Student Protest Forces RSS-Backed Seminar to Halt at Central University of Kerala

Kasaragod: Student protests continued on Wednesday, the second day of an RSS-backed seminar organised at the Central University of Kerala in Kasaragod as part of the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. The seminar was subsequently halted, with the session scheduled from 12.15 pm to 1.30 pm unable to be completed.

The protest broke out while university proctor P Sreekumar, described by students as a staunch Sangh Parivar supporter, was presenting his paper. Students raised their shoes and shouted “RSS Go Back” slogans. Sreekumar is also a professor in the university's Department of Linguistics.

Students alleged that Sreekumar was responsible for implementing saffronisation agendas at the university. They said he was not fit to continue as proctor and demanded his resignation. There had been allegations that the national seminar organised under the leadership of the School of Languages and Comparative Literature was turned into a Sangh Parivar event under his leadership.

Students were also angered by the alleged decision to allow only ABVP members inside the venue and deny entry to students who had registered to participate in the seminar. They had also demanded a public apology from the proctor and others over the police assault on students during protests the previous day.

SFI office-bearers had already stated on Tuesday that Sreekumar would not be allowed to present his paper on the concluding day of the seminar.