The birth centenary celebrations of eminent educationist Professor M P Varghese will begin on Wednesday. The centenary celebrations will begin with a commemorative function at the Baselios Paulose Indoor Stadium, Kothamangalam.

The event is organised by the Mar Athanasius College Association. Prof. Varghese was the founder secretary of the association.

Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the function and deliver the commemorative address. Mar Athanasius College Association chairman H. G. Dr Mathews Mar Aphrem will chair the meet. Former MP Pannian Raveendran, former UGC vice chairman Dr V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Dean Kuriakose, MP, and Antony John, MLA, will deliver memorial speeches.

A great scholar and administrator, Prof. Varghese was elected an MLA in 1952. The next year, he became the founder secretary of the Mar Athanasius College Association which established the Mar Athanasius College, Kothamangalam, in 1955 and a group of institutions in the next few decades.

Prof. Varghese served as the principal of the college from 1963 to 1982. He was also an author and a committed social worker. He was at the forefront of a fight against the move to locate a nuclear power plant at Bhoothathankettu in 1980. His interventions played an important role in prompting the Kerala government to form a policy in favour of establishing more private and self-financing colleges in the state. A recipient of several honours and awards, Prof. Varghese died in 2011.