The allegation that writer and thinker M. Govindan was a CIA agent and anti-Marxist were baseless, according to T. Padmanabhan, noted writer.
In a discussion on ‘M. Govindan- Memories’ held at the Krithi book fest at Marine Drive on Saturday, Mr. Padmanabhan pointed out that those raising such allegations should have inquired about how he had lived his last days. I cannot agree on views that Govindan was anti-Marxist. He had opposed Stalinism, he said.
Mr. Padmanabhan said that all such allegations against Govindan were false and fabricated. His last days were very miserable and he lived them with the help of a few of his dear friends, he said.
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Terming Govindan as a ‘renowned thinker’, Mr. Padmanabhan said that he had encouraged new writers and provided valuable guidance to them to continue with their writings. “I knew Govindan from 1948 and he had gained world-wide acceptance through his writings and observations. Several international writers had linkages with him. N.V. Krishna Warrier, P.C. Kuttikrishnan, and M. Govindan were my guides,” he said.
Recalling that Govindan had encouraged many writers including Anand, Mr. Padmanabhan said that he had asked the Sahithya Pravarthaka Cooperative Society (SPCS) to publish Anand’s Aalkootam after reading it. “Personally, Aalkoottam is my favourite work of Anand. It has a lot of originality in it but his later works were built around to prove certain theories,” he said.
SPCS had published selected essays of M. Govindan in 1986 and this collection has many of his pro-Marxist writings. As many people still call him anti-Marxist, SPCS should republish the book, Mr. Padmanabhan suggested.
Mr. Padmanabhan said that Govindan also made valuable contributions to Malayalam cinema. He had helped in the production and distribution of the movie Swayamvaram , the writer said.
