Latest news with #MGSNarayanan
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Opinion M G S Narayanan, the historian who dug out the pre-colonial history of Kerala
Not often does the demise of an academician make every scholar of the discipline in a region feel that he or she has lost a teacher. When M G S Narayanan departed on April 26, historians in Kerala, cutting across the political divide, felt that their mentor was gone. The contributions of MGS, as he was affectionately known, were not limited to advances in historiography. He left a deep mark on the thinking of three generations of Kerala historians, especially concerning critical engagement with sources. Born in Parappanangadi on August 20, 1932, Narayanan's major inheritance from his family was the rationally-grounded approach to life that he learnt from his father, a physician. He was only seven when he lost his mother. In his younger days, language and literature were his primary interests. During his secondary school years in Ponnani, he met K Kelappan and interacted widely with members of an informal collective of writers, artists, and activists called Ponnani Kalari, including influential public figures such as V T Bhattathiripad and N P Damodaran, novelists Uroob and N P Mohammad, critics M Govindan and Kuttikrishna Marar, and poets Edasseri Govinda Menon and Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri. Under Edasseri's influence, he also tried his hand at poetry. During his undergraduate days in Kozhikode, his dislike for history — developed during school days — turned into a love for the discipline, largely due to his conversations with the doyen of history writing in the city: K V Krishna Iyer. M G S went to the Madras Christian College for his master's degree in history. In his Madras days, K A Nilakanta Sastri and S K Nair became his major intellectual influences. When he commenced his career as a lecturer at the Guruvayurappan College in Kozhikode, he was a sworn Marxist, a position he distanced himself from in the early 1990s to become one of Marxism's most vehement critics in Kerala. His urge to know the precolonial history of Kerala was partially due to an absence of historical work on this period. He recalled that the mainstream textbooks of Indian history he read as a student never discussed Kerala, barring the mention that Shankaracharya was born in Kalady and that Vasco da Gama had landed in Kozhikode. His decision to go on study leave under a UGC scheme to pursue doctoral research was met with hurdles because the only university in Kerala at the time — the University of Kerala — did not have a history department. A retired professor of history at the University College, Thiruvananthapuram, where there was a history department, agreed to be the de jure thesis supervisor. However, V Narayana Pillai insisted that M G S should seek actual guidance from Elamkulam P N Kunjan Pillai, professor of Malayalam, whose knowledge of Kerala history was deeper than most history professors. M G S's doctoral work studied the Chera state of Mahodayapuram between the ninth and the 12th century with an enviable attention to facts. In the thesis, he did for the Cheras what Nilakanta Sastri had done for the Cholas four decades earlier. It was soon recognised as a classic, read and discussed widely, with enthusiasts declaring at times that it brought about a paradigm shift in the region's historiography. Few PhD theses written in India have so pervasively stimulated scholarship in the region. And yet, the thesis was read only in its manuscript form for forty years before it was formally published in 2013. Only in 1996 did M G S print a few dozen copies for private circulation. M G S was also one of Kerala's greatest history teachers. With no reliable textbook to fall back upon, he engaged students of Kerala history with primary sources such as inscriptions, registering major advances in pedagogy. Students recall his enviable understanding of Kant, Hegel and Marx, whose works he taught in his course on modern European intellectual history. M G S was also a great institution builder. Associated with the University of Calicut from the time of its inception in 1968, he developed the department of history with a fine syllabus and a wonderful library, museum and manuscript collection. He also encouraged the publication of unpublished manuscripts. He himself edited the Vanjeri Granthavari, a collection of palm-leaf land documents. He served as a member secretary of the Indian Council for Historical Research (1990-1992) and as chairman between 2001-2003. He also accepted research assignments at various times in London, Moscow and Tokyo. Though M G S wrote several books in English, he was prolific in Malayalam. He was among India's earliest historians to use the now-hackneyed theory of legitimation. In a groundbreaking paper that he wrote jointly with Kesavan Veluthat in 1978, he argued that the Alwar and Nayanar bhakti of Tamil Nadu was a religious ideology that unfurled as a state-driven initiative meant to fortify power. While many historians today are sceptical of