Draft:LT KC Abraham

• Comment: Sources that do not even mention Abraham are very unlikely to be useful in this draft. It is unclear what books the first two references refer to (one of them cites an invalid ISBN) Helpful Raccoon (talk) 19:53, 24 September 2026 (UTC)

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Lt. K. C. Abraham INA (15 April 1917 – 30 April 1978), also known as Kunnath Chandy Abraham and "Kochuavarchayan", was an Indian independence activist and member of the Indian National Army (INA). He was associated with the Indian independence movement in Travancore before travelling to Singapore, where, while imprisoned in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp, he joined the Indian National Army. Upon his release, he continued to be active in the Indian independence movement in Travancore.

Early life and education

K. C. Abraham was born on 23 October 1917 in Thonackadu, then part of the princely state of Travancore, to Pothen Chandy and Anna Chandy.

He attended Bishop Hodges Higher Secondary School in Mavelikkara During his school years, he was active in sports and became involved in the politics of Travancore. After graduating from Bishop Hodges, Abraham attended what is today known as University College in Trivandrum. During his years at University College, he continued to be active in the political movement of Travancore.

At the time, the Dewan of Travancore was C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, known as Sir C. P., Abraham was active in protesting against Sir C. P., who was known to be an authoritarian leader.

There was an incident in Travancore at the time called the "Thadivettu" case, in which political activists were accused by the Travancore government of cutting certain trees. Abraham was among the political activists who were arrested by the police in connection with this incident.

Abraham graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and moved to Bombay, in British India.

Indian National Army

When Abraham moved to Bombay, he worked for the Bombay office of the Caltex oil company.

During Abraham's time in Bombay, the 51st Session of the Indian National CongressI was held in February 1938 in the village of Haripura, in present-day Gujarat. Abraham attended the 51st Session, during which the Indian independence activist Subhas Chandra Bose was elected president of the session. While attending the session, Abraham became inspired by Bose's speeches to work for the independence of India.

Abraham later obtained a role with the British Government in British Singapore. When he arrived in Singapore, the city was under Japanese occupation as part of World War II.

Abraham and other Indian nationals working with the British government were arrested and placed in the Changi Prisoner of War Camp in Singapore. Abraham spent a little over three years in the Changi Camp. During his imprisonment in Changi, Abraham became close with a Malay jailkeeper, who kept a lock open for Abraham and other prisoners with him, allowing Abraham an Japanese-occupied Singapore until he was able to find another Malay man who helped him obtain a job at the Singapore Rubber Institute, where Abraham worked in secret.[1]

In May 1943, Subhas Chandra Bose reestablished a military organization called the Indian National Army (INA). This organization had been created for the second time after first being established a year earlier, in 1942, by a British military officer named Mohan Singh, who disbanded the Indian National Army after refusing to work with the Japanese military.

Bose's second incarnation of the INA recruited heavily from Indians in Singapore and Malaysia. Bose took charge of the INA in July 1943 in Singapore. Abraham was one of the Indians recruited, and he became an officer in this second incarnation of the INA. Abraham served with the rest of the INA in Southeast Asia, including in operations in modern-day Malaysia and Burma

Abraham served with the INA until 1945, when the INA was disestablished with the end of World War II. Abraham returned to India, going to the city of Hyderabad in the princely state of Hyderabad instead of returning to his home in Travancore. This was because the ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad, the Nizam, was a strong supporter of the former soldiers in the INA, and Abraham was able to obtain a job as a police inspector for the state of Hyderabad.

Later life

In 1946, Abraham married his wife, Chinamma, who was from a neighboring area in Travancore.

Abraham retired from the Hyderabad state police in the early 1950s and returned to Thonackadu with his wife and his first two sons. Abraham would later have four more children.

Abraham remained interested in the history of India's independence movement and maintained connections with people and communities associated with the struggle.

Death

K. C. Abraham died on 30 April 1978 at Trivandrum Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He died following complications related to bone cancer.

He was buried at St. George Orthodox Church, Thonackadu, Kerala.