India, March 10 -- Eminent historian, public intellectual, and a dear teacher to many generations of students at JNU, KN Panikkar, passed away in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, aged 89. He was suffering from age-related health complications and is survived by his daughters Ragini and Shalini. His wife, Usha, preceded him in 2022.

"Through his writings, teachings, and speeches, he (Panikkar) constantly reminded people that India's pluralism was shaped by the course of history, and that its collapse would lead to the collapse of the country itself. His words were like light in the minds of people at a time when Indian secularism was shrouded amid the dark clouds of communalism," Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement.

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