ClaudiaEncarnaci at 11:11, 25 March 2026

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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = C. H. Mohammad Koya
| image = Indian Union Muslim League leader C. H. Mohammed Koya.jpg
| office = 2nd [[List of deputy chief ministers of Kerala|Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala]]
| 1blankname = Chief Minister
| 1namedata = [[K. Karunakaran]]
| term_start = 24 May 1982
| term_end = 28 September 1983
| predecessor = ''Office Vacant''
| successor = [[K. Avukader Kutty Naha]]
| 1blankname1 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata1 = K. Karunakaran
| term_start1 = 28 December 1981
| term_end1 = 17 March 1982
| successor1 = ''Office Vacant''
| predecessor1 = [[R. Sankar]]
| order2 = 8th
| office2 = Chief Minister of Kerala
| term_start2 = 12 October 1979
| term_end2 = 1 December 1979
| predecessor2 = [[P. K. Vasudevan Nair]]
| successor2 = [[E. K. Nayanar]]
| office3 = [[List of speakers of the Kerala Legislative Assembly|Speaker]] of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start3 = 9 June 1961
| term_end3 = 11 November 1961
| predecessor3 = [[K. M. Seethi Sahib]]
| successor3 = Alexander Parambithara
| office4 = Member of Parliament, [[Lok Sabha]]
| term_start4 = 25 February 1962
| term_end4 = 21 February 1967
| successor4 = [[Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait]]
| predecessor4 = K. P. Kutti Krishnan Nair
| constituency4 = [[Kozhikode (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kozhikode]]
| term_start5 = 5 February 1973
| term_end5 = 20 March 1977
| successor5 = [[Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait]]
| predecessor5 = [[M. Muhammad Ismail|Muhammad Ismail]]
| constituency5 = [[Manjeri (Lok Sabha constituency)|Manjeri]]
| office6 = [[Niyamasabha|Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start6 = 5 April 1957
| term_end6 = 6 March 1962
| constituency6 = [[Tanur (State Assembly constituency)|Tanur]]
| successor6 = C. Muhammed Kutty
| predecessor6 = ''Position established''
| term_start7 = 6 March 1967
| term_end7 = 17 September 1970
| constituency7 = [[Mankada (State Assembly constituency)|Mankada]]
| successor7 = M. Moideen Kutty
| predecessor7 = P. Abdul Majeed
| term_start8 = 17 September 1970
| term_end8 = 5 February 1973
| constituency8 = [[Kondotty (State Assembly constituency)|Kondotty]]
| successor8 = P. Seethi Haji
| predecessor8 = Sayed Ummer Bafakhy
| term_start9 = 25 March 1977
| term_end9 = 3 January 1980
| constituency9 = [[Malappuram (State Assembly constituency)|Malappuram]]
| successor9 = [[U. A. Beeran]]
| predecessor9 = [[U. A. Beeran]]
| term_start10 = 26 March 1980
| term_end10 = 28 September 1983
| constituency10 = [[Manjeri (State Assembly constituency)|Manjeri]]
| successor10 = [[Ishaq Kurikkal]]
| predecessor10 = Abdulla Kurikkal
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|7|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Atholi, Kerala|Atholi]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1983|9|28|1927|7|15}}
| death_place = [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]]
| spouse = {{Marriage|K K Amina|1950}}
| children = Two daughters and a son ([[M. K. Muneer]])
| party = [[Indian Union Muslim League]]
| footnotes =
| date = 2 November
| year = 2007
| source = https://web.archive.org/web/20051219145038/http://www.keralacm.gov.in/mohammed.html Govt. of Kerala
| caption =
}}
'''Cheriyankandi Muhammad Koya''' (15 July 1927 – 28 September 1983) popularly known as '''C. H. Muhammad Koya''' was an Indian social reformer and statesman who served as the 10th [[List of chief ministers of Kerala|Chief Minister of Kerala]] from October to December 1979.<ref name=":1" /> He is more often noted for being the Minister of Education of Kerala from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1977 to 1979.<ref name=":1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20051219145038/http://www.keralacm.gov.in/mohammed.html Chief Minister of Kerala (Official Website)]</ref> After his Chief Ministership, Koya went on to become the 2nd [[List of deputy chief ministers of Kerala|Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala]] from 1981 until his death in 1983. He is the first [[Indian Union Muslim League]] member to lead a state in independent India.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Aravamudan|first1=Gita|last2=Louis|first2=Arul B.|date=30 Nov 1979|title=RSS is Attacking the Muslim minority: Mohammed Koya|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/interview/story/19791130-rss-is-attacking-the-muslim-minority-mohammed-koya-822379-2014-02-21|website=India Today|location=Trivandrum}}</ref>

