Savarkar quiz row: Kerala Eduation Minister orders probe, strict action

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala General Education Minister N. Shamsudheen on Saturday directed the Director of General Education to conduct an inquiry and initiate stringent action against those responsible for including a controversial question portraying V.D. Savarkar as a freedom fighter in a student quiz in Kasaragod.

Clarifying that the quiz was not an event included in the official activity calendar of either the Social Science Club or the Education Department, the Minister directed officials to identify those responsible and take appropriate action.

The controversial question appeared in the tie-breaker section of the question paper, which was required only in Kumbla and Manjeshwar, while schools under the Kasaragod education district did not use that section.

The question asked students to identify the freedom fighter who had received the longest punishment from the British, with Savarkar given as the answer.

The questions were not multiple-choice, requiring students to write down their answers.

The Education Department is also examining whether artificial intelligence (AI) was used to prepare the question paper.

A senior department official said the quiz was organised at the school level and not by the department.

The controversy has triggered a political confrontation, with Left student organisations accusing the Congress-led UDF government of allegedly aligning with the Sangh Parivar agenda.

The Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, alleged that the question sought to project Savarkar, a Hindutva ideologue and one of those accused in the conspiracy surrounding Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, as a freedom fighter.

The Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF) had lodged a complaint over the question, while the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) staged a march to the District Education Office demanding action.

The SFI leaders also targeted the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key UDF ally, alleging that the controversy exposed what they termed the IUML’s double standards on the Sangh Parivar.

With the Minister Shamsudheen now ordering a formal inquiry, the focus has shifted to who prepared and approved the disputed question paper and whether any disciplinary action will follow.

IANS