and the World New Delhi Krishna Menon National Memorial Committee Brands 1989 The Specter of Neutralism The United States and the Emergence of the Third World 1947 1960 Columbia University Press p 101 ISBN 9780231071680 Paul M McGarr India s Rasputin V K Krishna Menon and Anglo American Misperceptions of Indian Foreign Policymaking 1947 1964 Diplomacy amp Statecraft 22 2 2011 239 260 Vasant Nevrekar Krishna Menon Archived 3 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine Colaco net Banaji Jairus Krishna Menon a Fighter for Indian Independence Who Was Isolated in His Party thewire in Retrieved 15 November 2023 Guha Ramachandra 2008 India after Gandhi the history of the world s largest democracy New York NY Harper Perennial ISBN 978 0060958589 On Your Marks Outlookindia com Archived from the original on 15 May 2013 Retrieved 11 July 2012 Opinion Readers Editor Online Media support crusade against corruption The Hindu Archived from the original on 23 April 2011 Retrieved 11 July 2012 ukmalayalee com ukmalayalee com Sarasota Journal Google News Archive Search news google com Canadian MP to be conferred with VK Krishna Menon award 2012 HT Media Limited 19 August 2012 Archived from the original on 4 May 2014 Retrieved 15 November 2013 MENON V K KRISHNA 1896 1974 English Heritage Retrieved 4 May 2014 Bibliography editAbraham Itty From Bandung to NAM Non alignment and Indian Foreign Policy 1947 1965 Commonwealth amp Comparative Politics 46 2 2008 195 219 Brecher Michael Elite Images and Foreign Policy Choices Krishna Menon s View of the World Pacific Affairs 40 1 2 1967 60 92 online Brecher Michael and Janice Gross Stein India and world politics Krishna Menon s view of the world Praeger 1968 George T J S 1965 Krishna Menon A Biography Taplinger online free to borrow Lengyel Krishna Menon 1962 online free McGarr Paul M A Serious Menace to Security British Intelligence V K Krishna Menon and the Indian High Commission in London 1947 52 Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 38 3 2010 441 469 McGarr Paul M India s Rasputin V K Krishna Menon and Anglo American Misperceptions of Indian Foreign Policymaking 1947 1964 Diplomacy amp Statecraft 22 2 2011 239 260 Janaki Ram V K Krishna Menon a personal memoir 1997 Ramesh Jairam 2019 A chequered brilliance the many lives of V K Krishna Menon Haryana India Penguin Random House India ISBN 9780670092321 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to V K Krishna Menon nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to V K Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon P N Haksar Krishna As I knew him Statements by V K Krishna Menon at the United Nations T J S George Krishna Menon Jonathan Cape 1964 Theft of two statues of Menon from a London park Neglect of Krishna Menon memorial project usurped How a young man from Calicut became the publisher who helped change British thinkingPolitical officesPreceded byUnknown Minister for Defence Production Succeeded byUnknownPreceded byKailash Nath Katju Minister of Defence1957 1962 Succeeded byYashwantrao ChavanDiplomatic postsPreceded byFirst Holder High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom1947 1952 Succeeded byB G KherPreceded byFirst Holder Ambassador of India to Republic of Ireland1949 1952 Succeeded byB G KherLok SabhaPreceded bySachindra Nath Maity Member of Parliamentfor Lok Sabha Medinipur 1969 1971 Succeeded bySubodh Chandra HansdaPreceded byUnknown Member of Parliamentfor Lok Sabha Mumbai North 1957 1967 Succeeded byUnknownRajya SabhaPreceded byN A Member of Parliamentfor Rajya Sabha Kerala 1956 1957 Succeeded byN APreceded byN A Member of Parliamentfor Rajya Sabha Madras State 1953 1956 Succeeded byN A Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title V K Krishna Menon amp oldid 1206828264, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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