V. P. Menon

V. P. Menon
Acting Governor of Odisha
In office 6 May 1951 – 17 July 1951
Preceded by	Asaf Ali
Succeeded by	Asaf Ali
Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States
In office 1947–1951
Constitutional Adviser and Political Reforms Commissioner to Viceroy of India
In office 1942–1947
Preceded by	Harry Hodson
Succeeded by	Abolished
Personal details
Born	Vappala Pangunni Menon (1893-09-30)30 September 1893 Ottapalam, Malabar District, Madras Presidency, British Raj (Present day Palakkad district, Kerala)
Died	31 December 1965(1965-12-31) (aged 72), Cooke Town, Bangalore, Mysore State (now Karnataka)
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Civil servant

Vappala Pangunni Menon CSI CIE (30 September 1893 – 31 December 1965) was an Indian civil servant who served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States, under Sardar Patel. By appointment from Viceroy and Governor-General of India Wavell, he also served as Secretary to the Governor-General (Public) and later as Secretary to the Cabinet. He also was the Constitutional Adviser^[1][2] and Political Reforms Commissioner to the last three successive Viceroys (Linlithgow, Wavell and Mountbatten) during British rule in India. In May 1948, at the initiative of V. P. Menon, a meeting was held in Delhi between the Rajpramukhs of the princely unions and the States Department, at the end of which the Rajpramukhs signed new Instruments of Accession which gave the Government of India the power to pass laws in respect of all matters that fell within the seventh schedule of the Government of India Act 1935.

He played a vital role in India's partition and political integration.^[3] Later in his life, he became a member of the free-market–oriented Swatantra Party.