The mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri over allegations of cow slaughter has created ripples all the way in Kerala, where college students are clashing with right-wing groups over beef politics.
The poor man’s meat became a rallying point for progressive groups after Sree Kerala Varma College in Thrissur suspended six students of the Students Federation of India for organising a beef festival on campus on October 1. The students were further angered when, acting on complaints from the right-wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad, the college initiated an investigation against TS Deepa Nisanth, a Malayalam professor who supported the beef festival on social media and likened the college’s position against beef to the conservative norms of a temple.
The action against the students and Nisanth has now fuelled protests across the state’s colleges. On Wednesday, the SFI – the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – organised a beef festival at CMS College, Kottayam, leading to clashes with ABVP activists. Ten students have been suspended. Another festival at SN College in Vatakara, Kozhikode, also turned violent after ABVP activists opposed it. Several students were injured.
Meanwhile, several cultural organisations in Thrissur plan to meet on Thursday to protest Sree Kerala Varma College’s targeting of Deepa Nisanth.
What Deepa Nisanth said
In a now-deleted Facebook post protesting her college’s clampdown on the students’ beef festival, Nisanth, an assistant professor in the Malayalam department, pointed out that the authorities seemed to be treating the college like a temple. “The education institutions should not follow the religious rules of the temple," said her post in Malayalam. "Today they say no to beef equating colleges to temples, tomorrow they will ban the entry of menstruating women and even the backward classes, stating the same reason."
Sree Kerala Varma College is run by the Devaswom trust, a body that also runs the Sabarimala temple, which famously does not allow entry to menstruating women. The college also happens to have an Ayyappa temple within the campus, which the administration stated as a reason for banning the beef festival last week.
“Since its inception in 1947, the college has been keeping non-vegetarian items off the college campus,” said CM Latha, principal of the college. "We do not serve non-vegetarian dishes even for official functions. So, the management felt that it was not fair on the part of the students to distribute beef within the campus."
The college management has ordered an inquiry against TS Deepa Nisanth, Assistant Professor of Malayalam, saying she had supported the beef festival organised by the SFI. “The college is threatening to sack the professor if it is found that she helped organise the festival,” said Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association.
Threats and support
Meanwhile, Nisanth has been receiving threats and abusive social media comments from right-wing activists, but claims she will not be cowed down by them. She has also received overwhelming support from students and other social media users – she now has more than 60,000 Facebook followers.
“I never realised that the social media is so powerful," she said. "I have realised the strength of the new media following this controversy. I am encouraged by the huge support I have got in the social media.”
Kerala’s state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, has been silent on the issue of beef consumption and bans. State BJP president V Muralidharan said that the party had so far not taken a stand on cow slaughter in Kerala.
As of now, cow slaughter is not banned in Kerala because beef is a favoured food item that is cheap. “Beef is a popular dish across communities in Kerala – it is a part of many people’s regular diet,” said Kavita Krishnan.
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The poor man’s meat became a rallying point for progressive groups after Sree Kerala Varma College in Thrissur suspended six students of the Students Federation of India for organising a beef festival on campus on October 1. The students were further angered when, acting on complaints from the right-wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad, the college initiated an investigation against TS Deepa Nisanth, a Malayalam professor who supported the beef festival on social media and likened the college’s position against beef to the conservative norms of a temple.
The action against the students and Nisanth has now fuelled protests across the state’s colleges. On Wednesday, the SFI – the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – organised a beef festival at CMS College, Kottayam, leading to clashes with ABVP activists. Ten students have been suspended. Another festival at SN College in Vatakara, Kozhikode, also turned violent after ABVP activists opposed it. Several students were injured.
Meanwhile, several cultural organisations in Thrissur plan to meet on Thursday to protest Sree Kerala Varma College’s targeting of Deepa Nisanth.
What Deepa Nisanth said
In a now-deleted Facebook post protesting her college’s clampdown on the students’ beef festival, Nisanth, an assistant professor in the Malayalam department, pointed out that the authorities seemed to be treating the college like a temple. “The education institutions should not follow the religious rules of the temple," said her post in Malayalam. "Today they say no to beef equating colleges to temples, tomorrow they will ban the entry of menstruating women and even the backward classes, stating the same reason."
Sree Kerala Varma College is run by the Devaswom trust, a body that also runs the Sabarimala temple, which famously does not allow entry to menstruating women. The college also happens to have an Ayyappa temple within the campus, which the administration stated as a reason for banning the beef festival last week.
“Since its inception in 1947, the college has been keeping non-vegetarian items off the college campus,” said CM Latha, principal of the college. "We do not serve non-vegetarian dishes even for official functions. So, the management felt that it was not fair on the part of the students to distribute beef within the campus."
The college management has ordered an inquiry against TS Deepa Nisanth, Assistant Professor of Malayalam, saying she had supported the beef festival organised by the SFI. “The college is threatening to sack the professor if it is found that she helped organise the festival,” said Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association.
Threats and support
Meanwhile, Nisanth has been receiving threats and abusive social media comments from right-wing activists, but claims she will not be cowed down by them. She has also received overwhelming support from students and other social media users – she now has more than 60,000 Facebook followers.
“I never realised that the social media is so powerful," she said. "I have realised the strength of the new media following this controversy. I am encouraged by the huge support I have got in the social media.”
Kerala’s state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, has been silent on the issue of beef consumption and bans. State BJP president V Muralidharan said that the party had so far not taken a stand on cow slaughter in Kerala.
As of now, cow slaughter is not banned in Kerala because beef is a favoured food item that is cheap. “Beef is a popular dish across communities in Kerala – it is a part of many people’s regular diet,” said Kavita Krishnan.