these claims, the argument left a lasting impression on nearly three decades of historiography. In my estimation, his lasting contribution lies not in his doctoral thesis or the bhakti paper, but elsewhere. Pre-colonial Kerala was a deeply militarised region. M G S shed light on the extent to which the state, the brahmana oligarchy, the agrarian associations and even rituals and institutions of learning were militarised. His argument that the militia was modelled after the picture drawn in the Dharmashastras and Kautilya's Arthasastra perhaps stretches things too far. But the martial character of everyday life during the Chera period and the six succeeding centuries is a question we cannot evade anymore. The meetings that I had with M G S regularly at his residence in Malaparamba, Kozhikode, between 2005 and 2011 — when he spoke of Kerala history with fondly recalled autobiographical anecdotes strewn throughout — are vividly etched in my mind. He convened the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee and campaigned for the road relentlessly, courting arrest and prosecution on one occasion. Decades of struggle for the road ended in February 2025, when the government finally invited tenders. On April 28, the action committee gave a call to name the road after M G S. This is only one of the many ways of commemorating a wonderful life. Whether or not the road is named after him, M G S will continue to live in the hearts of Kerala's history lovers.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
MGS Narayanan — a historian whovoiced against himself
MGS Narayanan passed away, indeed, a sad demise, inevitable though. He goes down in history as a genuine scholar-historian defined by a dedication to rigorous research, critical thinking and a commitment to empirical analysis of the past. A historian who prioritised primary sources , engaged in thoughtful interpretation and put across findings with clarity and precision. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his bereaved family. It was a blessing that I had MGS as my informal teacher, mentor and friend, whose unstinting support by way of making available his profound scholarship and expertise that turned out to be invaluable to whatever humble research endeavour that I undertook. A great loss not only to the student community and fellow historians, but also to the public, to whom MGS was accessible. Leftist historian and right liberal critic MGS had always been a leftist in history-writing with his avowed adherence to Marx's theory. Nevertheless, he used to be an inconsistent but staunch critic of Marxist party politics in the state, for reasons quite unclear. Interestingly, all the researchers mentored by him are leftists without this hiatus, that hardly ever mattered in his relationship with them or vice versa. He was always bold in speaking truth to power. Historians in the country still remember his captivating critical speech that kept all the rightists spellbound in the Indian History Congress session on the NCERT-Textbook Controversy during the Janata govt of 1977-79. In the regional civil society, MGS had always been a liberal rightist making skeptical remarks against the Left but without seriously engaging himself in public policy matters. A name of fame, his public statements did matter. But he had not let the Right to contain him. He never allowed any section to represent him either. As a researcher and professional historian, he walked and that became the path. He wrote his magnum opus Perumals of Kerala , apparently a dynastic history, but a seamlessly woven regional history of economy, society, polity and culture of about 400 years from 800-1200 CE. His curiosity in understanding the past through the primary sources led not only to writing a history strikingly fresh and pathbreaking but also to the revalidation and expansion of the sources including what he discovered. A teacher of distinction A true democrat, MGS had been a liberal teacher in the literal sense. He used to treat his students as friends and enjoyed encountering them academically. In the classroom, he bored them with hairsplitting analyses of the primary data and the complicated reconstruction of history through the application of subtle indications that he could discover. Outside the classroom he allowed them to argue with him. MGS was not conscious about the process of engaged learning involved in his friendly and interactive relationship with students outside the classroom. It was his self-delighting enterprise by nature which could effortlessly render the awe-inspiring experience of engaged learning plausible outside the classroom. He enjoyed arguing with anybody without being flippant under the prejudice of status. Whoever could rise to his expectations do matter today in the knowledge-field. (The writer is a historian and former vice-chancellor, MG University)
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Because of MGS Narayanan, stones of Edakkal still speak
