K. K. Nayar should not be confused with Kulappurakkal Karunakaran Nair.
| K. K. Nair | |
| Birth Name: | Karunakaran Pillai [1] |
| Birth Date: | 11 September 1907 |
| Birth Place: | Quilon, Travancore (present-day Kuttanad, Alappuzha, Kerala)[2] |
| Death Date: | 7 September 1977 |
Kadangalathil Karunakaran Nayar or K. K. Nayar or K. K. Nair (born as Karunakaran Pillai, 11 September 1907 — 7 September 1977)[3] was an Indian Bureaucrat and politician who was a member of the Lok Sabha. He played a crucial role in Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.[4]
Mr. Nayar was born as Karunakaran Pillai, one of the six children of Kandamkalathil Sankara Panicker and Parvathy Amma at Central Travancore (present-day Kuttanad, Kerala) in 1907. His original name was Karunakaran Pillai, also known as Karunakaran Nair. 'Pillai' is a title of nobility in Travancore, while 'Nair' indicates his caste, Nairs interchangeably use both surnames.[5] He completed his early education from Sanatana Dharma Vidyashala, Alleppey, SMV High School, Thiruvananthapuram, University College Thiruvananthapuram (then under University of Madras) Barah Saini College, Aligarh (Agra University)(1954-56) and University College London (1928-30).
He was married to Sarasamma from Thiruvananthapuram after his studies and had a son named Sudhakaran. On his posting to United Provinces they divorced. Later he remarried to Shakuntala Nayar from a Kshatriya family, native of Uttar Pradesh in April 1946 and have a child named Marthanda Vikraman Nair.[6]
He joined Indian Civil Service in 1930 and served in various positions in Uttar Pradesh including Gonda (1946), Faizabad (1 June 1949 - 14 March 1950). He was the District magistrate having control over Ayodhya when Ram lalla idol was found inside Babri Masjid in 1949.[7] [8] He took voluntary retirement from service in 1952 and practiced law at the Allahabad High Court.[9] Thereafter he joined Bharatiya Jana Sangh and was a member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 1965-67. He got elected to 4th Lok Sabha from Bahraich (Lok Sabha constituency) as a candidate of Bharatiya Jan Sangh. [10]