P. Sanal Mohan resigns from KCHR executive council

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Academic P. Sanal Mohan has resigned from the executive council of the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR). The social scientist is the fourth member to step down from the KCHR executive council allegedly in protest against the appointment of Vinodkumar Kallolikkal as the council’s chairperson. Prof.

Mohan, who was also part of the search committee constituted by the Higher Education department to identify the new chairperson, had opposed the appointment. Historians Janaki Nair, Lakshmi Subramanian and Manu V. Devadevan had earlier resigned from the KCHR executive council. However, official sources have defended the appointment and alleged that the resignations were orchestrated to avoid inquiry into purported irregularities during the previous administration’s tenure.

‘Irregular appointments’ They claimed that the previous leadership had undertaken irregular appointments during an executive council meeting on December 22, 2025, during which the KCHR director introduced three new members (Dr. Devadevan, V.J.