Ayyappan Pillai was one of the prominent freedom fighters in Travancore. He was born on 24 May 1914 at Thiruvananthapuram. He joined the public service in the princely state of Travancore. He was a strong supporter of the Travancore State Congress and he brought the attention of the royal administration to the grievances of the people of Travancore. During their childhood days, he boycotted foreign cloth and started wearing Khadi. He extensively propagated Khadi cloth in Travancore following in the footsteps of Gandhiji.
He joined in Indian National Congress in 1933 and became the President of the Valiyashala Committee of the Travancore State Congress. He also served as the Office Secretary of TSC of Trivandrum in 1938.
He had participated in the Quit India Movement. He was arrested, but released after a warning. He was an eminent lawyer and later became a socio-political activist in Travancore. Since 1948, he exercised his democratic right in all the elections in the state. He died on 5 January 2022.