Professor Sukumaran Azhikode
 
Professor Sukumaran Azhikode, the new chairman of the National Book Trust (1993), is a proud Hindu. He is a believer, has full faith in the Vedas, Upanishads and the Gita. Besides, he is well-versed in the teachings of Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi. The very depth of his knowledge and the strength of his Hindu convictions have pitted him against those whose politics in recent years has been founded on the “Garv se kaho hum Hindu hain” (“Say with pride I am a Hindu”) battle-cry.
 
A fiery orator, the learned professor has been addressing large gatherings throughout Kerala over the past few months. In his speeches he cautions receptive audiences against the “irreligion” being propagated by the BJP and allied organisations “in the name of our great tradition and scriptures”. The professor’s growing popularity, says a report in The Economic Times, has got the Hindutvavadis seriously worried.

The very depth of his knowledge and the strength of his Hindu convictions have pitted him against those whose politics in recent years has been founded on the “Garv se kaho hum Hindu hain” (“Say with pride I am a Hindu”) battle-cry.
 
How is it that the devout Hindu has managed to reach people while communists and other secular forces are still groping for a strategy? The answer, says the professor, is simple: You’ve got to take on the Hindu organisations on their own ground.
 
Archived from the November 1993 tabloid issue of Communalism Combat under the Breaking Barriers section.