Kerala magazine row: 12 SFI activists among 13 booked

Kannur: Police on Friday booked 13 people who were members of the committee of a college magazine which controversially depicted a couple making love in a theatre as the national anthem is played.

The staff editor of the magazine of Brennen College, Prof K V Sudhakaran, and 12 students, who are members of CPI(M) student wing SFI, have been booked under Section 2 of the

Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971, police said.

The step was taken after a complaint from Prem Sai, a leader of the RSS student-wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The case has been registered by police at Thalassery.

The magazine contained caricatures allegedly depicting a man and woman making love at a theatre when the national anthem is played. A drawing of the national flag is also seen in the background.

The magazine, titled 'Pellet', was brought out as part of the 125-year celebrations of the college, the alma mater of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Students Federation of India had maintained yesterday that their aim was not to show any disrespect, but to point out "extreme nationalism"
by the Sangh Parivar by forcing people to stand when the national anthem is played in cinema halls.

The police action comes after another college in Kerala drew the ire of a right-wing outfit, Hindu Aikya Vedi, for publishing a poem in its student magazine that allegedly questions the chastity of Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas in the epic Mahabharata.

The five-line poem, 'Chodyam' (question), written by a student, questions why the topic does not feature in television debates.

The Hindu Aikya Vedi said that the poem in the magazine of Manjeri-based NSS College, an aided institution, had hurt sentiments of the Hindu community.

College Principal Azad Malaattil told PTI that it was not their intention to hurt any sentiments.

"If sentiments have been hurt, we express our apologies," the principal said.

The magazine was brought out a couple of days ago and instructions have been given not to circulate further copies, he said.