John Aloysius Thivy was a prominent Malayan Indian nationalist and the founding president of the Malayan Indian Congress. He was a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 by occupation.

Thivy studied law in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 before returning to practice in Malaya

British Malaya

British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...

. In London, Thivy had a chance to meet Mohandas Gandhi and came to be interested in the Indian independence movement

Indian independence movement

The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...

. On his return to Malaya, after getting his law degree in 1932, he became actively involved in the Indian nationalist movements.

Later, after the fall of Malaya

Battle of Malaya

The Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The campaign was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army...

 to the Japanese, Thivy's interest was rekindled by a speech given by Subhas Chandra Bose in one his rallies in 1943. Thivy joined the Indian National Army

Indian National Army

The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...

 in 1943 and served in the Burma Front

Burma Campaign

The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...

.

After the Japan's surrender

Operation Tiderace

Operation Tiderace was the codename of the British plan to retake Singapore in 1945. The liberation force was led by Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia Command...

, John Thivy was held at Changi prison

Changi Prison

Changi Prison is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.-First prison and POW camp:...

 for anti-colonial activities and was only released after India's independence.

In August 1946, Thivy became the Founder President of the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC), which represented Indian interests in Malaya

Malayan Union

The Malayan Union was a federation of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government so as to simplify administration. The Malayan Union later became the independent...

. He was helped in the setting up of the party by other notable individuals such as Janaky Athi Nahappan

Janaky Athi Nahappan

Puan Sri Janaki Athi Nahappan, also known as Janaky Devar, is a founder member of the Malaysian Indian Congress and one of the earliest women involved in the fight for Malaysian independence....

. The MIC was modelled after the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

. The party actively participated in the Malayan Independence movement.

In 1948, Thivy was appointed as an official to represent India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 by the Nehru Government.