As the Minister of Education, Koya championed the progress of the education of [[Other Backward Class|backward classes]] in northern Kerala.<ref name=":0">Miller, E. Roland. "Mappila Muslim Culture" State University of New York Press, Albany (2015); p. 204, 235–36, 329, 333, and 345.</ref> He also served as the Home Minister (1969–73) and the [[List of Deputy Chief Ministers of Kerala|Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala]] (1981–83).<ref name=":1" />

== Life and career ==

Cheriyan Kandi Muhammad Koya was born in 1927 at [[Atholi, Kerala|Atholi]] in northern Kerala, to Payampunathil Ali and Mariyumma.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Miller, Roland. E., "Mappila" in "The Encyclopedia of Islam". Volume VI. E. J. Brill, Leiden. 1987. pp. 458–56.</ref> Koya floated the Muslim Students Federation, the students wing of the [[All-India Muslim League]], in Malabar District while he was at [[Zamorin's Guruvayurappan College|Zamorin's College]], [[Kozhikode]] and later helped to organize an admirable reception for the prominent Muslim League leader and later Prime Minister of Pakistan [[Liaquat Ali Khan]] at [[Kozhikode]] (1945).<ref name=":0" /> He joined the ''[[Chandrika (newspaper)|Chandrika]]'' newspaper, the official organ of the Muslim League, in 1946.<ref name="robin 1">Jeffrey, Robin. "Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala became a Model" Palgrave McMillan (1992); 112 and 114.</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>[http://niyamasabha.org/codes/Speakers%20&%20Deputy%20Speakers%20Book%20Final.pdf Speakers & Deputy Speakers Book – Kerala Legislative Assembly]</ref>

Koya was first elected to the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly|Kerala Assembly]] in the [[1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly election|1957 legislative elections]]. He went on to hold several key Kerala cabinet posts (Minister for Education, Deputy Chief Minister, [[Interior minister|Home Minister]], and Minister for Finance). He served under both [[Indian National Congress]] and [[Communist Party of India]] Chief Ministers ([[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]], [[C. Achutha Menon]], [[K. Karunakaran]], [[A. K. Antony]], and [[P. K. Vasudevan Nair]]).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He was elected to the [[Lok Sabha]] in the [[1962 Indian general election|1962]] (1962–67) and in 1973 (1973–77,<ref name=":0" /> by-elections, replacing recently deceased [[M. Muhammad Ismail|M. Muhammed Ismail]]).<ref name=":2" />

He was a Member in the [[University of Kerala|Kerala University Senate]] and served as chairman, Governing Body, [[National Institute of Technology Calicut|REC, Kozhikode]].<ref name=":2">[http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/members/m424.htm Kerala Legislative Assembly]</ref>

Koya died suddenly due to a massive [[hemorrhagic stroke]] on 28 September 1983 while serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala.<ref name=":2" /> He was aged just 56 at the time of his death.<ref name=":2" /> His death came in [[Hyderabad]], where he had gone for a meeting of state Industrial Ministers. His dead body was flown back to [[Thiruvananthapuram]], and later transported to his native place, where he was buried with full state honours. He was survived by his mother, wife, three children and many siblings.

== Legacy ==
{{Blockquote|title=|quote="Young men like C. H. Muhammad Koya realized that violent revolt promised nothing for them [the Kerala Muslims]. Electoral politics, on the other hand, might offer a great deal."|source=[[Robin Jeffrey]] (historian)<ref name="robin 1"/>|author=}}
Koya was known his eloquent oratory and was described by scholar [[Roland E. Miller|R. E. Miller]] as "grassroots star of the Mappila community" and the "ranking hero of Muslim youth" in Kerala.<ref name=":0" /> He acted as a "bridge-builder" among various social and religious groups of Kerala.<ref name=":0" /> Koya is remembered for his "spirited" reply to [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], the then [[Prime Minister of India]] when the latter publicly criticized [[Indian Union Muslim League]] as "a dead horse" at Kozhikode (1955).<ref name=":0" />

As the Minister of Education, Koya championed the progress of the Mappila community in secular education.<ref name=":0" /> During Koya's tenure as the Minister of Education, the [[University of Calicut]] was established in northern Kerala.<ref name=":0" /> He also advocated higher standards in the 'Arabic Colleges'.{{Efn|Kerala 'Arabic Colleges' are the equivalent of north Indian [[madrasas]]|name=|group=}}<ref name=":0" />

== Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly ==
Source: [http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/members/m424.htm Kerala Legislative Assembly (profile)]
*1st Assembly (1957–59) – Tanur
*2nd Assembly (1960–64) – Tanur (resigned on 6 March 1962)<ref name=":2" />
*3rd Assembly (1967–70) – Mankada
*4th Assembly (1970–77) – Kondotty (resigned on 5 February 1973)<ref name=":2" />
*5th Assembly (1977–79) – Malappuram
*6th Assembly (1980–82) – Manjeri
*7th Assembly (1982–87) – Manjeri (died on 28 September 1983)

== In Kerala council of ministers ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Ministry
!Office
!Term of office
!Source(s)
|-
|[[Pattom A. Thanu Pillai|Pattom]] Ministry
|Speaker (independent)
|09-06-1961 to 10–11–1961
|<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
|-
|2nd [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad|E. M. S.]] Ministry
|Minister for Education
|06-03-1967 to 21–10–1969
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|1st [[C. Achutha Menon|Achutha Menon]] Ministry
|Minister for Home
Minister for Education
|01-11-1969 to 01–08–1970
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|2nd [[C. Achutha Menon|Achutha Menon]] Ministry
|Minister for Home
Minister for Education
|04-10-1970 to 01–03–1973
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|1st [[K. Karunakaran|Karunakaran]] Ministry
|Minister for Finance
Minister for Education
|25-03-1977 to 25–04–1977
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|1st [[A. K. Antony|Antony]] Ministry
|Minister for Education
|
*27-04-1977 to 20–12–1977
*04-10-1978 to 27–10–1978
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[P. K. Vasudevan Nair|P. K. V.]] Ministry
|Minister for Education
|29-10-1978 to 07–10–1979
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|Koya Ministry
|[[List of chief ministers of Kerala|Chief Minister]]
|12 October to 1 December 1979
|
|-
|2nd [[K. Karunakaran|Karunakaran]] Ministry
|[[List of Deputy Chief Ministers of Kerala|Deputy Chief Minister]]
|28 December 1981 to 17 March 1982
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|3rd [[K. Karunakaran|Karunakaran]] Ministry
|[[List of Deputy Chief Ministers of Kerala|Deputy Chief Minister]]
|24 May 1982 to 28 September 1983
|<ref name=":1" />
|}

== Works ==
Source: [http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/members/m424.htm Kerala Legislative Assembly (profile)]
* ''My Haj pilgrimage''
* ''Caux-London-Cairo''
*''The Malaysia I Saw''
* ''How Legislative Assembly Works''
*''Soviet Union''
*''Muslim Rule in India Through Stories''
* ''Five Days in Sri Lanka''
* ''Camel to Cadillac''
*''Travel Around the World''

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation|title=Chief Ministers, Ministers, and Leaders of Opposition of Kerala|last=|publisher=Secratriat of [[Kerala Legislative Assembly|Kerala Legislature]]|year=2018|location=[[Thiruvananthapuram]]|url=http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/14kla/chief%20ministers,%20ministers,%20leaders%20of%20opposition.pdf}}

==External links==
{{commons category|C. H. Mohammed Koya}}
*[https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/interview/story/19791130-rss-is-attacking-the-muslim-minority-mohammed-koya-822379-2014-02-21 C. H. Mohammad Koya: Interview with India Today (1979)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwuWCkRqVDM&list=PLGWCePdgnqHxg6dQJTSby5SmSLv28UnX2&index=5&t=0s C. H. Mohammed Koya in Louis Malle's ''Phantom India'']
{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = [[P.K. Vasudevan Nair]] | title = [[Chief Minister of Kerala]] | years = 1979– 1979 | after = [[E.K. Nayanar]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = [[Seethi Sahib]] | title = [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]] | years = 1961– 1961 | after = Alexander Parambithara}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koya, C. H. Mohammed}}
[[Category:1927 births|Koya, C.H. Mohammed]]
[[Category:1983 deaths|Koya, C.H. Mohammed]]
[[Category:Chief ministers of Kerala]]
[[Category:Malayali politicians]]
[[Category:Politicians from Kerala]]
[[Category:Politicians from Kozhikode]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian Union Muslim League politicians]]
[[Category:India MPs 1962–1967]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Kerala]]
[[Category:Deputy chief ministers of Kerala]]
[[Category:Home ministers of Kerala]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1957–1959]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1960–1964]]
[[Category:Education ministers of Kerala]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1967–1970]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1970–1977]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1977–1979]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1980–1982]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1982–1987]]

C. H. Mohammed Koya - Revision history

ClaudiaEncarnaci at 11:11, 25 March 2026