K. G. Kannabiran

K G Kannabiran was a human rights activist and a lawyer of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP). He was cofounder and National President of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

K. G. Kannabiran
Born
Kandala Gopalaswamy Kannabiran

9 November 1929
Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Died30 December 2010(2010-12-30) (aged 81)
Hyderabad, India
Occupationlawyer, human rights activist
MovementCivil Liberties, Human Rights
Spouse(s)Vasantha Kannabiran
ChildrenChithra,
Kalpana Kannabiran,
Aravind
Parent(s)Kandala Gopalasawamy Iyengar,
Pankajammal
RelativesSrinivasa Raghavan

Early and personal life

Kannabiran was born on 9 November 1929, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, the son of Kandala Gopalaswamy Iyengar, a doctor, and his wife Pankajammal. His early education was in Hyderabad and Nellore, and due to this reason, he was always very comfortable speaking Telugu. He obtained a BA Hons degree in economics (equivalent to Masters) and a degree in law from Madras University. He enrolled in the Madras Bar Council and started his practice in 1953 with the help of his advocate cousin Srinivasa Raghavan (Rajappa).

In 1959, he married Vasanth Kannabiran. He moved to Hyderabad and set up practice there soon after his marriage. The couple were blessed with three children. His elder daughter, Chitra Kannabiran, a molecular biologist, was born in 1960; his second daughter, Kalpana Kannabiran, a sociologist, was born in 1961; and his son, Arvind Kannabiran, a cinematographer, was born in 1966.

Career

Lawyer

He practiced law in Madras (now Chennai) with moderate success and shifted to Hyderabad in 1960 soon after his marriage in 1959.

Human rights activist

Kannabiran started his career as an advocate in AP High court in the early 1960s. He defended human rights and political dissents cases, including Shankar Guha Niyogi, conspiracy cases and political prisoner cases. He was a founding member of PUCL and APCLC and other human rights organizations. Kannabiran took up cases of human rights violations, political dissidents and encounter cases, including four major conspiracy cases, Parvathipuram (Srikakulam district), Tarimela Nagi Reddy, Secunderabad and Ramnagar in 1975. Pleading his case in the lower court, he ultimately succeeded in getting the murderers convicted and punished by the High Court.[1]

Formation of PUCL and APCLC

The PUCL was an attempt to establish an organisation free from political ideologies, through which people connected with different political parties could be brought onto a common platform for the defence of civil liberties and human rights. Kannabiran was one of the National Executive members of the PUCL. Kannabiran remained President of PUCL from 1995 to 2009.[2]

Writing

He published the book The Wages of Impunity — Power, Justice and Human Rights.[3]

Death

He died at age 81 after a brief illness in Hyderabad.[4]

References
  1. "Defending dissent and democracy". The Hindu. 15 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  2. "PUCL Formed". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. "Advocacy of human rights".
  4. "Civil rights activist Kannabiran passes away".
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