Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture (KANIC) was founded in 1958 with the aim of establishing an appropriate memorial for this great individual who was in the forefront of Kerala renaissance. Prof. Joseph Mundassery who was the Minister for Education during the EMS ministry and an eminent literary figure laid the foundation stone for this prestigious institute. R. Sankar, former Chief Minister of Kerala and also a great thinker, educationalist and social reformer, was the first president of the institute. The Kumaranasan memorial was inaugurated by R. Sankar. The first secretary was Kumaran Asan’s son Prabhakaran. Former Presidents of this institute include M.K. Kumaran, M. Divakaran, N.K. Damodaran, Dr. T.K. Raveendran, A.P. Udayabhanu, M.P. Appan, Dr. N.A. Karim, Dr. M.M. Basheer, Dr. M.R. Thampan and G.Balachandran. Presently the administration rests with a committee presided over by Dr. N. A Karim with M.A. Vaheed MLA as Vice President and Dr. P. Soman as Secretary.. M.P. Subash is the Director of this institute.

The Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture was founded with the aim to preserve India’s cultural heritage, familiarise the rest of the world with Indian cultural identity, to understand the various streams of culture in the world and to imbibe the favourable aspects of them on the basis of India’s own native culture. The Government of Kerala has proclaimed a plan for this purpose involving 180 acres of land costing around Rs. 35 crores.