Students’ rendition of RSS song on board Vande Bharat in Kerala triggers row

The flag-off ceremony of the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express has led to a political controversy with the Southern Railway posting a video of a group of schoolchildren singing a song associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on board the train during its maiden journey. The video was deleted later after it drew sharp criticism from various corners. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan marked his protest against the incident terming it a violation of Constitutional principles.

The video of a group of students singing a popular Malayalam song, usually sung at the meetings of the RSS, was posted by the Southern Railway on its official social media accounts terming it a ‘patriotic song’. The video was captioned, “A melody of joy onboard the inaugural special Ernakulam–KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express! School students filled the coaches with patriotic songs, celebrating the spirit of the moment.”

CM flays Railways

Mr. Vijayan took strong exception to the incident saying the act by the Southern Railway was highly condemnable. “The inclusion of a song of the RSS, which frequently exudes communal hatred and divisive politics, in an official function of the government is a violation of Constitutional principles. It is unacceptable that the Sangh Parivar is using even Railways, the largest public sector undertaking in the country, to propagate its communal politics,” Mr. Vijayan said in a statement.

“Railways, which functioned as the cornerstone of India’s secular nationalism during the freedom struggle, is today supporting the RSS’s communal agenda,” he added.

Congress seeks probe

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, MP, demanded an investigation into the incident which he called ‘politicisation’ of the event and ‘misuse of schoolchildren.’

In a letter written to Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Congress leader said the inclusion of a song associated with the RSS had reduced an official government function to an RSS-sponsored spectacle. “This shameful attempt to inject sectarian symbolism into a national event is part of a larger, systematic effort to rewrite India’s public institutions in the image of one organisation. This is not an isolated lapse but a continuation of the recent, deliberate attempts to demean our national symbols, including the national anthem itself,” he said.

DYFI protest

The Kerala wing of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) also protested against the incident. “The performance of RSS songs at public events is part of the Union government’s attempt to saffronise public establishments. Such attempts to whitewash the RSS should be resisted,” the DYFI said in a statement.

The Southern Railway has not responded to the controversy.