Thivy finished schooling at St. Michael's Institution in Ipoh, Perak. He studied law in London, before returning to practise in Malaya. In London, Thivy had a chance to meet Mohandas Gandhi and came to be interested in the Indian independence movement. On his return to Malaya, after getting his law degree in 1932, he became involved with the Indian nationalist movements.
Later, after the fall of Malaya to the Japanese, Thivy's interest was rekindled by a speech given by Subhas Chandra Bose at one of his rallies in 1943. Thivy joined the Indian National Army in 1943 and served on the Burma Front. He also served in a ministerial cabinet post under Bose's Provisional Government of Free India, the Azad Hind.[2]
After Japan's surrender, John Thivy was held at Changi Prison for collaboration and was only released after India's independence.
On 4 August 1946, Thivy became the 1st and founding President of the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC), which represented Indian interests in Malaya. He was helped in the establishment of the party by other notable individuals such as Janaky Athi Nahappan. The MIC was modelled after the Indian National Congress. The party participated in the Malayan Independence movement.
^Pettibone, Charles, The Organization and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II, vol. VII, Germany's and Imperial Japan's Allies & Puppet States, p. 412. Trafford Publishing, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4669-0350-0
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