Vivekananda Kendra president A Balakrishnan passes away at 88

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Balakrishnan (88), all-India president of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, passed away at a private hospital in Nagercoil early Wednesday. He died at 12.05 am. His funeral will be held in Kanyakumari at 11 am on Friday.

Born on May 3, 1937, in Venganellur in Pazhayannur, Thrissur, Balakrishnan joined the Indian Air Force in 1957. He served in various border areas for 16 years before leaving the service in 1973.

He later joined Vivekananda Kendra as one of the first batch of ‘Jeevan Vratis’ after responding to a call from Eknath Ranade, an RSS pracharak. As part of the organisation’s activities, Balakrishnan worked in Arunachal Pradesh, travelling from house to house in tribal areas, identifying children and leading efforts to establish schools.

He became the general secretary of Vivekananda Kendra in 1981 and its president in 2020. He took over as the organisation’s president after P Parameswaran. He was unmarried.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembered Balakrishnan for his close association with the northeastern region. In his condolence message, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Balakrishnan had made continuous efforts to spread Swami Vivekananda’s vision across the country.