On Cam: SFI Members Storm Kerala University Campus Protesting Governor’s 'Saffronisation' Push

Kerala police intervened as student activists attempted to storm into the campus and accuse Governor of politicising higher education institutions in Kerala.

Chanting slogans and waving red flags, the students pushed past security and gathered at the administrative block.

Source : X/@ANI

Tensions flared on Tuesday as activists of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) stormed the premises of Kerala University, staging a protest against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan over alleged attempts to saffronise university campuses across the state.

Chanting slogans and waving red flags, the students pushed past security and gathered at the administrative block, accusing the Governor—who also serves as Chancellor of state universities—of using his position to advance the BJP-RSS ideological agenda within Kerala’s academic institutions.

SFI Protests Against Governor

The protesters demanded the resignation of the Vice-Chancellors of both Kerala and Calicut universities, accusing them of ideological bias and alleged proximity to the Sangh Parivar. Police forces remained on high alert across affected campuses to prevent further unrest.

The backdrop to these protests is an ongoing power tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the Left-led state government. Controversy deepened after interim Vice-Chancellors appointed by the Chancellor took steps that, according to student and teacher unions aligned with the Left, reflect an ideological tilt, as per a report on PTI.

Kerala University, in particular, has witnessed escalating tensions since the start of the month, following the suspension of its Registrar by Vice-Chancellor Kunnummal.

#WATCH | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | SFI activists enter the premises of Kerala University as they protest against the Governor alleging saffronisation of universities pic.twitter.com/2JRTLouGys

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2025

 

Reacting to the incident, Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala said, "In the past 10 years, all the universities in Kerala have failed. Due to the dispute between the govt and the governor, exams are not being conducted on time, certificates are not being given, and there is no credibility. For this reason, we said that students are going abroad for their studies. In Kerala, there is a larger elderly population than youth..."