The Kerala University campus on Tuesday turned into a hotspot of protest as activists of the Student’s Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI-M, demonstrated against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who arrived to inaugurate a three-day seminar organized by the Sanskrit Department of the university.

In a major security lapse, SFI workers stormed the Kerala University campus while Kerala Governor Khan was attending a seminar at the Senate Hall.

Advertisement

Shortly after Governor Khan arrived at the Senate Hall at the university campus at Palayam in Thiruvananthapuram, around 11.30 am, SFI activists, led by its state president K Anusree, forcibly entered the campus by breaking open the locked main gate.

They staged a sit-in protest inside the university campus while Governor Khan was participating in the seminar. The security breach was particularly concerning as Kerala Raj Bhavan had previously raised alarms about similar incidents at events involving the Governor.

Despite the police’s efforts to disperse the protesters using water cannons and other means, the activists continued their protests. As attempts to forcibly remove the protesters failed, the police had retreated to prevent further escalation.

Later, the protesters left the campus on their own, chanting slogans against both the Governor and the Vice-Chancellor, accusing them of attempting to saffronise the university.

The SFI activists were protesting against the Governor’s decision to appoint Vice Chancellors in the universities in the state on his own.

The Governor, who also serves as the Chancellor of Kerala’s universities, on Tuesday, inaugurated the international Sanskrit seminar at the university’s Palayam campus.

The seminar, titled “Global Issues and the Sanskrit Knowledge System,” is being organized by the university’s Sanskrit Department and will span three days.

Dr Mohanan Kunnummal, Vice Chancellor of Kerala University, presided over the inaugural event.

Dr Rani Sadasiva Murthy, Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara Vedic University in Tirupati; Dr Sachchidananda Mishra, Member Secretary of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR); and Dr KK Geethakumary, Vice Chancellor of Kalady Sanskrit University were among the prominent participants in the seminar.

Left-backed Syndicate members to boycotted the event. Earlier in 2023, the SFI had said that Governor Khan would not be allowed to enter any university in the state if he went ahead with the plan to saffronise universities.