Kalady- Sixteen students, including six research scholars, have been suspended from Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University (SSUS) in Kalady, Kerala, following a dramatic protest staged by the Theatre Department against damaged lighting facilities on campus. The Students' Federation of India (SFI) has condemned the suspensions as a "witch-hunt" and called for solidarity protests in universities across India.

According to SFI President Adarsh M Saji and General Secretary Srijan Bhattacharyya, the suspensions were ordered by temporary Vice-Chancellor Sisa Thomas, whom the student organisation describes as a "known appointee of the Sangh Parivar." The SFI alleges that the action was based on "unproven and fabricated allegations" and that the administration targeted some of the university's most academically and culturally accomplished students.

The controversy began with protests within the campus demanding proper infrastructural facilities. As part of these protests, students of the Theatre Department organised a dramatic performance against the damaged lighting facilities in their department. The performance was staged around the theme of a "funeral of streetlights," portraying a damaged streetlight as a dead body. Visuals of the performance were widely circulated.

The SFI alleges that temporary VC Sisa Thomas deliberately misrepresented the students' creative expression as an attempt to organise a funeral for her. Consequently, students were suspended and false cases were filed against them.

The SFI also criticised Higher Education Minister Roji M. John for coming out in support of the Vice-Chancellor and describing the students' creative protest as "primitive." The organisation noted that the university is situated within the minister's constituency and that John was formerly the national president of the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI).

According to the SFI, the state police, acting under the direction of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government, began pursuing those targeted by the VC and arrested several students. The SFI described this as "a deliberate political conspiracy by a Sangh Parivar-backed administration, with the support of the Congress-led state government, to crush student resistance."

The SFI further alleged that students at Maharaja's College in Ernakulam were also suspended after they peacefully raised questions to Minister Roji M. John about the SSUS incident during a programme he attended on the college campus.

"We would like to remind the Sangh Parivar-appointed temporary VC and the UDF government in the state, which is behaving like the puppet of the Sangh Parivar, that the students will not bow down to their intimidation tactics," the SFI statement said. "The struggle for better educational facilities and the fight against communal forces will continue inside all the campuses."

The SFI has demanded the immediate revocation of the suspension of all students and the withdrawal of temporary VC Sisa Thomas, whom it described as "an agent of the Sangh Parivar." The organisation called upon progressive students, democratic forces, and the public to unite against what it termed "this brazen attack on student rights," and announced plans to hold solidarity protests in all universities across India.