V. P. Menon

V. P. Menon
Acting Governor of Odisha
In office
6 May 1951 – 17 July 1951
Preceded byAsaf Ali
Succeeded byAsaf Ali
Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States
In office
1947–1951
Constitutional Adviser and Political Reforms Commissioner to Viceroy of India
In office
1942–1947
Preceded byHarry Hodson
Succeeded byAbolished
Personal details
Born
Vappala Pangunni Menon

(1893-09-30)30 September 1893
Ottapalam, Malabar District, Madras Presidency, British Raj (Present day Palakkad district, Kerala)
Died31 December 1965(1965-12-31) (aged 72), Cooke Town, Bangalore, Mysore State
(now Karnataka)
NationalityIndian
OccupationCivil servant

Vappala Pangunni Menon CSI CIE (30 September 1893 – 31 December 1965) was an Indian civil servant who served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States, under Sardar Patel. By appointment from Viceroy and Governor-General of India Wavell, he also served as Secretary to the Governor-General (Public) and later as Secretary to the Cabinet. He also was the Constitutional Adviser[1][2] and Political Reforms Commissioner to the last three successive Viceroys (Linlithgow, Wavell and Mountbatten) during British rule in India. In May 1948, at the initiative of V. P. Menon, a meeting was held in Delhi between the Rajpramukhs of the princely unions and the States Department, at the end of which the Rajpramukhs signed new Instruments of Accession which gave the Government of India the power to pass laws in respect of all matters that fell within the seventh schedule of the Government of India Act 1935.

He played a vital role in India's partition and political integration.[3] Later in his life, he became a member of the free-market–oriented Swatantra Party.

  1. ^ "V P Menon – The Forgotten Architect of Modern India" (PDF). Forgotten Raj. 13 April 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  2. ^ "V P Menon – The Forgotten Architect of Modern India". Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  3. ^ "How Vallabhbhai Patel, V P Menon and Mountbatten unified India". 31 October 2017.