Historian Raghava Varier selected for M.G.S. Narayanan Memorial Award

Historian M.R. Raghava Varier has been selected for the 2026 Prof. M.G.S. Narayanan Memorial Award, The Hindu reported on October 11.

The Kerala History Congress and the Calicut Heritage Forum jointly instituted the award. It carries a cash prize of 50,000 rupees and a citation.

Varier formerly taught in the Department of History at the University of Calicut. His work also spans linguistics, palaeography and literary criticism. The organisers said they considered his contributions across different fields of knowledge when choosing him for the honour.

His previous honours include the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and the Kairali Award, which was instituted by the state government.

The presentation is scheduled for the tenth International Kerala History Conference at Government College in Malappuram. The conference runs from November 27 to 29, with the selection announcement coming ahead of the award ceremony.