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Bro. C. THOMAS The United Grand Lodge of England approved a Special Lapel Jewel for 50 years of service in the Craft. It was presented to Bro. C. Thomas along with a Letter of Appreciation from the R.W. District Grand Master of the District of Madras by Rt. W.Bro. Kumar Ravindranath Menon, R. W. the District Grand Master personally on February 2, 2004 at a simple ceremony at Trivandrum.The following citation was proudly presented by W. Bro. Dr. George Thomas, W. Master to his father-in-law Bro. C. Thomas. | |
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W. Bro. A.I. Abraham
W. Bro. N. Vijayakrishnan Nair Bro. C. Thomas
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Bro. Chacko Thomas, popularly known as C. Thomas, was born on April 25, 1915 at Edathua, in Alleppey District, in the erstwhile Travancore State as the eldest son of late M.C. Thomas, a very talented and
dedicated teacher, headmaster and sports organizer. After schooling at Quilon, Bro. Thomas distinguished himself as a brilliant post graduate student at the Maharajah's College of Arts, Trivandrum and then at the Law College, Trivandrum.While a
law-student he appeared for the Travancore Civil Service Examination in 1939 and came out with flying colours. Thus he entered the gazetted cadre of civil service and held various positions in the Police, Revenue and Civil Supplies Departments of the
Travancore State.
After independence and formation of the Travancore-Cochin State, and after rigorous screening and interviews by the Union Public Service Commission, in 1953 he was absorbed into the Indian Administartive Service with the Cadre effect from 1946. For the next two decades Bro. Thomas held very senior posts in the State Government such as Secretary to Government, Food and Agriculture Department; Finance Secretary; Chairman and Managing Director, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation; Agricultural Production Commissioner etc. He was Member, Board of Revenue for several years, and was Commissioner, Sales Tax and Agricultural Income Tax, Civil supplies and Transport. During this period he held charge as Chief Secretary three times. Bro. Thomas had an exemplary career. With a deep sense of commitment, personal integrity and sincere dedication, he upheld the finest in the tradition of the Indian Administrative Service. Late V.V. Giri, the former Governor of Kerala and later President of India, described Bro. Thomas as 'an asset to the State of Kerala'. After retirement from the state service Bro. Thomas was nominated by the Government of India as one of the Directors on Madras Local Board of the State Bank of India, the post which he held for 8 years. This Board met every week and had jurisdition over the affairs of the Bank in the States of Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Susequently he was appointed Member, Kerala State Fourth Pay Commisssion along with Retired Chief Justice V.P. Gopalan Nambiyar. |
| Bro. Thomas was initiated in Lodge Quilon No. 5839 on June 11, 1949. He resigned from Lodge Quilon in 1981. Meanwhile he had joined Lodge Minchin on January 6, 1979. Between the two lodges he held various offices and was the senior Warden of Lodge Minchin in 1987. His busy schedule of work involving late hours in office and frequent travels prevented him from accepting higher offices in Free Masonry, very much to his regret,as he was afraid it was impossible for him to do full justice to the Craft. | |
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Brother Thomas has taken serious interest in the social and cultural activities in Trivandrum. An enthusiastic Tennis player in his youth, he is a member of the Trivandrum Tennis Club since 1945. He is an active
member of the Senior Citizens' Association, Trivandrum. He is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Trivandrum and was recently presented with the coveted Award 'For the Sake of Honour'. Bro. Thomas is very warm hearted, loving, compassionate,
gentle and unassuming.
Bro. Thomas is happily married to Mrs. Sarah Thomas and the couple lead a happy and contended life. They have one son and two daughters. The second daughter is married to W. Bro. Dr. George Thomas, Professor of Ophthalmology and the ruling Master of Lodge Minchin. |
