M. Kunjaman

M. Kunjaman (1949 – 3 December 2023) was an Indian economist, Dalit thinker and academician from Kerala. He was a professor at the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) campus in Tuljapur, a member of the University Grants Commission, and a long time Economics faculty member at the University of Kerala. Kunjaman was nominated for the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for his biographical work Ethiru in 2021, which he refused to accept.

Biography
Kunjaman, a resident of Vadanamkurissi in Palakkad, was born into a low-income Panan Dalit family. His parents, Cheron and Ayyappan, worked on farms. He received first rank in the MA in economics at Calicut University in 1974. Following the Indian President K. R. Narayanan, he became the second Dalit to secure the first rank in the post-graduation. However, due to his lack of resources, he was compelled to sell the gold medal the day after it was awarded to him in order to buy provisions for his home.

Kunjaman enrolled in the MPhil programme at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) in Thiruvananthapuram after receiving his MA in economics. He then completed a doctorate in economics at Cochin University of Science and Technology. Even after finishing first on the merit list under the general quota, Kunjaman was first turned down for a teaching position. He was denied a job for being a Dalit. However, well-wishers recognised his talent as a scholar and he started his job as a faculty at the University of Kerala in 1979. He spent 27 years as a faculty member in the Economics Department. He had been a part of the UGC for a short while. He left the University of Kerala in 2006 to become an Economics Professor at TISS.

Kunjaman's autobiography Ethiru was chosen as the best autobiography by the Kerala Sahitya Academy in 2021. However, Kunjaman turned down the honour. He had described the Dalit way of life in Kerala in his autobiography. Kunjaman was the author of multiple papers on the Dalit crisis, reservations, and land reforms. Development of tribal economy, State Level Planning In India, Globalization: A subaltern perspective, Economic development and social changing are some of his most important works.

Kunjaman was found dead at his residence in Sreekaryam on 3 December 2023.

Awards

 * 2021 - Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography, Ethiru