Railways event, RSS song, and a political firestorm in Kerala

Twenty students and two teachers from Saraswathi Vidyanikethan Public School, Kochi, were among those who joined the inaugural run of the train, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off virtually. Their signing of the Gana Geetham was shared by the Southern Railway on its social media handles. Following a controversy, the Railways removed the video from its handles.

Saraswathi Vidyanikethan Public School principal K P Dinto said the Railways had no role in the song. “A TV channel crew approached the students with a request to sing a song. When they started singing Vande Mataram, the crew wanted the children to sing a Malayalam song. Hence, they immediately sang the Gana Geetham, which is a celebration of unity in diversity. The controversy was meant only to insult the students. The song was not against nationalism. Railways did not ask the student to sing it,” he claimed. The CBSE-affiliated school comes under Bharatheeya Vidyanikethan, which is the Kerala chapter of Vidya Bharathi, an education wing of the RSS.

But his comments did little to blunt the political firestorm.

“It is highly objectionable that the students were made to sing RSS Gana Geetham during the inaugural run of the Vande Bharat service. Inclusion of the song of RSS, which always spreads religious hatred and divisive politics, in a government program is a violation of constitutional principles,” Vijayan said.

“By sharing the song on social media as a patriotic song, the Southern Railways has insulted the national movement,” he said. “The Railways, which had served as a cornerstone of nationalism during the freedom struggle, are now supporting the communal agenda of RSS, which had betrayed the freedom struggle.”

Satheesan said the Railways’ use of children for the Sangh Parivar’s campaign was illegal and undemocratic. “The Union Government is using the Railways for communal propaganda just like it has been politically using constitutional bodies like the Election Commission. The inaugural run of the train witnessed the narrow politics of Sangh Parivar to divide people on the basis of religion and caste,” he said.