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{{Use Indian English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mitraniketan K. Viswanathan
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1928|02|08}}
| birth_place = [[Vellanad]], [[Thiruvananthapuram]], [[Kerala]], India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2014|4|28|1928|2|8}}
| yearsactive =
| death_place = [[Thiruvananthapuram]]
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername =
| occupation = [[Social reformer]], [[Philanthropist]], [[Environmentalist]]
| spouse = Sethulaxmi
| domesticpartner =
| children = Asha, Chithra, Beena
| parents = R. Krishna Panickar G. Karthyayani
| website =
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] K. P. Goenka Award for Environment Platinum Jubilee Endowment Trust Award [[Jamnalal Bajaj Award]] [[Rabindra Puraskar]] [[Henry Dunant]] [[Red Cross]] Award
}}
'''Mitraniketan K. Viswanathan''' (8 February 1928 – 28 April 2014) was a social reformer, philanthropist and environmentalist in Kerala, India. He founded [[Mitraniketan]], a [[non governmental organization]] in Vellanadu, Thiruvananthapuram in 1956.

==Biography==
Viswanathan was born on 8 February 1928 in [[Vellanad]], Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala, India.

He did his schooling in Thiruvananthapuram and joined [[Visva-Bharati University]], founded by [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and completed ''Siksha Bhavana'' in 1953. Later he continued his studies in the US, the UK and in Scandinavia. During his days in the US, he came in touch with [[Arthur Ernest Morgan|Arthur E. Morgan]] which helped him shape his later years.<ref name="santhigram1">{{cite web |url=http://santhigram.org/mitraniketan-viswanathan-passed-away/biodata-of-k-viswanathan-2/ |title=Blog Archive » BIODATA of K. Viswanathan |publisher=Santhigram |access-date=2014-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502000018/http://santhigram.org/mitraniketan-viswanathan-passed-away/biodata-of-k-viswanathan-2/ |archive-date=2 May 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

On his return to India, he founded [[Mitraniketan]], The Home of Friends, in 1955, which works in the fields of innovation, training and extension in community development, environment, science, education and appropriate technology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/Mitraniketan-Viswanathan-Passes-Away/2014/04/29/article2195551.ece |title=Mitraniketan Viswanathan Passes Away |publisher=The New Indian Express |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> The organisation has since grown to cover 60 acres of land housing ''Mitraniketan People's College'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ngopost.org/story/mitraniketan-peoples-college |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-05-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529103635/http://ngopost.org/story/mitraniketan-peoples-college |archive-date=29 May 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), a training centre for women, a fully equipped bakery, pottery centre, and a technology transfer programme.<ref name="thehindu1">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/mitraniketan-vishwanathan-dead/article5957130.ece |title='Mitraniketan' Vishwanathan dead |work=The Hindu |date=2014-04-27 |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref>

He was the patron of Kerala Voluntary Action League (KAVAL), a network of Non Governmental organizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://santhigram.org/mitraniketan-viswanathan-passed-away/ |title=Blog Archive » Mitraniketan Viswanathan Passed away |publisher=Santhigram |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> Further, he chaired many organisations and attended conferences in India and abroad<ref name="santhigram1"/> and served as a member of many government boards.

Viswanathan inspired many with his Gandhi-like commitment to simplicity and the poor. Daniele Giovannucci, who went on to found the [[Committee on Sustainability Assessment]] (COSA) worked there in 1990-91 with Professor Will Alexander as they explored the paradox of extraordinary levels of human development despite high levels of poverty. The Mitraniketan experience pointed Giovannucci and Alexander and the dozens of researchers they assembled there to insights about development decoupled from economics to rely on universal education and literacy, relative gender equality in a formerly matrilineal society, and collaborative use of simple yet effective technologies. This enigma emerged originally in the work of scientists Richard Franke and Barbara Chasin who began researching the region in the late 1980s (see, for example, Radical Reform As Development in an Indian State) and was highlighted in a short article by Bill McKibben.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.utne.com/community/theenigmaofkerala|title=The Enigma of Kerala}}</ref>

He died on 28 April 2014 due to heart related problems at a private clinic in Thiruvananthapuram.<ref name="thehindu1"/>

==Awards==
He was a winner of many awards and fellowships, including Platinum Jubilee Endowment Trust Award by Indian Merchants Chamber, K P Goenka Award for Environment by Asian Cables Foundation and The Jamnalal Bajaj Award for application of science and technology in rural areas. He was awarded [[Padmashri]] by Government of India in 2009.<ref name="santhigram1"/>

* [[Padmashri]] by [[Government of India]] - 2009<ref>[[Padma Shri Awards (2000–2009)]]</ref>
* Sevanaratnam Award – 2002
* Best Krishi Vigyan Kendra Award - 1998-99
* Arch Bishop Mar Gregorious Memorial Award - 1997
* M. K. K. Nair Award for Excellence in Social Work - 1997
* Chellayyan Nadar Award for Excellence in Social Work - 1996
* TRASS Award by Trivandrum Social Service Society for Excellence in Social Work - 1994
* [[Jamnalal Bajaj Award]] for application of Science and Technology in rural areas - 1992<ref>[[Jamnalal Bajaj Award#List of awardees]]</ref>
* Ratindra Puraskar by [[Visva-Bharati University]] for contributions to rural development through the application of Science- 1991
* K. P. Goenka Award for Environment by Asian Cables Foundation - 1987
* Platinum Jubilee Endowment Trust Award by [[Indian Merchants' Chamber]] - 1986
* Sahodaran Sevaretna Puraskar
* [[Henry Dunant]] [[Red Cross]] Award

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.mitraniketan.org Mitraniketan Web Site]
* [http://www.mitrakvk.org Krishi Vigyan Kendra Web Site]
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110719123704/http://www.folkehojskoler.dk/the-danish-folk-high-school
* [http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/school-of-thought/article5117859.ece Report on The Hindu]
* {{YouTube|V9vWViTFF6Y|Interview}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Social Work}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}
{{Jamnalal Bajaj Award winners}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viswanathan, K.}}
[[Category:People from Thiruvananthapuram district]]
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Indian environmentalists]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]]
[[Category:Social workers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:Social workers from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian philanthropists]]

Mitraniketan Viswanathan - Revision history