Kerala quiz row on Savarkar: Education Minister orders probe, warns of strict action

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala General Education Minister N Shamsuddeen has ordered an inquiry into the controversial 'Freedom Quiz' conducted at schools in Kasaragod on Saturday.

The quiz was held on August 6 at schools under the Kasaragod, Kumbla and Manjeshwar sub-districts.

The event was not part of the official activity calendar of either the Education Department or the Social Science Club, a statement issued by the minister's office said.

It further added that neither the department nor the Social Science Club authorised anyone to independently prepare questions and conduct the quiz at the local level.

The controversy broke out after the quiz reportedly included questions that were historically inaccurate.

One of the widely circulated questions centred on V D Savarkar. The question was: “Who is the freedom fighter who received the most severe punishment from the British?” The answer given was Savarkar.

The question has drawn criticism from various corners, with the Students' Federation of India (SFI) accusing the V D Satheesan government of allowing Sangh Parivar propaganda to be promoted through an educational programme.

Against this backdrop, the minister has directed the Director of General Education to investigate who prepared the questions and organised the competition and take strict action against those responsible.

The minister’s office said the inclusion of historically inaccurate questions was unacceptable and called for the matter to be investigated. The controversy has surfaced at a time when the UDF government has been slammed over the PM-SHRI scheme.

While the government has insisted that it was the Pinarayi government that signed the MoU with the centre, the CPM has alleged that the government presses on with the PM-SHRI scheme as part of attempts to infuse the Sangh Parivar agenda.