When historians pride themselves on affirming their political ideology, MGS Narayanan, who died at his home in Kozhikode on Saturday, stayed clear of any political affiliations in search of historical evidence. Known as the man who dissociated Kerala history from myths, he never allowed himself to be boxed in any classifications.

As a youngster, he had escorted EMS Nampoothiripad, who later became the first communist chief minister of Kerala, to safety in the dead of the night. During BT Randive's revolutionary period, he served as a guardian of banned communist publications.

However, he abandoned Marxism, as he was unwilling to see Marxism as an inviolable and sacred religion.
He evaluated Marxism as a theory with very little predictive power, which viewed Europe as the capital of all human experiences. He was also convinced that Marxist socialism and democracy would never coexist.

Although the Congress government at the Centre was the first to grant membership to the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), he never showed any interest in the 'dynastic rule' within the grand old party.

Later, the BJP government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee appointed him the ICHR chairperson likely due to his anti-communist sentiments. But MGS resigned when the government interfered with the council's decisions, violating its assurance of non-interference.

MGS did not do anything for personal gain, and he did not impose his answers on anyone. Had someone asked him if God existed, he would have answered neither yes nor no.

During a flight from Coimbatore to Chennai, the late actor Alumoodan was seated next to MGS. Mid-flight, the pilot announced that an engine had caught fire.

As passengers began calling out to God, Alumoodan turned to MGS, who was calmly observing others. "Why aren't you praying to God?"
"Oh, I have no one to call," MGS said. "In anyway, if the God everyone calls saves the plane, then I too would be saved," he contended. Fortunately, the plane landed safely without any incident. MGS would later say that if he has to believe in anything, it's in that good fortune.

MGS had the integrity to state his opinion without fear. Often, writers and researchers hesitate to intervene in social issues. However, MGS is not like that.

When the Mananchira-Vellimadukuṇṇu road development was indefinitely delayed, local residents decided to unite in protest. They chose MGS to lead the protest committee. Though he did not have much experience in protests, he identified it as an important issue that affected the community at large. He consented to their request without much hesitation.