M.S. Krishnan (1924-2000), one of the illustrious sons of Karnataka was a popular public figure. He was an indefatigable leader of Trade Union movement for over four decades. He has left behind an enduring image of an essentially humble, compassionate, loving and trusted human being. An Engineer by training, he was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and thus plunged into Freedom movement even as a student during the Quit India Movement. A career thus started in the service of the nation, it was a lifetime mission for him to organize the Poor and the downtrodden and lead them to struggle against the very roots of exploitation and secure their own emancipation from poverty into the world of freedom and equality.
Teaching the weak and the oppressed to realize their Potential was central to his approach. Even as a student he campaigned for many constructive programmes, such as establishing self-help co-operative societies in aid of poor students, a commitment which he kept up throughout his life. One such act was the founding of Yeshwanthpur educational Trust, under which he built the popular Adarsha Girls High School. While communism was the ideology he embraced as the universal tool for social analysis and Political action, he was rooted steeply in the native soil. This gentleman born to aristocracy, sacrificed the comforts of a sheltered life and opted for privation, thus, identifying himself with the people whom he was serving. It was a life full of struggle, learning and application as is the won’t of an honest Communist. This often found himself on the wrong side of the law, and was in prison many a times.