Kerala government orders probe after students sing RSS song on Vande Bharat

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Sunday ordered an inquiry into school students singing an RSS song onboard the newly inaugurated Ernakulam–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, a move that has reignited debates on secularism, education, and the creeping politicisation of public events.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty directed the Director of Public Instructions (DPI) to conduct a probe and submit a report. In a statement, Sivankutty said the government viewed the incident with “utmost seriousness,” describing the use of children to advance any group’s agenda as a violation of constitutional principles.

“The DPI has been directed to conduct an immediate inquiry and submit a report,” he said. “The probe will examine whether there was any lapse in involving students in the official event. Appropriate action will follow.”

The incident, captured in a video that briefly appeared on the Southern Railway’s X handle before being deleted, showed students of Saraswathi Vidyanikethan Public School in Elamakkara singing a Malayalam song associated with the RSS. The video’s removal triggered a political storm, with the Left and Congress accusing the BJP and its affiliates of “communalising” a government function.

While the state government framed the episode as an attempt to blur the constitutional separation between religion and governance, Union ministers dismissed the controversy as misplaced outrage.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi described the act as “an innocent celebration by children.” “They felt like singing that song at the moment, and they did so. Anyway, it’s not an extremist song,” he said in Thrissur.

Saraswathi Vidyanikethan principal Dinto K P said the song was not directed by the Southern Railway and called it “a patriotic Malayalam song that speaks of unity in diversity.”

CPI M politburo member M A Baby termed the event “a challenge to democracy”, while Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan alleged it was “yet another example of the BJP’s attempt to communalise Kerala.”

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the act, saying that including an RSS song, linked to an organisation accused of fostering communal divisions, in an official programme violated constitutional values.

The Southern Railway, after deleting the video amid criticism, reposted it on Sunday evening, describing the piece as the school’s own composition. “The students of Saraswathi Vidyalaya beautifully performed their school song during the inaugural run of the Ernakulam–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express,” the caption read.