He was born in 1893, at Thalayolaparambu and had his primary education at the local school and finished his school final from Vaikom High School. After doing the degree in law in 1919 from the Law College, Madras, he began his career as a lawyer.
The turning point in John's life came when he plunged into freedom struggle after abandoning his bright future in his profession. He was one of the founding leaders of Travancore State Congress.
He was in the forefront of the historic Abstention Movement which rocked Travancore for some time; an agitation against social injustice staged by the weaker sections and backward classes for proportionate representations in government service. He fought against Independent Travancore proposed by C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar in 1946.
Chief Minister of Travancore-Cochin
A. J. John's tombstone
In the first general elections held in India in 1951–52, John was elected from Poonjar constituency to the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly. The Congress formed Government with AJ John as Chief Minister in March 1952 with the support of the Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress (T.T.N.C.). The ministry lost confidence motion due to the withdrawal of support from the T.T.N.C.[1]
He also served as Speaker of the first Travancore Legislative Assembly in 1948, and as Minister in all subsequent ministries up to 1956.[2]
Governor of Madras State
AJ John was appointed Governor of Madras State in 1956 and continued in that office until his death.[3]
References
^Yogeeswaran, B. History of Travancore Tamil Struggle.
