Thiruvananthapuram: The idea of a broad Hindu party was first tried and put to rest by the late Chief Minister R Sankar, who had realised that it was anathema to the very egalitarian agenda, propounded by the shining star of Renaissance, Sree Narayana Guru.
A sectarian Hindu outfit had been a weakness for many Yogam leaders. When the Guru realised that the Yogam leaders were going astray, he chided them but finally he severed the umbilical cord, saying he would have nothing to do with an organisation that no more cherished the ideal of freedom for all through education.
The formation of Hindu Mandalam, along with Nair patriarch Mannathu Padmanabhan, was a blot but Sankar was not to blame for it entirely because other social groups seemed to claim a larger share of the social pie.
Sankar's advocacy for reservation in education and jobs for the socially and educationally backward classes in the Constituent Assembly impressed no less a person than Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Now when his statue is unveiled on the SN College premises in Kollam on Tuesday, echoes of Sankar's eloquent arguments at Constituent Assembly should embarrass the acolytes of RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat, who recently called for a review of reservations.
Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan, who commandeers the social organisation into the saffron camp, would soon encounter more such questions and he would then be left with fewer options, says Mr G Priyadarshan, a former vice-president of the Yogam.
Former S N College principal Prof G Sathyan pointed out that during his chequered career as the KPCC president, Yogam secretary and the Chief Minister, Sankar had never discriminated between communities.
As the Chief Minister, Sankar handled the Education portfolio also. Among the less known facts is that Iqbal College at Peringamala in Thiruvananthapuram was born of a direct intervention by Sankar, said Mr Priyadarshan.
Sankar set up 14 colleges, starting with Sree Narayana College Kollam, which attracted talent from across communities, showing his eclectic approach. In the initial days, he raised resources for colleges by collecting farm produce and tapping into the benevolence of community leaders.
The latter-day Yogam general secretaries preened their feathers on the huge assets left behind by Sankar.
In creating these institutions of learning, as if from nowhere, Sankar also displayed rare pragmatism.
At a time when Divan Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer was abhorred by the rest of society, Sankar befriended him and got nearly 26 acres on lease in Kollam, where he set up S N College.
Sankar was born in Kuzhikkalidavaka in Kottarakkara on April 30, 1909 as the fifth son of Raman and Kunchali Amma. His formal education began in the Puthoor Primary School and later the English School, Kottarakkara. He joined Maharaja's College, Thiruvananthapuram. He had started off as a headmaster at Sivagiri High School.
Congress CM: When Congress won the elections in 1960 under his leadership, Sankar became the Deputy Chief Minister in Pattom Thanu Pillai ministry.
He handled Finance portfolio from 1960 to 1962. When Thanu Pillai was appointed Governor, Sankar became the Chief Minister (September 26, 1962 to September 10, 1964).
At the helm, Sankar initiated welfare pensions for widows, the differently-abled and those suffering from TB, then a major scourge of the poor.
Sankar believed in all communities getting adequate representation in Government and enjoying State largesse though he remained wedded to the uplift of the community to which he was born.
Sankar was not ready to make compromises in the face of a no-confidence motion. He did not compromise with plunderers of forest and used the State machinery to evict encroachers.
The true inheritor of the Sree Narayana Guru’s legacy proved yet again that he was no champion of sectarian interests and stepped down in grace.
