Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu on Monday slammed the participation of some university Vice Chancellors in the “Gyan Sabha” organised by an RSS-affiliated organisation in Kochi, describing it as a "disturbing alignment" with forces working against the state’s progressive academic tradition.

In a strongly worded statement, Bindu criticised the Sangh Parivar, accusing it of being opposed to modern and inclusive systems of higher education. She emphasised that any attempts to impose ideological influence on universities must be firmly countered.

Her remarks followed the presence of Vice Chancellors from four Kerala universities — reportedly including one appointed by the Left government — at the national education event “Gyan Sabha” in Kochi on Sunday. The event was conducted by the Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas and inaugurated by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

“A modern higher education system that aligns with the needs of today’s world is intolerable to the Sangh Parivar,” Bindu alleged. “The so-called ‘Gyan Sabha’ is part of a larger, deeply regressive effort to turn Kerala’s knowledge-driven society back towards Brahminical domination. To ignore this agenda is to deny history itself,” she said.

She criticised the Vice Chancellors who participated, stating that their presence gave undue legitimacy to what she described as an “anti-knowledge campaign” that undermines academic independence and free thinking.

“It may be a matter of pride for the RSS that the minds of some Vice Chancellors — who are supposed to lead knowledge creation — have been turned into stables of anti-intellectualism. But for Kerala, it is a matter of deep shame,” she added.

The Minister further warned that Kerala would not allow its inclusive education system to be turned into an ideological platform for building a Hindu Rashtra. “For having colluded in chaining academic freedom and independent thought to the saffron stable, these Vice Chancellors will have to hang their heads in shame before the academic community for a long time to come,” she said.

Calling for collective resistance, Bindu said, “The youth and the academic community will expose the Sangh Parivar’s dangerous delusion that a crude army of ignorance can be built in Kerala. Enlightened by the true knowledge imparted by genuine teachers, the people of Kerala will cast into the dustbin the Sangh Parivar’s schemes that treat the darkness of ignorance as something to be celebrated.”
(With PTI Inputs)