Teena29I554 at 19:22, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T19:22:23Z

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{{Short description|Indian historian (1936–2026)}}
{{Similar names|K. M. Panikkar|Kavalam Narayana Panicker|K. Ayyappa Panicker|}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = K. N. Panikkar
| native_name = കെ.എൻ. പണിക്കർ
| native_name_lang = ml
| image = DSC_0151_9460KN_Panicker.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| signature =
| caption = Panikkar in 2012
| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|4|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Guruvayur]], Malabar District, Madras Presidency, British India (now [[Thrissur district]], Kerala, India)
| death_date = {{death date and age|2026|3|9|1936|4|26|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Thiruvananthapuram]], Kerala, India
| spouse = Usha Panikkar
| children = 2
| education = * [[Government Victoria College, Palakkad]]
* [[Rajasthan University]]
| occupation = {{hlist|Historian|professor|writer}}
}}

'''K. N. Panikkar''' (26 April 1936 – 9 March 2026) was an Indian [[Marxist historian]], associated with the [[Marxist historiography (India)|Marxist school of historiography]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/06/stories/2009030651300300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315064009/http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/06/stories/2009030651300300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 March 2009|title= Link technology with social sciences, says K.N. Panikkar |date=21 February 2010|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=7 March 2010|location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/06/stories/2009030651300300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315064009/http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/06/stories/2009030651300300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 March 2009|title= Rewrite history from Indian point of view: K.N. Panikkar |date=6 May 2009|access-date=7 March 2010|work=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/29/stories/2005112922170300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629053851/http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/29/stories/2005112922170300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2011|title= Newspapers evading sensitive issues, says K.N. Panikkar |date=29 November 2005|access-date=7 March 2010|work=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/29/stories/2008122955461100.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215202829/http://hindu.com/2008/12/29/stories/2008122955461100.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=15 February 2009 | location=Chennai, India | work=[[The Hindu]] | title=Culture emerges as site of struggle: K.N. Panikkar | date=29 December 2008}}</ref>

K. N. Panikkar wrote and edited a number of books, including ''A Concerned Indian’s Guide to Communalism'' and the ICHR volume on ''Towards Freedom, 1940: A Documentary History of the Freedom Struggle''.

In 2010 he launched [[Indian Ruminations]] an online portal in English, publishing literature and journalistic writings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/K.N.-Panicker-to-launch-website-for-literary-journal/article16300761.ece|title=K.N. Panicker to launch website for literary journal|website=The Hindu|access-date=4 April 2022}}</ref>

His methods and his expressed positions in public life have evoked harsh criticism from exponents of [[Hindu nationalism]], particularly during the period of Bharatiya Janata Party government of 1998 to 2004. Panikkar was active in criticising the rise of "Nationalist" history in India. His books include ''Against Lord and State: Religion and Peasant Uprisings in Malabar''; ''Culture and Consciousness in Modern India''; ''Culture, Ideology and Hegemony – Intellectuals and Social Consciousness in Colonial India'', and ''Before the Night Falls''.
He was appointed by the government of Kerala as chairman of an Expert Committee that looked into the complaints raised from various quarters concerning new textbooks introduced to state-supported schools. The committee submitted its report in October 2008.<ref>[http://www.education.kerala.gov.in/FINAL%20REPORTnew.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617035732/http://www.education.kerala.gov.in/FINAL%20REPORTnew.pdf|date=17 June 2009}}</ref>

Panikkar died on 9 March 2026, at the age of 89.<ref>[https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2026/03/09/kn-panikkar-historian-obituary.html Kerala historian K N Panikkar passes away]</ref>

==See also==
* [[M. G. S. Narayanan]]
* [[A. Sreedhara Menon]]
* [[Rajan Gurukkal]]

==References==
{{commons category}}
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* K N Panikkar, Attoor Ravi Varma bag Kerala Sahitya Akademi fellowships [https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2019/jan/24/k-n-panikkar-attoor-ravi-varma-bag-sahitya-akademi-fellowships-1929182.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717061854/https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2019/jan/24/k-n-panikkar-attoor-ravi-varma-bag-sahitya-akademi-fellowships-1929182.html |date=17 July 2021 }}
* 'Will quit as Chancellor': Kerala Guv upset at state of higher education, writes to CM [https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/will-quit-chancellor-kerala-guv-upset-state-higher-education-writes-cm-158609]
* In JNU, works of Gail Omvedt and Dalit scholars are relegated to 'underground' networks [https://theprint.in/opinion/in-jnu-works-of-gail-omvedt-and-dalit-scholars-are-relegated-to-underground-networks/725703/]
* Valiathan, Panikkar, Raghava Warrier get Kairali lifetime achievement awards [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/valiathan-panikkar-raghava-warrier-get-kairali-lifetime-achievement-awards/article33823583.ece]
* When History is Held Hostage: Commemorating the Continuing Sufferings of the Mappila Martyrs of 1921 [https://thewire.in/history/when-history-is-held-hostage-commemorating-the-continuing-sufferings-of-the-mappila-martyrs-of-1921]
* Reform judiciary to protect its independence: Bhushan [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/reform-judiciary-to-protect-its-independence-bhushan/article37373795.ece]
* Muslims, Hindus and the Malabar rebellion – why 1921 matters [https://thefederal.com/opinion/muslims-hindus-and-the-malabar-rebellion-why-1921-matters/]

==External links==
* [http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/ Kerala Council for Historical Research] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928204634/http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/ |date=28 September 2011 }}

{{Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panikkar, K. N.}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2026 deaths]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian Marxist historians]]
[[Category:Indian Marxist writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Thrissur]]
[[Category:Government Victoria College, Palakkad alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:Scholars from Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:People from Guruvayur]]
[[Category:Historians of Kerala]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award]]

K. N. Panikkar - Revision history

Teena29I554 at 19:22, 13 March 2026