A Man for All Seasons: The Life of K.M. Panikkar is the new book by the author Narayani Basu. It documents the life and times of one of modern India’s most fascinating characters. Panikkar defies simple description. He was a journalist who founded the Hindustan Times; a bureaucrat who advised India’s princely states; a poet, a philosopher, and an international relations scholar. He served as India’s ambassador to China and to Egypt. And he helped develop a critical plan to reorganize India’s states on linguistic lines. 

Basu’s book brings Panikkar out of the shadows and, in so doing, sheds as much light on this enigmatic figure as it does on India’s quest to find its place in the world.

Basu is the bestselling author of V.P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India and Allegiance: Azaadi & the End of Empire. She is a historian and foreign policy analyst, who specializes in spotlighting lesser known—but nevertheless key players—in the story of Indian independence.

She joins Milan on the podcast this week to discuss the incredible personal and professional journey of K.M. Panikkar. They discuss his family circumstances, his surprising path to Oxford and his formative years in Paris, his prolific writings, and his lifelong relationships with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Plus, the two discuss his intimate relations with India’s princely states and his prescient vision of Indian federalism.

Episode notes:

1. Shubhangi Misra, “KM Panikkar was a scapegoat. It was easier to blame him for China than Nehru,” ThePrint, August 1, 2025.

2. Narayani Basu, “How K.M. Panikkar became India’s first ambassador to China,” Mint Lounge, July 13, 2025.

3. “Jairam Ramesh on the Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon,” Grand Tamasha, March 24, 2021.