Prof. K.V. Kesavan, a doyen of Japanese studies, scholar, a teacher at the School of International Studies, JNU for over three decades, passed away on Monday.
Prof Kesavan was one of the pioneers of Japanese Studies in India along with late Prof PA Narasimha Murthy and continued his mission to forge close ties between Japan and India as a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Prof Kesavan, who strived to enhance India's understanding of Japan for over five decades, was one of the few Indian scholars in the field of Japanese Studies. He obtained his doctoral degree from the Indian School of International Studies, New Delhi in the early 1970s and later served on the faculty of the Centre for East Asian Studies, SIS, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, for over three decades.
In 2011, he was conferred the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the advancement of Japanese Studies and the promotion of the understanding of Japan in India.
Author of several books and numerous research papers in Indian and foreign academic journals on Japan's foreign policy and domestic politics, Prof. Kesavan received Japan Foundation Fellowship (1973-74; 1988-89 ), Senior Fulbright Fellowship (1980-81; 1988), Shastri Indo-Canadian Fellowship (1993-94), among others during his tenure at JNU.
He had been a Visiting Fellow at Columbia University, New York; the University of California, Berkeley; the Australian National University, Canberra; Tokyo University; and in 2003-2006, he was a Visiting Professor at the Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan; Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation, Tokyo.
In 2001, the Japanese government conferred on him the Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation Award for his contribution to closer understanding between India and Japan.
In his condolence message on social media, Amitabh Mattoo, also an academic and scholar, said, "A doyen of Japanese studies, Prof KV Kesavan, passes away. Scholar, teacher, institution builder, Prof Kesavan (together with Prof PAN Murthy built Japanese studies at SIS/JNU). Later, with @orfonline. . A great loss to the Academy."
ORF colleagues of Prof Kesavan in their message said, "All at ORFONLINE mourn the loss of their dear colleague Prof KV Kesavan, who led our Japan and East Asian Studies program over the last ten years. RIP Prof Kesavan and let your scholarship, gentility and humility continue to inspire the colleagues you leave behind."
