Veteran RSS 'pracharak' P Parameswaran passes away; Vice Prez, PM condole

One of the senior-most pracharaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and former leader of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh P Parameswaran, passed away in the early hours of Sunday (February 9), Sangh Parivar sources said. He was 91.

The founder director of the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram took his last breath at 12.10 am while undergoing Ayurvedic treatment at Ottappalam in Kerala’s Palakkad district, according to the sources.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday condoled the death of Parameswaran, describing him as a towering intellectual who nurtured institutions of eminence.

“Deeply saddened by the demise of shri Parameswaran ji, a prolific writer, researcher & founder-director of Bharatiya Vichara Kendram,” Naidu said on Twitter. The vice president said Parameswaran was an embodiment of Indian thought and philosophy.

Modi said Parameswaran was a proud and dedicated son of India. “His was a life devoted to Indias cultural awakening, spiritual regeneration and serving the poorest of the poor. Parameswaran Jis thoughts were prolific and his writings were outstanding. He was indomitable,” the prime minister tweeted. “I am fortunate to have interacted with him many times. He was a towering intellectual. Anguished by his demise. Om Shanti,” Modi said.

Parameswaran, who had worked with leaders like Deendayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani during the Jana Sangh days, was honoured with Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian award in 2018 and Padma Shri in 2004.

Fondly called as Parameswar ji by Sangh Parivar and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Parameswaran was a prolific writer, poet, researcher and a widely-respected RSS ideologue. He was the Bharatiya Jana Sanghs secretary (19671971) and vice president (19711977), as well as the director of the Deendayal Research Institute (19771982), New Delhi.

Born in 1927 in Muhamma, Alappuzha district, he joined the RSS during his student days. His body will be brought to the RSS headquarters in Kochi on Sunday morning for people to pay their last respects. The cremation will be held in Muhamma in the evening, the sources said.

During the days of Emergency, he courted arrest as part of the all India Satyagraha against it and was jailed for 16 months. Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram was established by Parameswaran in 1982 “to promote nationalist thoughts among Keralites”.