Dr A R Menon

A doctor of repute, he was born on March-10, 1884. Graduating in medicine from Madras University, he went to England for further studies. He passed MB, ChB (Edinborough) and spent 14 years in England where he was held up during the war. He worked Ireland for a decade qualified as a surgeon and worked in hospitals in Glasgow hospitals. He had several medical degrees to his credit and was one of the leading surgeons of his time. He returned to India in 1921 and set up his practice at Trichur. He had two able assistants, Dr P.N Vaidyanatha Iyer and Dr M.N Menon, his uncle’s son. In course of time, both the junior’s branched off and set up independently in Trichur and Ottapalam respectively and became prominent doctors in their own right.

           Dr A.R Menon took keen interest in social services. He entered politics and was an elected member of the Cochin legislative assembly for many years. He was elected Chairman of the Trichur Municipal Corporation for here consecutive times. He resigned the Chairmanship in protest against the granting of supply of electricity to the Chandini Company by then the Dewan of Cochin, Sir R.K Shamugham Chetty. When diarchy was introduced in Cochin on lines with the Montague-Chelmsford reforms in British India, elections was fought on party lines and Cochin congress in which Dr A.R Menon came to power and it’s leader Ambat Sivaraman Menon who was his cousin became the minister of rural development. Due to the untimely death of Ambat Sivaraman Menon,  Dr A.R Menon became the minister of rural development on September 15,1938. He resigned in 1942, shifted to Palakkad  and started a nursing home, The Kerala Nursing Home which to this day stands testament to this great visionary at Palakkad. He became member of the Palakkad Municipality and later became it’s chairman.

           When Kerala was formed, he was elected from the Palakkad constituency, and became the minister of health in the first E.M.S Namboothiripad ministry.  Dr Menon was also a member of the Madras Senate. He was he member of the All India Congress Committee for the state of Cochin .

           Dr A.R Menon was engaged to Madhavikutty, daughter of his uncle Dr A.G Menon before leaving for Britain for higher studies. She passed away before he returned. On his return, he married Kamalam, daughter of Rukmini Thangachi and Sree Narayana Thambi. Dr A.R Menon passed away on October 9, 1960.

http://manojambat.tripod.com/ambat.htm