The Cultural Affairs Department will publish the biography of social reformer Dr Palpu, Cultural Affairs Minister K C Joseph said on Friday.
He was speaking after inaugurating the celebrations marking the 149th birth anniversary of Palpu organised by the Dr Palpu Foundation. ‘’For our society to move on, it is essential that it grasps the miserable conditions of the age in which people like Dr Palpu lived and worked. The biography will be published at the earliest,’’ the Minister said.
The government will also provide all support to the foundation’s efforts to erect a memorial to the social reformer, he said. The freedoms that people enjoy today are due to the battles men like Palpu undertook in a troubled age when citizens’ rights and even basic human rights were denied to certain sections. Palpu was denied an opportunity to study medicine despite standing fourth in an examination the government conducted to select ten students.
Though he got his medical degree from Madras, Travancore denied him a job, forcing him to move to Mysore. ‘’His fights on behalf of the downtrodden rank him among the foremost of our social reformers,’’ Joseph said.
Sivagiri Dharmasanghom president Swami Prakashananda, Dr Palpu Foundation president K Sambasivan and secretary P K Vidyadharan were also present. The first Dr Palpu Award was presented to Dr M R Rajagopal.