Lt. Col. Goda Varma Raja (13 October 1908 - 30 April 1971), known as G.V. Raja, was the founder President of the Kerala State Sports Council. He is considered the father of Tourism in Kerala.

Early life

On 13 ORaja was born October 1908 at Poonjar in Kottayam. He was also the husband of Princess Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore, the sister of Maharajah Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma. He was an honorary Colonel in the Travancore state force.
Contributions to sports

Raja invited Wimbledon champion Bill Tilden to play an exhibition match on 30 January 1938 to popularize Tennis in the state. Following this, he founded the Trivandrum Tennis Club on 1 February 1938 at Shasthamangalam. Raja was the president of Kerala Cricket Association from 1950 to 1953.

He became the first person from Kerala to become an office bearer of Board of Control for Cricket in India when he became its Vice president. He was the founder president of the Travancore Sports Council that was formed in 1954. The Council was formed as the result of a meeting of 11 sports organizations of Kerala.

After the formation of Kerala state, it became the Kerala State Sports Council. Raja remained the President of the council till his death. The list of other organizations that he started includes Trivandrum Golf Club Committee, Veli Boat Club and Trivandrum Flying Club. He served as the commandant of the Travancore University labour core and was also the first Physical Education director of the university.

Raja played an important role in developing Kovalam as a major tourism destination. During V.V. Giri’s tenure as Kerala Governor ke also took the initiative to develop the Trivandrum Airport.

Death

Raja died in a plane crash in Kulu valley on 30 April 1971.

Honours

The sports school in Thiruvananthapuram has been named G.V. Raja Sports School in his honour. A sports stadium in Thiruvananthapuram is named after him. Kerala State Sports Council has instituted the G.V. Raja award, awarded yearly for excellence in sport.

The Kerala Tourism Department’s award for lifetime achievement in tourism is also named after him. Raja’s birth anniversary, October 13, is observed as Kerala Sports day