Kerala CM releases anthology of essays by former civil servants

The need for fresh thinking on Kerala’s demographic, economic and developmental challenges came into focus at the release of The Kerala Club: Keepers of the Flame, a collection of essays by 29 retired civil servants, in the city on Wednesday. 

The book, published by Bloomsbury India and edited by former Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar and former diplomat T.P. Sreenivasan, was released by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan. The first copy was received by Ashok Lahiri, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog. 

Mr. Chandrasekhar said the volume was conceived to preserve the wealth of knowledge and experience accumulated by senior civil servants over decades of public service. Bringing together officers who served in different parts of India and abroad, the book offers perspectives on governance, administration and public policy, he said. 

Mr. Satheesan said Kerala was undergoing significant demographic changes, including a shrinking youth population, increasing life expectancy and migration trends, which demanded serious policy attention. Stressing the importance of updating knowledge systems, he said education and skill development should be aligned with changing global employment patterns. Initiatives such as the proposed Global Job Watch Tower and Kerala Knowledge Valley were aimed at positioning the State as a hub of higher education and knowledge-based industries, he added. 

He also called for a shift from a remittance-driven economy to an investment-oriented one, arguing that NRI funds should be channelled more productively to stimulate economic growth and employment generation. The insights contained in the book, he noted, could contribute meaningfully to discussions on Kerala’s future development trajectory. 

Describing the volume as a valuable account of Kerala’s strengths, weaknesses and challenges, Dr. Lahiri said the State faced the paradox of possessing a highly educated workforce while continuing to witness large-scale migration of skilled people. Creating opportunities capable of retaining talent remained one of Kerala’s foremost challenges, he observed. 

The collection features essays by retired IAS, IPS, IFS and IFoS officers, including Shivshankar Menon, Vinod Rai, Amitabh Kant, E.K. Bharat Bhushan, S.M. Vijayanand, T. Balakrishnan, K. Mohandas, Alphons Kannanthanam, K.B. Valsalakumari, B. Sandhya and Brandson Corrie, among others. 

S.N. Raghuchandran Nair, president of the Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, proposed a vote of thanks