THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: All India president of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Vivekananda Kendra, A Balakrishnan, 88, passed away at a private hospital in Nagercoil on Thursday. The Thrissur native had been leading the Kendra after the death of P Parameswaran.
Balakrishnan served in the Air Force for 16 years before leaving the service in 1973 to work full-time with the Kendra. He was associated with the organisation for more than four decades, serving as its general secretary from 1981 to 2001 and vice-president from 2001 to 2020.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said Balakrishnan had played an important role in the Kendra’s educational, social and nation-building activities.
“Balakrishnan Ji devoted more than five decades of his life to the ideals of Swami Vivekananda and to the service of society. As one of the early Jeevanvratis of Vivekananda Kendra, he worked tirelessly across the country. He had a particularly deep association with the Northeast,” he said.
Governor Rajendra Arlekar also expressed condolences “Balakrishnanji’s role in the growth and development of the Kendra is profound. Pranams to the great soul,” he wrote in an X post. Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram director R Sanjayan expressed condolences on his demise.