V. V. Giri was born in
Berhampur,
Madras Presidency (present-day
Odisha) in a
Telugu Brahmin family. His parents hailed from Chintalapudi village in
East Godavari district of
Andhra Pradesh and shifted to Berhampur for their bright future. His father, V. V. Jogayya Pantulu, was a successful lawyer and political activist of the Indian National Congress who had been working at
Berhampur. Giri's mother Subhadramma was active in the national movement in Berhampur during the
Non Cooperation and
Civil Disobedience Movements and was arrested for leading a strike for
prohibition during the Civil Disobedience Movement. Giri was married to Saraswati Bai and the couple had 14 children. Giri completed his initial primary education at Hillpatna Primary School, Berhampur and higher education at the
Khallikote College {now Khallikote College (Autonomous) and Unitary University}, then affiliated with
Madras University, in
Chennai. V.V. Giri was also elected to the student union of Khallikote College for three consecutive times and highly active in freedom movement during his student days in Berhampur. In 1913, he moved to Ireland to study law at
University College Dublin and the
Honourable Society of King's Inns, Dublin between 1913 and 1916. Giri was one among the first group of thirteen Indian students who sat the obligatory year long course at UCD in 1914–15. This was a requirement for being called to the Irish Bar through study at the King's Inns. In total, 50 Indian students studied at UCD between 1914 and 1917. Indian students preferred Ireland over England for their studies, as the Irish showed neither racial discrimination nor colour prejudice, likely due to their own historical experiences. Moreover, in 1912, the admission policies for Indians at the Inns of Court in London and other English institutions had become more rigid, which led many Indian students to choose Ireland due to its relaxed regulations. Giri and a fellow law student also enrolled in the full bachelor of arts course in UCD. Giri studied English, where he was met
Thomas MacDonagh, and Political Economy. His lecturer in political economy was the reformer and co-operativist
Thomas A. Finlay SJ. During the First World War, Giri travelled from
Dublin to
London and met
Mahatma Gandhi. Giri was active in both Indian and Irish politics during his studies. In
My Life and Times, Giri recalled that, coming directly from India with a burning zeal for independence, he felt an instant kinship with the Irish nationalist cause. While in Dublin, he joined a secret outfit known as the “Anarchical Society,” which, according to him, advocated the use of violence and bloodshed as a means to secure peace. There, he also acquired knowledge of incendiary methods and bomb-making techniques intended to support India’s liberation movement. He was suspected of association with prominent ring leaders in the
1916 Rising including
James Connolly,
Pádraig H. Pearse and the young
Éamon de Valera. Giri was called to the Irish Bar on 21 June 1916 but he did not complete his studies for BA in UCD. ==Career==