• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Kerala RSS Song Row: A controversy erupted after Kerala school students sang a rendition of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) "gana geetham" (anthem) during the launch of the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express on Saturday, prompting the state government to order an investigation. In response, the school principal defended the students, calling it a "patriotic song" and stating it was "not sung on the directives of the Southern Railway."

Backing the performance, Dinto K P, principal of Saraswathi Vidyanikethan Public School in Elamakkara, said the students chose to sing it as a Malayalam patriotic song.

He clarified that the Southern Railway did not instruct the children to sing it, and the decision was made by the students themselves, as per PTI.

The principal also acknowledged that the school had written to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Union Railway Minister after the Southern Railway removed the video from its official X account following the backlash.

"We don't know why did the state Education Minister has ordered a probe into the matter. We will think about going legal way if the General Education Department goes ahead with its action," he added.

ALSO READ: Delhi AQI Today: Air Quality Nears 'Severe' Mark In NCR, Hundreds Rally At India Gate For Clean Air | VIDEO

The children, who sang the song, are being subjected to cyber bullying and branded as "Sanghi kids" on social media platforms, the principal said.

Kerala Govt Orders Probe After Students Sing RSS Song On New Vande Bharat Train

The Kerala government on Sunday ordered a probe into the reported act of the Southern Railway making school students sing an RSS song onboard the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express from Ernakulam to Bengaluru.

The Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, criticised Southern Railway on Saturday for making students do so

Education Minister V. Sivankutty has directed the Director of Public Instructions (DPI) to launch a prompt inquiry and submit a detailed report on the incident.

In an official statement, the minister said that government is treating the matter with utmost seriousness.

"Including the anthem of an organisation known for its communal ideology and hate mongering in an official event is a blatant violation of constitutional principles. By sharing the video on its social media handles, the railway authorities have exposed how eminent national institutions are being subverted by Sangh Parivar politics," the Chief Minister wrote in a post on X.

Once a proud symbol of India's secular nationalism, the Railways, Vijayan said, is now "being used to sneak communal ideology into official functions."

He further called for "all secular and democratic forces must unite to resist this dangerous move."

Following criticism on social media platforms, the video was taken down before being shared again along with English translation.

ALSO READ: UP Student Dies After Setting Himself On Fire For Being Barred From Exam; Accuses Police, College In Suicide Note

However, Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Sunday justified the students singing the RSS song onboard the newly inaugurated train. It was part of the innocent celebration of children, he told reporters in Thrissur.

"They felt to sing that song at the moment, and they did so. Anyway, it's not an extremist song," the union minister of state for petroleum, natural gas, and tourism added.

 

Also In News