1 2 3 Kozhikode: Even while standing tall as a towering figure in Indian historiography, MGS Narayanan carried within him an activist's spirit. His decisive intervention was key in protecting the Edakkal Caves — Wayanad 's preeminent archaeological site known for its ancient petroglyphs — from the clutches of the quarry mafia. Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS) president N Badusha said that on learning that the state had granted permission for quarrying activities dangerously close to the Edakkal caves, MGS rushed to Wayanad and personally led the protest before the district collectorate in 1986. Responding to MGS's call for support, renowned historian Irfan Habib, who was member secretary of the Indian History Congress directly met then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi which led to the ban on quarrying activities in the Ambukuthi hils. "The nationwide support for the cause of Edakkal was largely due to the tireless efforts of historians under MGS's leadership. Without their intervention, Edakkal might today have been reduced to rubble," said Badusha. Following the success of the Edakkal movement, MGS, along with Rajan Gurukkal, MR Raghava Varier and others embarked on a systematic exploration of Wayanad's historical landscape. Their efforts led to the discovery of many petroglyphs and the identification and documentation of Jain temples — locally known as Kallambalams — in central Wayanad. They unearthed numerous ancient burial sites and places of historical interest in the Ambukuthi valley. They also found statues and sculptures from the Vijayanagara empire and earlier periods, scattered across forests in Muthanga, Rampur, Mavinhalla and Thirunelli. Beyond his scholarly pursuits, MGS remained deeply involved in other social causes as well. In his later years, he spearheaded the agitation demanding the development of the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu road, which passed near his residence in Malaparamba. Undeterred by age, MGS even led sit-in and held protests for the cause even in his old age and served as the chairman of the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Development Action Committee. MGS had once jokingly shared that someone even called him from Pathanamthitta and asked whether he would come to solve their road development issue issues. Kozhikode: Even while standing tall as a towering figure in Indian historiography, MGS Narayanan carried within him an activist's spirit. His decisive intervention was key in protecting the Edakkal Caves — Wayanad's preeminent archaeological site known for its ancient petroglyphs — from the clutches of the quarry mafia. Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS) president N Badusha said that on learning that the state had granted permission for quarrying activities dangerously close to the Edakkal caves, MGS rushed to Wayanad and personally led the protest before the district collectorate in 1986. Responding to MGS's call for support, renowned historian Irfan Habib, who was member secretary of the Indian History Congress directly met then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi which led to the ban on quarrying activities in the Ambukuthi hils. "The nationwide support for the cause of Edakkal was largely due to the tireless efforts of historians under MGS's leadership. Without their intervention, Edakkal might today have been reduced to rubble," said Badusha. Following the success of the Edakkal movement, MGS, along with Rajan Gurukkal, MR Raghava Varier and others embarked on a systematic exploration of Wayanad's historical landscape. Their efforts led to the discovery of many petroglyphs and the identification and documentation of Jain temples — locally known as Kallambalams — in central Wayanad. They unearthed numerous ancient burial sites and places of historical interest in the Ambukuthi valley. They also found statues and sculptures from the Vijayanagara empire and earlier periods, scattered across forests in Muthanga, Rampur, Mavinhalla and Thirunelli. Beyond his scholarly pursuits, MGS remained deeply involved in other social causes as well. In his later years, he spearheaded the agitation demanding the development of the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu road, which passed near his residence in Malaparamba. Undeterred by age, MGS even led sit-in and held protests for the cause even in his old age and served as the chairman of the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Development Action Committee. MGS had once jokingly shared that someone even called him from Pathanamthitta and asked whether he would come to solve their road development issue issues.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
MGS Narayanan, scientific voice in Kerala's historiography, dead
