Kochi | Senior RSS pracharak M A Krishnan, founder of Balagokulam, which organises Janmashtami Shobha Yatras across Keralam, died at a hospital here on Tuesday. He was 97.
Popularly known as M A Sir among RSS workers here, Krishnan died at Amrita Hospital here while undergoing treatment, Sangh sources said.
Balagokulam has been organising Shobha (religious/devotional) Yatras and various programmes for children across Keralam as part of Janmashtami celebrations marking the birth of Lord Krishna.
The colourful processions, in which children dressed as Krishna and Radha take part, have become a familiar feature of Janmashtami celebrations in the state.
Krishnan was also the founder and guiding force behind several Sangh initiatives, including Tapasya Kala Sahitya Vedi.
He was associated with several cultural and social initiatives, such as Amrita Bharati, Balasamskara Kendra, Balasahithi Prakashan, the International Sree Krishna Centre and Sourakshika, a movement for the protection of children's rights.
He served for long periods as the RSS Prantha Bauddhik Pramukh and Prachar Pramukh and was also the editor of the RSS-affiliated Kesari.
Born on January 17, 1929, at Ayoorkala in Kollam district, Krishnan began his career as a teacher at Vazhoor High School in Kottayam.
He joined the RSS as a pracharak in 1954 and worked in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Kollam districts.
He became the editor of Kesari in 1964.
During his tenure, he wrote and published a series on temples in Malabar and issues related to religious conversions. He also used a special issue, 'The Legend of Nila', to highlight the need to protect the Bharathapuzha river.
Krishnan spent his final years at Madhava Nivas, the RSS South Keralam provincial office at Elamakkara.
He was honoured with the Vivekananda Seva Samman by the Badabazar Library in Kolkata in 2008 and received several other honours, including the Veerasree Veluthampi Memorial Seva Award.
His cremation will be held on Wednesday evening at his family residence in Aivarkala, Puthanambalam, in Kollam district, RSS sources said.
