George Kurian (politician)

George Kurian is an Indian politician and lawyer from Kerala, who currently serves as a Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Minority Affairs in the third Modi ministry. He is a long-standing member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who joined the party ever since its formation in 1980. He was a lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.

Previously, he has served as the vice-chairman of National Commission for Minorities and as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the then Minister of State for Railways, O. Rajagopal.

Early life
George was born in 1960 as the youngest of five children of Kurian and Annamma. He hails from Nambiakulam in Ettumanoor. His education was in Kottayam district. He is a Christian who belongs to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Kurian is an LLB graduate and has post-graduation in Master of Arts. He practices law in the Supreme Court of India.

Political career


He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ever since the formation of the party in 1980. George has held various positions, such as membership in the national executive committee of BJP, as the national vice-president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He was the first Malayali to serve as the vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities. George was also appointed as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the former Minister of State for Railways, O. Rajagopal. He later became a core committee member and vice-president of the BJP's Kerala unit. He has also served as a translator for the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi during his visits to the state.

On 9 June 2024, he was sworn in as a Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Minority Affairs in the third Modi ministry.

Elections
In 2016, Kurian unsuccessfully contested as a BJP candidate from Puthuppally Assembly constituency against the then Chief Minister of Kerala and Indian National Congress candidate Oommen Chandy.

Personal life
He is married to Lt. Col. O. T. Annamma who is a retired nursing officer in the Indian Army. They have two children, Adarsh George Pockaran and Akash George Pockaran. Pockaran is the short form of Pockarankalayil, which is their ancestral house name. When they studied in schools, their classmates used to call them Pokhran.