C. Sankaran Nair

Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair KCIE (July 11, 1857 – 1934) was the President of the Indian National Congress in 1897 held at Amraoti. Until present he is the only Keralite to hold the post.

Early life and education

He was born on July 11, 1857 on the Malabar Coast. His early education began in the traditional style at home and continued in schools in Malabar, till he passed the Arts examination with a first class from the Provincial School at Calicut. Then he joined the Presidency College, Madras. In 1877 he took his Arts degree, and two years later secured the Law degree from the Madras Law College.

Career

Sir Sankaran Nair started as a lawyer in 1880 in the High Court of Madras. In 1884, the Madras Government appointed him as a member of the Committee for an enquiry into the state of Malabar. Till 1908, he was the Advocate-General to the Government and an Acting Judge from time to time. In 1908 he became a permanent Judge in the High Court of Madras and held the post till 1915.He was a part of the bench that tried Collector Ashe Murder case along with C. A. White, then the Chief Justice of Madras, , as a special case.

In the meantime, in 1902, the Viceroy, Lord Curzon appointed him Secretary to the Raleigh University Commission, In recognition of his services he was appointed a Commander of the Indian Empire by the King-Emperor in 1904 and in 1912 he was knighted. He became a member of the Viceroy's Council in 1915 with...
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