‘Intifada’: Kerala University authority tells student union to change name of its youth festival

Authorities of an Indian college have requested the student union not to name its annual youth festival ‘Intifada’ because the Arabic phrase stands for Palestinian rebellion in opposition to Israeli occupation.

University of Kerala Vice Chancellor Dr Mohanan Kunnummal requested the union to take away the phrase from all promotional supplies together with the posters and social media handles.

After the objection raised by the authorities, the festival was renamed as Kerala University Youth Festival.

The college authority objected after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student’s wing of Indian PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, complained in regards to the name of the festival.

The group additionally petitioned the Governor Arif Mohammed Khan over the difficulty.

The Governor can also be the Chancellor of the University.

The student union within the college is at present managed by the CPM’s Students Federation of India (SFI).

A emblem of the occasion, which is scheduled to be held from Mar 7 to 11, was unveiled not too long ago.

The Vice Chancellor directed the college’s registrar, the scholars union and the college’s division of college students companies to guarantee compliance with the directive, and warned that failure in implementing the directive can be seen severely, reported The Indian Express.

“The festival just isn’t a spot for any protest. The college students union had dedicated a mistake by selecting a phrase, which has connotations that would have an effect on many among the many college students and the general public. The platform of the youth festival can’t be permitted to be made a stage to propagate any kind of ideology. The phrase ‘Intifada’ has direct hyperlinks with the Palestine-Israel concern. The identical can have implications on the nation’s international coverage as properly,” he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.