Kerala University Vice Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal on Monday barred the varsity’s students union from naming its annual youth festival as ‘Intifada’, a term associated with the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The decision came after the vice chancellor received a complaint that the festival’ name was inappropriate as it was linked to the Palestine-Israel war. He had then ordered the registrar to conduct a probe in the matter.

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Notably, Ashish A S, a first-year BSc Chemistry student at NSS College (affiliated to Kerala University), had approached the Kerala High Court, seeking directions to change the name of the art festival.

A single bench of Justice P V Kunhikrishnan on Friday issued notice to the vice chancellor and the students body of the varsity, and adjourned the matter for Tuesday.

Ashish, in his petition, said the logo of the festival depicts the scarf of Palestine on the map of Israel. “The map of Israel is superimposed on the logo of the festival. The caption to the logo reads ‘the protest of arts against the invasion’,” he said.

“Intifada is an Arabic word which means ‘shake-off’. Palestinians use the term to mean civil uprising. The word was used by the Palestinians in the wake of violence that erupted in Gaza between Palestinians and the Israelis. The term ‘intifada’ is historically linked with the militant/terror groups like the Hamas of Palestine,” he said.

The petitioner further argued that the youth festival cannot be related to a riot or a war. “But Ext.P1 (name and logo of the festival) sets a different theme to the youth of the state. There is no place for politics or geopolitics in a youth festival. The Israel-Palestine conflict cannot be the point of discussion or the theme of creative expression,” he added.

“… The debates and discussions which have opened up in the college in the backdrop of the youth festival vary from terrorism to politics — global, national and state. The student body which is a mix of diverse students from various religious and political backgrounds is being rift into various groups, at this early stage in the youth festival announcement itself. This cannot lead to a conducive environment to foster goodwill amongst students of the University,” the petition added.