KOZHIKODE: From former IUML national president and Union Minister late E Ahamed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, from Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan to writer N Prabhakaran, from novelist Punathil Kunjabdulla to historian Rajan Gurukkal and from KPCC president K Sudhakaran to writer V R Sudheesh- Government Brennen College can boast of an impressive list of luminaries who had associated with the educational institution. The cradle of cultural and political activities of Malabar for over a century, the campus has been a kind of seismograph that responded to every small development in society.
“Till the beginning of 1970s the campus was dominated by KSU, the feeder of the Congress. KSF, the student wing of the CPM, had a minimal presence,” said Abdul Azeez A P, who was a student from 1967 to 69.
Azeez said that in the initial stages, majority of the students were antagonistic to left politics. “There was a gradual change in the attitude and in 1974 SFI captured the campus under the leadership of A K Balan. During this time girls also started finding left politics attractive,” he said.“When we were students, Pinarayi had discontinued his studies and was in charge of the students’ organisation. He used to visit us for programmes outside the campus,” he said.
Haroon Rashid, who was a student from 1969 to 74, recalled the activities of the SFI that led to the organisation’s dominance on the campus. “A K Balan was elected chairman and Kaviyur Balan the general secretary in 1974. Both of them were good public speakers and organisers. The only seat KSU got at that time was that of vice-chairman,” he said.
“SFI decided to invite E M S Namboodirippad for the inauguration of the union, which was objected by the vice-chairman in the committee saying that he was a political leader. A K Balan explained that EMS is also a cultural figure,” Rashid said. A T Mohanraj, who was a student at the college during days of Emergency and later taught at the institution for more than two decades, said there were protests on the campus on the next day after the declaration.
“Police had beaten up students who shouted slogans against Indira Gandhi. Many were injured after they jumped from the first floor to escape police atrocities,” he said. Presence of M N Vijayan, O N V Kurup, M Leelavathy and Vishnunarayanan Namboodiri, who taught at the college at different times, kept the intellectual tradition live. Leelavathy was also the principal of the college. Now SFI has a complete domination on the campus, winning all the 30 seats with brute majority. “We established a space in the minds of the students through our activities. The college has witnessed mammoth development activities over the past decade and won A+ grade in the NAAC accreditation,” said Anupriya P, chairperson of the college union.
Establishment of the education institution in 1862 was the fulfillment of the dreams of Edward Brennen, who set apart his earnings for the purpose. Brennen washed ashore at Thalassery after he escaped from a shipwreck and stayed there till the end of his life.