Best wishes to K Jayakumar
The state government’s decision to appoint K. Jayakumar as the President of the Travancore Devaswom Board is something that will likely make people from all sections happy. It is unlikely that any political party or religious–social organisation will criticise this move. This comes at a time when issues, controversies, and corruption allegations related to the Sabarimala temple had become so serious that even the High Court had to intervene. At such a crucial moment, when it is necessary to end all disputes around Sabarimala and restore the temple’s sanctity and reputation, the choice of someone like K. Jayakumar, a person known for integrity and purity of character, is both positive and promising.
K. Jayakumar is not just a former IAS officer. His personality, capability, efficiency, creativity, and deep understanding of society are exceptional. Above all, he represents a democratic mindset that embraces everyone and moves forward with openness and sincerity. He has proved this in every field he has worked in. As a bureaucrat, from Sub Collector to Chief Secretary, he has left his mark everywhere. When he completed his term as Kozhikode Collector and moved back to Thiruvananthapuram in 1988, the farewell given to him by the people of Kozhikode became a part of history. The affection and respect he received were of the kind even a popular political leader would envy.
He has also served notably as the MD of the Film Development Corporation, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Culture, Additional Chief Secretary handling Home, Vigilance, and Devaswom departments, Agricultural Production Commissioner, Chairman of the Sabarimala Master Plan, Special Officer for Sabarimala, Supervisor of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple asset inspection committee, Chairman of the High-Level Committee for Government Projects, the first Registrar of MG University, and the first Vice Chancellor of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University in Tirur. He was serving as the Director of the Institute of Management in Government (IMG) in Thiruvananthapuram when he was entrusted with the responsibility of reforming the Travancore Devaswom Board, which had been criticised as being like the "Augean stables."
Jayakumar may not have superhuman strength or magical powers like Hercules, who cleaned the Augean stables in Greek mythology. But we believe he will succeed through his exceptional imagination, determination, and warm humaneness that embraces everyone. He is also someone who enriches the purity of Malayalam with a fragrance like sandalwood. Therefore, we convey our best wishes to the newly appointed Travancore Devaswom Board President, K. Jayakumar for great success in his new role. His past experience handling various responsibilities related to Sabarimala will surely help him. We also congratulate the Pinarayi Vijayan government for making this very appropriate decision.