THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The writings of historian A Sreedhara Menon who died here on Friday are the most important references on Kerala history.
Sreedhara Menon was born on December 18, 1925 at Ernakulam. After securing a first class in SSLC exam, he proceeded to the Madras University and passed the Intermediate Examination. In 1944, with the support of a Maharaja's scholarship, he completed his BA from the Maharaja's College, Ernakulam winning the Gold Medal. He completed the MA from Madras University in 1948 also with a first rank in history. He began his career as a teacher at St.Thomas College, Thrissur, and later joined the University College, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1949 as a lecturer in the Departments of History and Politics. In 1953, he obtained his MA in Political Science, specialising in International Relations from Harvard University with the aid of a Fulbright travel grant and a SmithMundt Scholarship.
On his return, he was appointed by the Government of Kerala as the State Editor of Kerala Gazetteers in 1958. He later held the post of Registrar of the Kerala University from 1968 to 1977.
Later he worked as a visiting professor in Calicut University before serving as a professor in the Institute of Management in Government of the Kerala Government. Menon was a member of several academic bodies such as the Senate, Academic Council, Board of Studies and Board of Examiners in universities in South India. In 2000 he was elected the President of Visakhapattanam South Indian History Congress.
His important works include Kerala History, The Legacy of Kerala, Cultural Heritage of Kerala, A Political History of Kerala, Social and Cultural History of Kerala, Kerala History and its Makers, A Concise History of Modern Kerala (1885 to 1957), Modern India A History Since 1707, PunnapraVayalarum Kerala Charithravum, American Model Arabikkadalil, Sir Cpyude Parajayapetta Bharanaparishkara Nirdesham and Swathanthra Thruvithamkoor vadavum Sir CP enna villanum.
He was also famous as a brilliant academician, having taught history across the universities in Kerala. He was also credited with the official History of the University in two volumes. Menon edited eight volumes of Kerala Gazetteers and served on the editorial board of prestigious journals, including the Journal Of Indian History, Journal of Kerala Studies.