Whistleblower group urges Kerala universities to shun ‘Partition Horrors’ events, warns of divisive fallout
The Raj Bhavan has asked universities to stage public exhibitions, plays and outreach programmes depicting the tragedies of Partition.
The Raj Bhavan has asked universities to stage public exhibitions, plays and outreach programmes depicting the tragedies of Partition.
The Raj Bhavan has asked universities to stage public exhibitions, plays and outreach programmes depicting the tragedies of Partition.
Thiruvananthapuram: The Save University Campaign Committee (SUCC), a whistleblower group, has urged vice-chancellors across Kerala to refrain from holding events for 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day' on August 14, warning that they could disrupt the state’s hard-won tradition of communal harmony.
In a letter on Tuesday, SUCC chairman R S Sasikumar wrote to the heads of all 14 state universities — the University of Kerala, University of Calicut, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kannur University, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS), APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU), Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology, and Sreenarayanaguru Open University.
The committee, known for exposing financial irregularities and political favouritism in appointments, acknowledged the historical significance of Partition but emphasised Kerala's "unique socio-political sensitivities".
"Our state has nurtured a proud legacy of communal harmony, interfaith cooperation and peaceful coexistence, values that are integral to our universities and vital to the social fabric of our state," Sasikumar wrote.
He warned that activities such as public exhibitions or dramatic re-enactments of Partition, however well-intentioned, risked being misinterpreted or exploited and could sow divisions among students and in society at large.
The Raj Bhavan has asked universities to stage public exhibitions, plays and outreach programmes depicting the tragedies of Partition. But SUCC urged vice-chancellors, as "custodians of academic spaces", to keep campuses as "havens of intellectual freedom, mutual respect and social cohesion" and instead focus on events promoting unity, peace and shared national pride. "We must remember history with dignity, but without rekindling the divisions of the past," the letter said, adding that steering clear of the proposed observances would help safeguard the harmony of Kerala's institutions and society.