V. P. Menon

V. P. Menon

Vapal Pangunni Menon, also known as V. P. Menon, was an Indian civil servant who played a vital role in the partition of India and the integration of independent India, during the period 1945-1950.

V.P.Menon was the son of a school headmaster in Kerala. Menon had begun as a clerk in the Indian Civil Service, but working assiduously hard, Menon rose through the ranks to become the highest serving Indian officer in British India. In 1946, he was appointed Political Reforms Commissioner to the British Viceroy.

Partition of India

:"See Also: Indian Independence Movement, Partition of India"

Menon was the political advisor of the last Viceroy of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten. When the interim Government had collapsed due to the rivalry between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, Menon had proposed to Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Indian leaders, the plan to partition India into two independent nations - India and Pakistan.

Menon's resourcefulness during this period caught the eye of Sardar Patel, who would become the Deputy Prime Minister of India in 1947.

Integration of India

:"Main Article: Political Integration of India"

After the independence of India, Menon became the secretary of the Ministry of the States, headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with whom he had developed a bond of trust. Patel respected Menon's political genius and work ethic, while Menon obtained the respect for his work that a civil servant needs from his political superior.

Menon worked closely with Patel over the integration of over 500 princely states into the union of India, managing the diplomacy between the States Ministry and the various Indian princes, acting as Patel's envoy and striking deals with reluctant princes and rulers. Patel respected Menon's ingenuity in diplomacy, and often did not question if Menon exceeded any instructions.

Menon also worked with Patel over the military action against the hostile states of Junagadh and Hyderabad, as well as advising Nehru and Patel on relations with Pakistan and the Kashmir conflict. The Cabinet had dispatched Menon to obtain the accession of Kashmir into India in 1947.

Later years

The partnership between Patel and Menon was of a rare kind. Almost every Indian politician was allergic to civil servants, owing to their participation in the British Raj. Many Congressmen had demanded strippping the service of its privileges or disbanding it all together, owing to the role of British-era officers in imprisoning Congress leaders. Nehru himself was reluctant to listen to the civil servants who worked under him.

Thus, after Patel's death in 1950, Menon himself retired from the newly formed Indian Administrative Service. He authored a book on the political integration of India, "The Story of the Integration of Indian States" and on the partition of India, "Transfer of Power".

Bibliography

* Menon, V.P (1961), "The story of the integration of the Indian States", Orient Longmans, ISBN ASIN: B0007ILF54
* Menon, V.P (1999), "Integration of Indian States", Sangam Books Ltd, ISBN 81-250-1597-3
* Menon, V.P (1999), "The Transfer of Power in India", Sangam Books Ltd, ISBN 81-250-1596-5

ee also

* Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
* Partition of India, History of India
* Indian Independence Movement
* "Patel: A Life" by Rajmohan Gandhi


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Menon aus Pharsalos — Menon von Pharsalos (* um 422 v. Chr.; † 400 v. Chr.) war ein thessalischer Adliger aus wohlhabender Familie, der aus Larisa (oder Larissa) stammte.[1] Er wuchs während des Peloponnesischen Krieges (431–404 v. Chr.) auf und führte nach diesem… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Menon von Pharsalos — (griechisch Mένων, * um 422 v. Chr.; † 400 v. Chr.) war ein thessalischer Adliger aus wohlhabender Familie, der aus Larisa (oder Larissa) stammte.[1] Er wuchs während des Peloponnesischen Krieges (431–404 v. Chr.) auf und führte nach diesem… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Menon (Begriffsklärung) — Menon ist der Name mehrerer Personen: ein thessalischer Verbündeter der Perser, siehe Menon aus Pharsalos ein Satrap von Syrien, siehe Menon (Sohn des Kerdimmas) ein griechischer Töpfer, siehe Menon (Töpfer) um 330 v. Chr. ein Satrap von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Menon (disambiguation) — Menon (Ancient Greek: Μένων) is an Ancient Greek name (also represented in English by its Latin form Meno) and may refer to: Menon (Trojan), Trojan soldier in Trojan War Menon (Phidias), workman with Phidias Meno, a dialogue by Plato Menon of… …   Wikipedia

  • Menon — ist ein um nach 387 v. Chr. entstandener Dialog Platons, in dem die Frage nach den Möglichkeiten der Erkenntnis eine große Rolle spielt. Er wird dessen Frühwerk zugerechnet und zählt zusammen mit den Dialogen Euthydemos, Protagoras und dem… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Menón — es un diálogo platónico al que se le han atribuido diversas fechas, entre los años 386 y 382 a. C. A través de este diálogo se iniciará una nueva fase tras los diálogos socráticos iniciales y el Protágoras, en donde asistimos a la… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Menon of Pharsalus — may refer to: Menon I of Pharsalus (525? BC 472? BC), assisted Cimon at Battle of Eion Menon II of Pharsalus (475? BC 431? BC), led troops assisting Athens in the Peloponnesian War Menon III of Pharsalus (423? BC 400 BC), the character of Plato s …   Wikipedia

  • Menon (Sohn des Kerdimmas) — Menon (griechisch Μένων; † wohl nach 331 v. Chr.), Sohn des Kerdimmas, war ein Statthalter Alexanders des Großen. Nachdem Alexander nach seinem Sieg in der Schlacht bei Issos 333 v. Chr. Kilikien erobert hatte und entlang der syrischen Küste …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Menon Holdings — Group Industry Investment management Founded 1954 Founder(s) E U Menon Products Mutual funds …   Wikipedia

  • Menon (Satrap) — Menon (griechisch Μένων; † 325 v. Chr.) war ein Soldat und Statthalter Alexanders des Großen. Im Jahr 330 v. Chr. wurde Menon von Alexander zum Satrap der Provinz Arachosien ernannt. Ihm wurden dabei 4.000 Infanteristen und 600 Berittene als …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • menon — ⇒MENON, subst.masc. A. Chèvre du Levant dont la peau sert à faire du maroquin. D autres peaux (...) peuvent être employées dans certains cas: le chagrin, les peaux de menon, de bouquetin, la peau de phoque, de crocodile, etc. (CLOSSET, Trav.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”