ISRO Staffer Suspended Over Social Media Post on ‘Bharat Mata’; Confederation Protests in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: G. R. Pramod, a senior assistant at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the state general secretary of the Confederation of Central Government Employees, has been suspended following a social media post that was interpreted by right-wing media outlets as being critical of Bharat Mata (India is a mother land therefore depicted as a woman).

The suspension was issued on Friday evening, shortly after Pramod was transferred from ISRO’s Veli centre to the Valiyamala MVI office. The move comes in the wake of repeated coverage by Janam TV, a channel aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused Pramod of insulting national symbols through his post. ISRO authorities subsequently sought an explanation from him. In his response, Pramod maintained that the post did not violate any service rules or official conduct guidelines. Despite this, disciplinary action was initiated, leading to his suspension.

The Confederation condemned the decision as politically motivated and staged a protest in front of the General Post Office (GPO) in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. A march to the ISRO centre in Veli is planned for Monday at 8:15 AM. Addressing the protest, leaders of employee unions argued that the post had been misinterpreted and that the punishment reflects an increasingly ideological approach to employee conduct within public institutions.

The controversy arises against the backdrop of an ongoing political debate in Kerala over the use of an image of a woman carrying Sanghparivar's Saffron flag imagery in state functions. On June 19, Kerala’s General Education Minister V. Sivankutty walked out of Scouts and Guides event at the Raj Bhavan, objecting to the presence of a garlanded image of a woman with a saffron flag on the stage. Agriculture Minister P. Prasad had previously boycotted a World Environment Day event at the same venue for similar reasons.

Both ministers criticised the symbolic use of Bharat Mata—often depicted as a woman in saffron holding a flag—as being aligned with a particular ideological agenda. They argued that such imagery, increasingly associated with the Sangh Parivar, was inappropriate in officially hosted functions, especially in a constitutionally secular state like Kerala. The Raj Bhavan defended its actions, describing the image as a symbol of national pride and unity.

However, the visual portrayal of Bharat Mata promoted in these contexts carries specific cultural and political associations that are exclusionary in nature. What was once a poetic metaphor for the country has, over time, been recast as a saffron-clad figure closely identified with Hindutva narratives. The insistence on such symbolism, particularly in public institutions and events, has raised concerns over the politicisation of administrative spaces.

Pramod’s suspension is a part of a broader pattern in which expressions of dissent—or deviation from majoritarian narratives—are being increasingly penalised. The disciplinary action based on ideological interpretations undermines both institutional neutrality and freedom of expression.

The Confederation has demanded that the suspension be revoked immediately, and that central government agencies avoid taking punitive action based on political pressures or media campaigns. The organisation has also called on democratic institutions to protect the rights of employees to express opinions within constitutional limits.

While ISRO has not issued an official statement detailing the grounds for the suspension, the incident has sparked a wider debate on the role of ideological influence in the functioning of public sector bodies, and the limits of acceptable expression for government employees.