Prof. M.K. Prasad, eminent academician and environmentalist who spearheaded the grassroots movement to save Kerala’s Silent Valley rain forests, passed away on Monday. He was 89 and is survived by his wife and two children. His final rites were held at a crematorium in Ravipuram.

Prof. Prasad worked with the Kerala Sahitya Sastra Parishad (KSSP) as the head and was a founding member of the Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC). He was a professor of Botany and also served as the Principal of Maharajas College in Kochi and as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Calicut University.

In 2006, Prof. Prasad was with the Kerala State Biodiversity Board formulating the organic farming policy for the state.

Advocate Hareesh Vasudev, who was associated with Prof Prasad, remembers his revolutionary ideas towards environment protection, development, and energy production.

“When he was conducting awareness on local breed conservation, I objected to the plan to keep them at the gene bank. He told me to continue expressing my objection without fearing anyone,” Vasudevan recalled, stating that it was his motto in life.

MKP, as he was known among his colleagues, coordinated and participated in the people’s movements, while never losing sight of scientific evidence. Articulating scientific evidence through the voice of a common man was his forte, Gopikrishna Warrier, Editor, Mongabay India, said.

His major contribution was during the Save Silent Valley Campaign in the 1970s mobilising people towards protecting the evergreen subtropical forest of the Silent Valley from becoming a flooded dam.  Dr. V.S. Vijayan, Chairman, Salim Ali Foundation, recalls MK Prasad as a person of strong opinions, a man always standing with the truth at any cost. “A person who sacrificed his life for environment protection” is how he described Prof. Prasad. “He was the one who brought people’s movement through Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad to the Silent Valley issue. During that time, KSSP focused on disseminating knowledge on celestial bodies and the universe. MK Prasad wrote articles on rain forests, nature and the significance of environmental protection plans,” he recalled.

While MKP carried out much of his activities within Kerala, he showed avid interest in learning about conservation processes and policies internationally. He attended the Rio De Janeiro Earth Summit (1992) and brought innovative concepts to God’s Own Country. He was an architect in introducing environmental studies in the Kerala school curriculum. He also initiated Eco Clubs among Kerala Schools. Most of his articles and awareness classes pointed at the importance of conservation as well as the production of energy. It is with this that Prof. Prasad conceptualised Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC) at Mundur, Thrissur, Kerala. It is an autonomous research and development institution founded by the Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad (the pioneering People’s Science Movement) and a grant-in-aid institution of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE).

The institution worked with the motto of ‘Transforming Lives Through Technology’. Dr M P Parameswaran, senior fellow, IRTC, said, “MKP wanted to introduce, disseminate and experiment with new technologies that will protect nature. He invented a way to practice his teaching through IRTC.” The IRTC prides itself in being involved in activities such as installing solar panels, no-smoke stoves (more than 5 lakhs), and biogas plants in rural areas. “This is one of the major scientific revolutions in the country,” Dr Parameswaran added.

Prof. Prasad organised several protests against the Athirappilli hydroelectric project, conducted classes along with Sugathakumari, a famous Malayalam poet, and many other environmental activists. Even when he was hospitalised with COVID symptoms, he signed a demand letter to the Kerala Government to withdraw the K-Rail Project, which created fear among many residents of the State. MKP preached environmentalism above all party affiliations and individual profits and will be remembered as a man who took science to the common man with elan.

Edited by: Saptarshi