K. K. N. Kurup

K. K. N. Kurup (born 1939) is an historian of India and a former vice-chancellor of the University of Calicut. He has specialised in the history of the Malabar region of South India.

Education Kurup obtained a B.A. from the University of Delhi and then studied for his M.A. and PhD at the University of Calicut. He was awarded the latter in 1976.

Teaching He had been teaching at Calicut since 1972 and continued in various positions there. In 1983, he was a professor and the head of the history department at the University of Mangalore and was also awarded a professorship at Calicut. He was appointed head of the history department in Calicut in 1991 and in June 1998 became vice-chancellor, at a time when the university was suffering from a decline in staff due to numerous retirements. During his period of office, the fortunes of the institution were revived, its student numbers increased, a new engineering college facility was introduced and tertiary facilities were established in Thrissur, Wayanad and Vatakara. The tertiary bodies were all situated in relatively remote areas and formed part of his "Knowledge for Villages" vision.

The Malabar Institute of Research and Development is another Kurup innovation, begun at Vatakara in 2002 while he was still vice-chancellor. He was able to devote more time to it after his term of office came to an end in June of that year and now describes it as an organisation of scholars and ordinary citizens who work to embolden the masses through creative and scholarly interventions. MIRD conducts seminars, discussions and debates often in social science. We believe a social scientist is a social engineer and the best way for him to work is through effective arguments. MIRD provides a platform for that. and the 1981 K. Damodaran award for the best work in Malayalam on a social science topic

Works Kurup has published numerous works in both English and Malayalam. These encompass research papers and books, of which the latter include: