KERALA, India: Kerala’s education minister has accused Hindu far-right groups of pressuring schools across the southern Indian state to cancel Christmas celebrations, alleging that threats and online intimidation were used to force institutions to abandon events traditionally observed by Christian communities.
The Minister said some school managements were forced to call off events and refund money collected from students after receiving threats, particularly through social media campaigns targeting Christian institutions, reports The Hindu.
According to Mr. Sivankutty, Hindu far-right social media groups warned educational institutions against holding Christmas celebrations, threatening unspecified consequences if they failed to comply.
“Several parents, students and teachers have approached me with complaints. The government is treating the matter very seriously. Action is under way against school managements that abandoned Christmas celebrations under pressure,” he said.
The Minister accused the RSS and its affiliates of attempting to marginalise religious minorities and exclude Christian and Muslim cultural practices from Kerala’s public life. He alleged that such groups were trying to replicate a “North Indian model” of communal polarisation in the State by targeting schools as “soft targets”.
Mr. Sivankutty said both government and private schools function under the Kerala Educational Rules and warned against any attempt to turn schools into spaces of religious segregation, reported The Hindu on Monday.
“The government will resist any effort by fundamentalist groups to undermine the secular and democratic values that Kerala’s education system stands for,” he said, adding that nurturing secular values among students was essential for building an inclusive society.
Mr. Sivankutty said fostering secular values in schools was essential to preserving India’s democratic fabric. “Imbibing secular and democratic values at a young age lays the foundation for a humane and inclusive society,” he said.
Broader context
The episode has renewed debate over the condition of religious minorities in India, a country whose Constitution enshrines secularism and guarantees freedom of religion. Rights groups and minority organisations have, in recent years, flagged concerns over growing social pressure, online harassment and localised restrictions affecting religious practices, particularly in educational and cultural spaces.
While the government has repeatedly affirmed India’s commitment to pluralism, critics argue that incidents such as school-level interference in religious celebrations point to a widening gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities for minorities. Kerala, known for its relatively strong record on communal harmony, has often positioned itself as a counterpoint to rising religious polarisation elsewhere in the country.
