Page 11 - K M PANNIKAR and The Growth of a Maritime Consciousness in India

Kavalam Madhava Panikkar, a Statesman, diplomat, historian, novelist and
journalist, was born on 3 June 1895, in Travancore, India. He completed his
basic education from Kottayam and Madras and left for England in April 1914
where he studied History and Sociology. Panikkar completed his education at
the Christ Church College, University of Oxford in 1917. He also read for the
bar at the Middle Temple, London for a short period. After returning to India
in 1919, he taught at the Calcutta University and Aligarh University. He then
moved to journalism as Joint Editor of the Swarajya daily in Madras from 1922-
1924. Panikkar later was the founder editor of the Delhi based Hindustan Times
in 1925. Panikkar served thereafter in different princely states including in
Kashmir, Patiala and Bikaner.
His role in the Constituent Assembly as a representative of Bikaner was
significant. In 1954 he was appointed as a member of the Sates Reorganisation
Committee. He was also a nominated member of Rajya Sabha from 1959-1961.
He also served as the Ambassador of India to China (1948–52), Egypt (1952–53),
and France (1956–59).
Later in life he returned to academia and was Vice-Chancellor of Jammu and
Kashmir University and later of Mysore University till his death.
Through his life K M Panikkar authored multiple books in both Malayalam and
English. He had a wide array of interests including Indian history, Malayalam
literature and foreign policy. His contribution to the development of maritime
studies and a maritime consciousness for an independent India comes through
in works such as ‘India and the Indian Ocean: An essay on the influence of sea
power on Indian history’ (1945), ‘The Strategic Problems of the Indian Ocean’
(1944), ‘The Future of South East Asia: An Indian View’ (1943), ‘Malabar and the
Portuguese’ (1929). His ‘Asia and Western Dominance’(1953) remains a classic
statement of the vital impact of the Indian Ocean on Asia.
He also wrote several plays and novels. He was closely associated with the
Indian Council of World Affairs from the 1950s.
Panikkar died on 10 December 1963 at the age of 68.

23-24 March 2021 | Sapru House, New Delhi 11