This note was published in Metro Vaartha on 13/08/2022
The demise of leading economist KK George, fondly called KKG Sir, has come as a shock to all. It would seem odd to confine him to merely being an economist, a field where he excelled, as he was involved in several other things be it conservation, be it management studies, be it fight for rights – anything and everything and he left a mark in all that he was associated with.
The demise of leading economist KK George, fondly called KKG Sir, has come as a shock to all. It would seem odd to confine him to merely being an economist, a field where he excelled, as he was involved in several other things be it conservation, be it management studies, be it fight for rights – anything and everything and he left a mark in all that he was associated with.
When the much-hyped Kerala Model of development was a hot topic, KKG was the first to come out with a critical study through his book `Limits to Kerala Model of Development’, a seminal work on the development agenda.
It was around a fortnight ago that he came out with his autobiography `A Journal of my Life’ which was released at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) where he was the Director of management studies till retirement in 2000.
Listening to the views of several who attended the book release, he shared with his colleagues at Centre for Socio-economic Environmental Studies (CSES), of which he was the chairman, the need to revise the book based on what others had shared. But that did not happen as also his dream project of re-looking at Kerala’s development agenda with a larger perspective, for which he had indeed started work. This outlook of his, looking at a vaster canvas, was what made him different from many others.
If public finance, as many claim, was his forte, especially his indepth studies on Central-State finances, here too he cannot be confined to just that as the canvas on which he worked was beyond all that and much more.
In the 70s-early 80s, students of his alma mater Union Christian College had heard about him as he was involved in the movement to Save Silent Valley.
His innumerable papers and guidance to those covering public finance, education, public health and wide range of subjects, point to his scholarship. Simplicity was his hallmark which he showed also in his writings and also his interactions and this stemmed from his vast and indepth knowledge.
A fitting tribute that CSES can do is compile his works and come out with a collection, which will certainly be a guide to many.
KKG Sir’s death has robbed us of an intellectual, a scholar, an educationist, a guide and above all a dear friend.