K.N. Panikkar, a historian who defended India’s secular intellectual traditions

A distinguished historian of modern India and a prominent defender of secular and critical historiography, K.N. Panikkar leaves behind a legacy that shaped generations of students, scholars and public discourse on history, culture and politics.

Panikkar was widely known not only as a Marxist historian, but also as a public intellectual who believed that history should challenge injustice and defend democratic and secular values. He earned recognition for his rigorous, evidence-based historical writing and his consistent critique of communal interpretations of Indian history.

Over decades of scholarship, Panikkar asserted that history must be written with intellectual integrity and free from ideological distortions.

Because of his outspoken criticism of the rise of Hindutva politics and attempts to reshape history along sectarian lines, Panikkar often faced attacks and threats from communal groups. Nevertheless, he remained one of the most steadfast defenders of India’s secular intellectual traditions.

Indian History Congress (IHC) president Rajan Gurukkal, who is also the vice-chairperson of the Kerala State Higher Education Council, remembered Panikkar as a tireless defender of secular and rational historiography.

He credited Panikkar with broadening the scope of modern Indian history, which had long been centred on elite political narratives of colonial rule, the Congress movement and constitutional developments, by bringing into focus agrarian struggles, peasant resistance and the complex social world of colonial Kerala.

“He showed that resistance in colonial India was not merely nationalist, but also social and directed against landlordism, caste hierarchy and State authority,” Prof. Gurukkal said.

IHC vice-president Aditya Mukherjee, who studied under Panikkar and later worked with him at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), remembered him as a “kind, soft-spoken and brilliant teacher”.

“Everyone who studied under him was impressed by his teaching. But apart from being a brilliant academic, he was also a fighter for progressive movements,” he said.

Another of Panikkar’s students, K. N. Ganesh, the present chairperson of the Kerala Council for Historical Studies, an institution founded by Panikkar, recalled how his mentor’s work moved beyond elite-centric narratives to explore the socio-cultural fabric of marginalised communities.

He viewed Hindutva and similar religious constructs as products of elite culture, while seeking instead to portray culture as an expression of the people.

G. Arunima, a Professor at JNU’s Centre for Women’s Studies and also Panikkar’s student, also remembered him as gentle and intellectually sharp. “He did not mince his words when it came to things that mattered to him. Everyone would not necessarily agree with him, but they all respected him. He cared deeply about higher education and remained very active even after retirement when he returned to Kerala.”

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described Panikkar as a cultural leader who stood as a guardian of a scientific and objective understanding of history that reflects the essence of humanity.

Highlighting how Panikkar’s interventions provided intellectual clarity at times when communal forces threatened India’s secular fabric, Mr. Vijayan also stressed on the historian’s role in placing the Malabar Rebellion in its proper historical context by emphasising its anti-imperialist and peasant uprising dimensions as part of the freedom struggle.

According to the Chief Minister, Panikkar followed the intellectual traditions of historians such as Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi and philosopher Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya by applying the tools of historical materialism in cultural studies.

His staunch opposition of attempts made to communalise Indian history had led to him and his research initiatives being sidelined from institutions such as the Indian Council of Historical Research. Despite such odds, Panikkar’s life was a sustained struggle against efforts to replace historical facts with myths and legends in order to revive outdated social hierarchies, the Chief Minister stated

All India Congress Committee general secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, paying tribute in a Facebook post, wrote:

“Few people dare to stand for what they believe in when the tide is against them. KN Panikkar ji was one of those fearless people who spoke for what is right. His passing is a loss to the nation. In true respect towards him, let us remember to rid ourselves of barriers and fears, and stand together for the truth (sic).”

Higher Education Minister R. Bindu highlighted Panikkar’s efforts as the first chairperson of the KCHR and his leadership in the archaeological excavations at Muziris, which turned out to be one of the major archaeological successes in the state.

Describing him as a ‘historian of modernity’, the Minister said Panikkar made major contributions to historiography and historical methodology. His works were rooted in historical materialism while also exploring the cultural and intellectual dimensions of history.

Published – March 09, 2026 09:20 pm IST