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Beef row moves to Kerala

The raging protests against the lynching of a man in Uttar Pradesh over rumours of eating beef have fuelled a confrontation between Hindutva outfits and secular forces in the southern Indian state Kerala.

A clash erupted at Sree Kerala Varma College at Trichur when activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Morcha (ABVP), the student wing of Bharatiya Janata Party, tried to prevent a 'beef festival' organised by pro-Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) Students Federation of India (SFI) inside the college campus.

The issue assumed serious dimension after the college management suspended six students and ordered an inquiry against a college teacher, who made a comment on the issue in her Facebook page. The Cochin Devaswom Board, which controls the college, initiated the action on the basis of the complaints received from the ABVP leaders.

The issue has snowballed into a confrontation with several teachers' bodies and cultural organizations rallying behind the suspended students and the teacher. Leaders of some of these organizations have threatened to launch an agitation if the college authorities did not withdraw the action.

College Principal, C M Latha, justified the action against the students saying that they had distributed beef in the college campus in violation of the custom followed by the college. She said that the college since its inception in 1947 has been sticking to vegetarian dishes.

The college does not serve non-vegetarian dishes even during official functions; Latha said adding that she had warned SFI activists not to break the custom of the institution.

news@khaleejtimes.com

• India