Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP-a right students’ wing) protesters on Tuesday burnt copies of the college magazine that was brought out by students of the Thunchath Ezhuthachan College at Elavancheri in Palakkad, invoking strong protests from Students Federation of India (SFI -a leftist students’ wing) activists.
The magazine ‘Kadalaas’ -ABVP workers alleged- seemed more like a leftist booklet rather than a college journal, as it had no space for any alternative viewpoints. SFI workers on the other hand, accused the ABVP of intolerance, who they say, were irked by the display of photographs of rationalists MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare as well as the ‘Azaadi’ slogan that found a mention in the magazine.
Representatives of the predominantly leftist College Union lodged a complaint against ABVP in this regard at the Kollamcode police station, saying that the magazine’s editorial team too was threatened by ABVP supporters. The Left students’ union also organized a protest that was inaugurated by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi secretary Radhakrishnan Nair.
ABVP workers defended their ‘burning’ protest against the wholly leftist contents of the college magazine which carried no articles that spoke about an alternative to the Left.