Prominent Figures of the Kerala Church-86 M.M. Jacob

Prominent Figures of the Kerala Church-86
M.M. Jacob
M.M. Jacob, an enduring figure in the freedom struggle, a youth leader, and an outstanding parliamentarian, was born on August 10, 1928, as the third son of Ulahannan Mathew and Rosamma in the esteemed Mundakkal family of Ramapuram.
He earned his M.A. and LL.B. degrees after studying at St. Augustine’s High School in Ramapuram, University College, Thiruvananthapuram, Tevara Sacred Heart College, Madras Loyola College, and Lucknow University. Jacob also acquired a diploma in income tax law and pursued studies and training in social sciences at the University of Chicago. While a student, he was actively involved in student organizations at both the college and university levels. An accomplished athlete, he also excelled as a speaker in both English and Malayalam. He was a cadet in the Law Corps of the Travancore University and the Indian Air Training Corps. During his student days, he actively participated in the independence movement, delivering speeches at various significant events that inspired the struggle for India’s freedom.
As the union secretary at Tevara College, Jacob held leadership positions in student organizations at Madras and Lucknow universities. He was also a member of the All India Student Organization at the school level and actively engaged in activities in Thiruvananthapuram. After enrolling as an advocate at the Kerala High Court, he began practicing in Kottayam. However, he soon became deeply involved in social work, engaging with the Bhoodan movement, Bharat Sevak Samaj, and other national initiatives. He organized youth meetings and training camps to bring the ideas of Vinoba Bhave, a prominent figure in the Bhoodan movement, to the people, particularly the youth.
Jacob was elected as the joint secretary of the Bhoodan Mobile Work Squad, operating from Mangalam in Kottayam. When India’s Vice President S. Radhakrishnan visited Kottayam, he extended support and best wishes to the movement. Jacob represented Kerala at the Bhoodan All India Conference in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, in 1954, where he was specially congratulated by the President.
Jacob joined Bharat Sevak Samaj, an organization with no political goals, where Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Union Minister Gulzari Lal Nanda served as president. The organization’s aim was to gain public cooperation for India’s planned development. Jacob was responsible for organizing camps for those willing to assist the movement. He subsequently moved to Delhi, leading training programs for camp leaders and organizers for two years.
He worked as the southern coordinator for employment and social camps for youth and students under the Ministry of Education. He later served as the chairman of the Kerala unit of Bharat Sevak Samaj and as the All India Vice President.
In 1957, Jacob worked as a training supervisor and liaison officer for the pilot project Work and Orientation Centre in Kallemashery, designed by the Ministry of Employment to train the unemployed and underprivileged. As a full-time social worker, he led various projects, including world affairs, urban social welfare projects, service centers, night shelters, and the public cooperation division of the Planning Commission through Bharat Samaj.
Jacob represented the B.S.S. central organization at the All India Conference held in Udaipur, chaired by Union Minister S.K. Day. This conference featured several ministers from various states and leaders like Jai Prakash Narayan.
Under the auspices of UNESCO’s youth division, Jacob participated in international coordination committees formed for service and peace, organizing camps across different regions of India, including Bengal and Bangalore. He also served as an advisor for youth work camps in Colombo, Sri Lanka, representing the coordination committee. Jacob led and organized employment social service camps for children and youth throughout India. He was also the organizer and director of the Gandhi Centre for National Integration Inter-University Camp in Thiruvananthapuram.In the social service educational institution established in Thevara and Rajgir, Jacob served as a visiting professor in social work and was also a member of the governing body. He had the privilege of visiting various social work and management education institutions across the country, where he conducted classes.
From 1964 to 1967, at the request of then Union Home Minister Gulzari Lal Nanda, Jacob served as the convenor of the Kerala Moral Committee. During this time, he established branches of the committee in all districts of Kerala and led strong initiatives against corruption.
Jacob has worked in various sectors within the cooperative movement. He served as the founding president of the Kerala State Cooperative Rubber Marketing Federation, director of the District Cooperative Bank, and director of the Pala Rubber Marketing Society, as well as serving on the board of the Chitralekha Film Corporation Society. He also chaired the Film Corporation Society. He held significant positions such as chairman of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala (1974-78) and the first chairman of Oil Palm India Limited (1977-1978). Jacob was also a member of the governing bodies of Hindustan Latex, the Indian Coffee Board, and the Indian Rubber Board.
As the chairman of the Kerala chapter of the National Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (1974-76), he also served as a director of the Indian Overseas Bank, director of the Kerala chapter of the Red Cross, member of the Kerala State Vinoba Tourism Advisory Committee, and member of the governing body of the state component of the Small Industries Association.
When China invaded India, Jacob played a crucial role as a chief organizer for the Youth Student Defense Council established by the Kerala government. He organized numerous Citizen Defense Councils in various locations and formed a volunteer alliance at the grassroots level (1962-1966).
Jacob led the activities of the Kerala University Students’ Welfare Committee and was a member of the editorial board of the University Journal. Under the auspices of the B.S.S., he organized numerous camps for students and youth between 1955 and 1965. He also served as the general secretary of the Kerala Youth Hostel Association, during which the seventh national conference of the association took place in Thiruvananthapuram in 1964. He made efforts to establish youth hostels in various regions.
Within the Kerala chapter of the Indian National Congress, Jacob held several official positions, including General Secretary of the K.P.C.C., Treasurer, Chairman of the Kerala State Seva Dal Board, and Convenor of the Ideological Cell. He was also a long-time elected member of the A.I.C.C. Jacob presented papers at national and international conferences and has written numerous articles, as well as published several books.Jacob has held various prominent roles, including serving as the director of “Vikshanam,” the official publication of the Congress, and as the editor of the journals of Bharat Sevak Samaj and Congress Review. From 1982, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha for 12 years, during which he chaired the Subordinate Legislation Committee (1981-85) and the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs (1993-94). He has also held positions such as the Deputy Leader of the Rajya Sabha (1986), Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (1988-89), Minister of Water Resources (1986-89), Chief Whip of the Congress Party in Parliament (1989-91), and Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Home Affairs (1991-93).
Appointed as the Governor of Meghalaya in 1995, he was re-elected for a second term and continues to hold the position at the request of the central government, even after the term has expired. Jacob’s impartiality and commitment to justice have gained him respect from the people of Meghalaya, who have consistently supported his recommendations during political crises involving the state cabinet.
Jacob has represented India at numerous international conferences. He participated in the Youth Leaders Camp organized by UNESCO in 1956, the sixth World Youth Conference in Moscow in 1957, and various international gatherings in North Vietnam and China that same year. He also attended social worker conferences in Cleveland, USA, in 1963, youth leader meetings in Bonn, Germany, in 1968, and the International Social Administration conference in Ohio, USA, in 1976, among others.
In 1986, Jacob attended the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting in London as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He led a delegation of parliament members to Zaire in 1989 and participated in international parliamentary conferences in Budapest in 1985 and Mexico in the same year.
Jacob traveled to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly in both 1985 and 1993. He also participated in the Human Rights Conference in France (1993), the Human Rights Conference in Vienna, Austria (1994), and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting in Ghana (1993). Notably, he served as an observer for the general elections in South Africa in 1994 as a representative of Commonwealth countries.
His wife, Achamma, is a member of the Kunnuthara family from Thiruvalla.