Kasaragod: General Education Minister V Sivankutty has directed a senior official to investigate the halting of a mime show on Palestine during the school arts festival at Kumbala Government Higher Secondary School on Friday. The Director of General Education has been instructed to investigate the matter urgently and submit a report.

“It is understood that the action was taken because the mime addressed the issue of Palestine. One thing is clear: Kerala has always stood against the atrocities committed by Israel. Kerala stands in solidarity with the children being targeted in Palestine.

Who has the authority to stop a mime on the Palestine issue? I would like to emphasise that students at Kumbala School will be given the opportunity to perform the same mime on stage,” Sivankutty said in a Facebook post.

The decision to stop the mime show sparked protests on Saturday, with student organisations MSF and SFI staging demonstrations at the school. Police said the mime performance was stopped by two teachers, who asked the students to halt the show and pulled down the stage curtains. The move drew sharp criticism, prompting the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to convene a meeting.

Activists from the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), the student wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), entered the meeting demanding action against the teachers. SFI cadres also staged a protest at the school. Police later removed the protesters and deployed personnel on campus to prevent any untoward incident. Officials said the PTA is working to resume the arts festival and resolve the issues.