Pinarayi Vijayan Condemns UDF Government Over KCHR Chairperson Appointment

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly condemned the UDF government's move to undermine the appointment process for the chairperson of the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR).

He said the institution has a proud tradition of secular historical writing and has been led by eminent historians such as Prof. KN Panikkar, Prof. Michael Tharakan and Prof. KN Ganesh. The government had unilaterally removed names recommended by the search committee and appointed a person who, he alleged, lacked the required qualifications.

A college teacher whose name was not even considered by the search committee was directly appointed as chairperson following the intervention of the Higher Education Principal Secretary, he said. He alleged that sidelining the search committee appointed by the UDF government and allowing an official to make the decision was part of an agenda to saffronise the KCHR.

Protesting what he described as an anti-democratic move, search committee members Prof. Sanal Mohan and Dr VJ Varghese have submitted dissent notes to the government. Eminent historians Prof. Janaki Nair, Prof. Lakshmi Subramanian and Prof. Manu V Devadevan have also resigned from the KCHR executive committee, he said, adding that these developments reflected the seriousness of the situation.

Pinarayi alleged that the RSS had repeatedly attempted to saffronise the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) whenever the NDA came to power at the Centre. He claimed that a similar agenda was now being pursued in Keralam under the UDF government, referring to the appointment of RSS pracharaks to the ICHR leadership by the NDA government in 2015.

He also alleged that the same official who had worked against the LDF government alongside the Governor when a Bill was passed to remove the Governor from the position of Chancellor was now implementing the RSS agenda at the KCHR. Reports suggesting that the Higher Education Minister had personal interests in the appointment had further deepened the suspicion, he said.

The government must immediately review its decision to appoint a person allegedly lacking the qualifications to head the historical research council, he demanded. He said those appointing unqualified individuals as vice-chancellors and heads of institutions were now coming forward to criticise the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC).

He called on the political community in Keralam to discuss what he described as this double standard. He said Keralam would unitedly resist what he termed dangerous moves to hand over the state's higher education sector and historical research institutions to forces opposed to secularism.