Synopsis: Organised by an RSS affiliate and attended by the organisation’s chief Mohan Bhagwat, vice-chancellors from Kerala, and education ministers from BJP-ruled states, a four-day education conclave in Kochi has become the latest flashpoint in the opposition to the National Education Policy in Kerala. The participation of Governor Rajendra Arlekar and state university vice-chancellors has triggered backlash, with the CPI(M) and SFI warning that such involvement threatens academic autonomy and the secular fabric of higher education.
At first glance, the National Education Summit – a four-day education conclave currently underway in Kalady, near Kochi in Kerala – appears like any other, except for its guest list.
It features vice chancellors from nearly 200 universities, directors of various educational institutions, and education ministers from Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Puducherry – all BJP-ruled states and a Union Territory. However, the most significant guest of them all is Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat.
Organised by the Shiksha Samskriti Utthan Nyas, an affiliate of the RSS, the education conclave has become an ideological flashpoint in a state that has long been one of the fiercest critics of the RSS and its political arm, the BJP, especially over education policies such as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Though framed by organisers as a platform for inclusive national dialogue, the event has made no attempt to disguise its ideological leanings. Bhagwat, who led a major public gathering on Saturday, 27 July under the banner of Jnansabha, called for a fundamental shift in India’s education system, one grounded in the “Bharatiya worldview.”
“Our education system was once moulded under colonial influence. It is time we actively develop a framework that resonates with our own heritage and values,” he said.
Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar, widely seen as an old RSS hand, is also attending the event. Since he arrived in the state earlier this year, Arlekar has already engaged in several ideological clashes with the ruling CPI(M).
Also present at the function were four vice chancellors from the state – from Kerala University, Kannur University, Calicut University, and Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) – all nominated by the Governor.
This story was originally published in thesouthfirst.com. Read the full story here.
