Remembering T S Kannan

T S Kannan, an old friend of EPW, passed away in Chennai on 1 February at the age of 81.

From working for a PhD in probability theory under D D Kosambi at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in the early 1950s he came a long way. He took the civil services examination, and joined the Audit and Accounts Service. In the course of many postings, he landed in the Ministry of Commerce when the Mundhra scandal exploded. He found himself on the wrong side of the political manoeuvrings and paid the price. He was transferred as managing director of Richardson & Cruddas, an old British company that has been taken over and systematically ruined. His mandate was to liquidate it and get a reputation as liquidator of companies. However, Kannan found a company with excellent engineering skills and a competent labour force that had been betrayed by the earlier owners. He spoke to the union, then led by George Fernandes, and convinced it that he too was labour…a paid employee sent to the company to ruin his career. He suggested they work together to revive the company. To show his good intentions, he promised the union that he would help them with their most urgent immediate requirement. This turned out to be some showers that they could bathe in after work and long commutes. Without waiting for approvals, he had them constructed. The workers responded magnificently.