About Us

DC Kizhakemuri Foundation

A multi-faceted individual and a teacher by profession, DC Kizhakemuri (14 January – 26 January 1999) was  a freedom fighter and a social activist, a prolific author, publisher and an entrepreneur. Perhaps it was his initial vocation that instilled an enduring commitment to the propagation of literacy, where he viewed the issue as the cornerstone of social elevation.

D.C. Kizhakemuri  served as the secretary of Kottayam Public Library from 1962. Seeking funds for the library’s expansion, he devised a lottery scheme to enable the construction of a five storeyed structure. This initiative was the progenitor of the socially beneficial and immensely popular Kerala government lotteries, the initial batch of tickets being printed on a machine donated by D.C.Kizhakemuri in 1967.

A founding member of the Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham (SPCS), DC Kizhakemuri was influential in convincing the then government of  Travancore and Cochin to abolish sales tax on books, an initiative that an inspired Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to emulate throughout India. He then spearheaded a movement advocating mass literacy that eventually resulted in Kottayam being declared 100 percent literate in 1989, India’s first entirely literate town. The society also helped authors with the business and publishing aspects of their craft, standardising royalty payments at a rate of 30-40% besides putting in place a system wherein they would receive advance payments for their manuscripts. As an author D.C.Kizhakemuri was prolific, writing regular columns for vernacular periodicals, working as a journalist and publishing an anthology of  his satirical political essays.

D.C.Kizhakemuri then turned entrepreneur, opening a book shop named National Book Stall in Kottayam in partnership with friends. In 1949, NBS ,which over the years had built an extensive retail network, merged with SPCS, heralding a refreshing chapter in Malayalam publishing and production, also emerging as Kerala’s largest publishing house. In 1974 D.C.Kizhakemuri bought the shares held by his partners in NBS and founded the publishing  house D.C.Books. The government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 1999.

The DC Kizhakemuri Foundation, established in his memory in 2001, with its headquarters in Kottayam, has played a prominent role in promoting art, education and culture in Kerala. The foundation annually awards educational scholarships to indigent students, enabling them to pursue their academic goals indifferent subjects. Since 2022 the foundation has instituted an annual award to the best rural libraries in Kerala, including those attached to shelters for women and juvenile delinquents, schools and an assortment of community initiatives, essentially, providing access to literature and promoting the reading habit across Kerala.

Stemming from the belief that art is a powerful medium for individual-expression and the collective voice of a  society, the DC Kizhekamuri Foundation actively promotes a wide range of cultural initiatives and events that showcase the rich cultural heritage of Kerala. Current Books and DC Books, established under the DC Kizhakemuri Foundation have, as publishers, shaped the literary landscape of Kerala. Annually, the foundation organises the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode, Asia’s largest, attracting over half a million footfalls.