C. H. Mohammed Koya

C. H. Mohammed Koya Biography

C. H. Mohammed Koya was the tenth Chief Minister of Kerala. He served from October 12, 1979 to December 1, 1979. Thus his shortest term of just 54 days is the shortest term ever by a Chief Minister to this date. He has also served as Kerala speaker and Education minister. His contributions to Kerala as Education Minister are really commendable.

From school days itself Koya was involved in active politics. He was actively involved with the IUML and has served a short term in the Kurumpranad District Muslim League committee and later in the Municipal Office in Kozhikode. In 1951, he became National Executive of IUML. He defeated K.P.Kuttikrishnan Nair of Indian National Congress to become Councilor of Kozhikode Municipality. His mentor was Syed Abdur Rahman Bafaqi Thangal whom Koya regarded as his role model. Mohammed Koya was elected into Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Tanur constituency in 1960 and following the sudden demise of K.M.Seethi Sahib he became the speaker of Kerala legislative assembly in the year 1961. He was quite young that time and was popular too.

When Muslim league quit the political alliance at State level, he contested and won in 1967 thus becoming Education Minister in the cabinet of E.M.S. Namboodiripad, the chief minister.  As Education minister he was instrumental in formulating many plans to bring Kerala as one of the most educationally forward states of India. Now Kerala is number 1 state of India in terms of literacy and Koya is one among those successful leaders who made Kerala intellectually the best. He retained his Education portfolio in succeeding ministries headed by C. Achutha Menon, K. Karunakaran, A.K. Antony till the Ninth ministry headed by P.K. Vasudevan Nair.

On October 12, 1979 Koya became the chief minister of Kerala till December 1, 1979. He was the Deputy Chief Minister in the next cabinet headed by Karunakaran. This great education minister of Kerala died on September 28 at the Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad in 1983.

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Updated: October 08, 2013