https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=K._P._UnnikrishnanK. P. Unnikrishnan - Revision history2026-07-31T16:38:12ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=K._P._Unnikrishnan&diff=506979&oldid=prevZARAKHANMAHI8 at 05:51, 3 May 20262026-05-03T05:51:04Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian politician (1936–2026)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}<br />
{{Infobox officeholder<br />
| name = K. P. Unnikrishnan<br />
| native_name = കെ.പി. ഉണ്ണികൃഷ്ണൻ<br />
| image = K.P._Unnikrishnan.jpg<br />
| caption =<br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|09|20|df=yes}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Coimbatore]], Madras Presidency, British India<br>(present-day [[Tamil Nadu]], India)<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2026|3|3|1936|09|20|df=yes}}<br />
| death_place = [[Kozhikode]], Kerala, India<br />
| alma_mater = [[Madras Christian College|Madras Christian College, Chennai]]<br />
| office = [[Minister of Road Transport and Highways|Union Minister of Surface Transport]]<br />
| term_start = 6 December 1989<br />
| term_end = 10 November 1990<br />
| prime_minister = [[V. P. Singh]]<br />
| predecessor = [[Rajesh Pilot]]<br />
| successor = [[Manubhai Kotadia]]<br />
| office1 = [[Minister of Communications (India)|Union Minister of Communications]]<br />
| term_start1 = 6 December 1989<br />
| term_end1 = 23 April 1990<br />
| prime_minister1 = V. P. Singh<br />
| predecessor1 = [[Giridhar Gamang]]<br />
| successor1 = [[Janeshwar Mishra]]<br />
| office2 = [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha]]<br />
| constituency2 = [[Vatakara (Lok Sabha constituency)|Vatakara]]<br />
| term_start2 = {{Start date|1971|03|25|df=yes}}<br />
| term_end2 = {{End date|1996|05|12|df=yes}}<br />
| predecessor2 = A. Sreedharan<br />
| successor2 = O. Bharathan<br />
| party = [[Indian National Congress (I)]]<br />
| profession = {{hlist|Journalist|Social worker|Writer}}<br />
| spouse = {{Marriage|Amrita Unnikrishnan|1977}}<br />
| children = 2<br />
| website = <br />
| footnotes = <br />
| date = 23 September<br />
| year = 2006<br />
| source = http://164.100.47.194/loksabha/writereaddata/biodata_1_12/2282.htm <br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''K. P. Unnikrishnan''' (20 September 1936 – 3 March 2026) was an Indian politician and writer who was a Union Minister and parliamentarian of [[Vatakara (Lok Sabha constituency)|Vatakara constituency]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/The-Stalwarts-Who-Faded-Away/2014/03/22/article2123739.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606224155/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/The-Stalwarts-Who-Faded-Away/2014/03/22/article2123739.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 June 2014|title=The Stalwarts Who Faded Away|work=The New Indian Express}}</ref><br />
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==Early life and education==<br />
Unnikrishnan was born on 20 September 1936 to a family from the [[Malabar Coast]].<ref>{{cite web<br />
|author = <!-- not stated --><br />
|date = 3 March 2026<br />
|title = K.P. Unnikrishnan, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader, passes away<br />
|url = https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/former-union-minister-and-senior-congress-leader-kp-unnikrishnan-no-more/article70697853.ece<br />
|website = The Hindu<br />
|location = Chennai<br />
|publisher = Nirmala Lakshman<br />
|access-date = 3 March 2026<br />
}}</ref> His father's name was E. Kunhikannan Nair. He was educated at the [[Madras Christian College]], Chennai. He also completed his law at [[Chennai]]. In 1977, he married Amrita Unnikrishnan. Together, they had two daughters.<br />
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== Career ==<br />
Unnikrishnan was associated with the Socialist Party and the [[Praja Socialist Party]] during his youth. In the 1960s, he joined the [[Indian National Congress]] and became a member of the [[All India Congress Committee]] in 1962. He wrote articles for the [[Mathrubhumi]] and other periodicals as a special correspondent.<br />
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He entered into the electoral foray when he first represented [[Vatakara (Lok Sabha constituency)|Vatakara constituency]] in 1971 as an Indian National Congress candidate. He remained unbeaten in the next five [[Lok Sabha]] polls (1977, 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991) despite switching over to the [[Indian National Congress (U)]] in 1980 and later to the Indian Congress (Socialist) in 1984.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=29 January 2015 |title=Who's who: Divergence in diversity|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19791130-gayatri-devi-charan-singh-lok-dal-morarji-desai-karpoori-thakur-janata-party-rajinder-puri-atal-behari-vajpayee-harijan-indira-gandhi-raj-narain-madhu-limaye-sheikh-abdullah-818032-2015-01-29|access-date=5 May 2021|magazine=India Today|language=en}}</ref> In the period 1981–84, he was the leader of [[Congress (Secular)]] in the parliament. In the period 1980–82, he was also a member of the [[Public Accounts Committee (India)|Public Accounts Committee]]. He served as the Minister for Telecommunications, Shipping, Surface Transport in the [[Vishwanath Pratap Singh ministry]] (1989–90).<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 September 2019|title=Arif Muhammed Khan visits his old friend KP Unnikrishnan|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/150919/arif-muhammed-khan-visits-his-old-friend-kp-unnikrishnan.html|access-date=5 May 2021|website=Deccan Chronicle|language=en}}</ref> During his tenure as minister he oversaw the [[1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait|evacuation of Indians]] during the [[Gulf War]].<ref>{{Cite web|author=K. R. Rajeev|date=9 May 2020|title=Foot the bill and bring NRIs home: Ex-Union minister {{!}} Kozhikode News - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/foot-the-bill-bring-nris-home-ex-union-minister/articleshow/75635373.cms|access-date=5 May 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|author=Salil Tripathi DILIP BOBB |date=30 September 1990 |title=For thousands of Indians, Gulf crisis becomes a nightmare without end|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19900930-for-thousands-of-indians-gulf-crisis-becomes-a-nightmare-without-end-813091-1990-09-30|access-date=6 May 2021|magazine=India Today|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Planning Made Kuwait Airlifting a Success: Ex-Minister|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/planning-made-kuwait-airlifting-a-success-ex-minister/713283|access-date=6 May 2021|website=Outlook (India)}}</ref><br />
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His only defeat in the constituency came in 1996. Unnikrishnan later quit active politics, shifted his base to [[New Delhi]] and then to his ancestral house at [[Panniyankara]] in [[Kozhikode district]], and dedicated himself to reading and writing books.<br />
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== Death ==<br />
Unnikrishnan died on 3 March 2026, at the age of 89.<ref>[https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/states/kerala/2026/Mar/03/former-union-minister-k-p-unnikrishnan-passes-away-at-90 Former Union Minister K P Unnikrishnan passes away at 90]</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{Ministry of Communications (India)}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Unnikrishnan, K. P.}}<br />
[[Category:1936 births]]<br />
[[Category:2026 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People from Kozhikode district]]<br />
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:India MPs 1971–1977]]<br />
[[Category:India MPs 1977–1979]]<br />
[[Category:India MPs 1980–1984]]<br />
[[Category:India MPs 1984–1989]]<br />
[[Category:India MPs 1989–1991]]<br />
[[Category:India MPs 1991–1996]]<br />
[[Category:People from Coimbatore]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Congress (Socialist) politicians]]<br />
[[Category:Indian National Congress (U) politicians]]<br />
[[Category:Praja Socialist Party politicians]]<br />
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala]]<br />
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{{Kerala-INC-politician-stub}}</div>ZARAKHANMAHI8