From Marxist historiography to the myriad hues of nationalism in India, from the hegemony of colonialism to the cacophonic communalism in the country, veteran historian K.N. Panikkar is a weighty intellectual presence in the historical discourse of the nation.
A keen observer and commentator on contemporary social trends and a stern critic of ham-handed homogenisation of history and culture, Dr. Panikkar has, through his writings and teaching, mainstreamed the history of ideas in society. From a decidedly Marxist standpoint, Dr. Panikkar—who turns 80 on Tuesday—has worked on a sprawling intellectual canvas that stretches back centuries and wefts the history and society of modern Kerala.
Both as a historian and as a social commentator, Dr. Panikkar has always been deeply concerned about the debilitating effect that communalism and majoritarianism have on the secular fabric of Indian society. His concerns on the subject have found expression in Communal Threat, Secular Challenge (1997) and Before the Night Falls, Forebodings of Fascism in India (2002)—books he authored—to the much talked about A Concerned Indian’s Guide to Communalism (1999), Communalism in India: History Politics and Culture (1992) and Communalism, Civil Society and the State (2002) which he edited.
Role in KCHR
Dr. Panikkar is the founding chairman of the Kerala Council for Historical Research and the first vice chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council.
As the chairman, he has been successful in giving the KCHR a global outlook, one that has its basis in science and secularism. It was during his tenure as vice chairman of the council that the degree courses in the State’s universities switched to the credit and semester mode.
Commenting to The Hindu here on contemporary social developments, Dr. Panikkar said the current polarisation in the country along the lines of caste and communities was something that worried him the most. This polarisation coupled with “anti-people economic policies” was a grave threat to the nation’s democracy, he said.
Dr. Panikkar is currently working on a book on the evolution of modern India which inquires into whether an alternative growth trajectory was possible for the nation.
On April 27, the KCHR is organising a lecture by former Delhi University professor Achin Vanaik on ‘The US Informal Empire Project and the Global War on Terror’ at the Press Club hall here to mark his birthday.
