College in Kesari Balakrishna Pillai's name will be considered: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

KOCHI: The progressive ideas expounded by renowned thinker and writer, the late Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, are increasingly relevant and should be upheld in everyday life, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday. Speaking after inaugurating the South Indian Literary Festival at Paravur, the birth place of Kesari, Pinarayi said the writer had led an uncompromising struggle for the cause of secularism, social justice, progress and internationalism.

Describing Kesari as one of the great personalities who had influenced the shaping of the world view of modern Kerala, Pinarayi said the new values brought out by the late author in areas such as literature and art criticism, editorial writing and many other fields of knowledge needed to be transmitted to the new generation.

The Chief Minister also recalled the role played by Kesari in mentoring a new breed of writers such as Thakazhi Shivasankara Pillai in Malayalam. He also said that the Government would actively consider the demand for setting up a government college in the name of Kesari at North Paravur. Appropriate steps would be taken to set up the college at Madavanapparambu, the place Kesari spent the last phase of his life. MLAs V.D. Satheesan and S. Sarma brought the demand to the attention of the Chief Minister.