Kozhikode: Prof MGS Narayanan , one of India's most distinguished historians and former chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), who made seminal contributions to Kerala historiography , passed away at his residence at Malapparamba on Saturday morning. He was 92. Narayanan broke new ground in Kerala history studies by strongly advocating for evidence-based or scientific history writing and adopting it as the cornerstone of his research. He had been suffering from age-related ailments for the past few years and passed away at 9.42 a.m. The funeral was held at the Mavoor Road crematorium at 4.37pm on Saturday. Narayanan's authoritative treatises on medieval history, including his seminal research on the Chera dynasty, stand as a beacon for objective, source-based historical writing, for which he meticulously studied around 150 inscriptions and discovered about 30 new ones. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Born on Aug 20, 1932, in Ponnani, as Muttayil Govindamenon Sankara Narayanan, his father KP Govinda Menon was a doctor. His mother passed away when he was seven and he spent his childhood at his maternal home in Neduva-Parappanangadi. He first attended school in the third grade at Neduva Elementary School, having been tutored at home by his father's friend Parameswaran master until then. He joined AV High School in Ponnani, his father's place, for the second form and passed the SSLC examination in 1947. During high school, he was passionate about poetry and literature. In 1947, he joined Guruvayurappan College in Kozhikode for intermediate studies, where his interest in history was sparked by history teacher KV Krishna Iyer. He later joined Farook College for BA in Economics and subsequently moved to Kerala Varma College in Thrissur. After completing his degree, he took MA in History from Madras Christian College in 1953, securing the first rank. He earned his PhD from Kerala University in 1973. MGS began his official career as a teacher at Guruvayurappan College, Kozhikode, and joined Calicut University in 1968, where he served as lecturer, reader, and later professor (1976), heading the department of history from 1970 until his retirement in 1992. In 1974–75, he served as a Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellow at the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and went on to serve as visiting professor at the University of Moscow, Leningrad University, and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (1994–95). In 1990, he became the member secretary of the Indian Council of Historical Research and served as chairman of ICHR during the Vajpayee govt from 2001 to 2003. He was closely associated with the Indian History Congress and served as general secretary during 1983–1985. He also served as director general of the Centre for Heritage Studies in Tripunithura. His major works include 'Perumals of Kerala', 'Indian Charithra Parichayam', 'Sahitya Aparadhangal', 'Kerala Charithrathinte Adisthaana Shilakal', 'Kozhikkodinte Katha', 'Secular Jaatiyum Secular Matavum', and 'Janaadhipatyavum Communisavum', among others. He published around 200 research papers in national and international journals. He participated as an observer in the Kodungallur excavations (1969–70) and discovered and published a Brahmi inscription of Bindusara from Sanchi and several medieval Vattezhuttu inscriptions of Kerala. He is survived by wife VC Premalatha; children N Vijayakumar (Retd. Air Force Officer, currently in the US) and N Vinaya (Mohiniyattam teacher, Bangalore); and in-laws Durga (HR vice chairperson, US) and Manoj Ramanujan (IT consultant, Bangalore). The late historian M Gangadharan was his maternal uncle.
The Hindu
26-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Sahitya Akademi condoles demise of historian MGS Narayanan
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi, in a statement here on Saturday, condoled the demise of historian, scholar and teacher MGS Narayanan 'The demise of Prof. Narayanan is deeply saddening. He carved a unique path in historical research and profoundly transformed the study of ancient Kerala history through his distinctive approach. Unafraid of criticism, he remained steadfast in his views, both in academic circles and in socio-political discourse, earning admiration for his principled and courageous stance,' said Akademi president K. Satchidanandan and secretary C.P. Aboobacker. Over 200 books Prof. Narayanan served as both the member secretary and chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He authored over 200 books and scholarly articles. His strong command over Malayalam, English, Tamil, and Sanskrit as well as fluency in Brahmi, Vattezhuthu, Grantha scripts and in epigraphy were a great advantage for Kerala's historical research. As a visiting professor in several prestigious universities and academic institutions within India and abroad, he elevated Kerala's intellectual landscape to an international level. His autobiography Jaalakangal – Oru Charithranveshiyude Vazhikal Kaazhchakal (Windows – The Paths and Views of a Historian) received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2019. Prof. Narayanan's passing marks the loss of a powerful presence in the realm of historical research in Kerala as well as a meaningful voice in its socio-cultural landscape. His invaluable contributions will be remembered forever. The Kerala Sahitya Akademi expresses its heartfelt condolences on his demise, the statement added.
