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A controversy erupted in Keralam after a proposal for the Students' Code of Conduct Regulations of the Kerala University recommended prohibiting student political activities across all college campuses and affiliated institutions.
Titled the Kerala University (Students' Code of Conduct) Regulations, 2026, the document served as an initial draft of the University’s recommendations to the Kerala High Court, which is currently hearing a plea seeking prohibition of campus politics across the state.
The draft, which prohibits political activities on campus, however allows academic discussion of political subjects under stated conditions. It also makes students liable for disciplinary action for engaging in any political activities.
This leaked draft Regulations invited much criticism.
Unlike several other Indian states where campus politics is strictly banned, Kerala has a vibrant, deeply rooted student movement integrated with various mainstream political parties.
The Kerala University has witnessed multiple student protests. This includes demonstrations against Vice Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummel, conducted by the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)].
Mohanan Kunnummel, has made headlines on many occasions by attending Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) events and making statements favouring RSS.
Senior CPI(M) leader and leader of opposition in Keralam Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the draft. He said the University is trying to ban politics and political consciousness from the campus because it is afraid of the generation that will ask questions.
“It is clear that the agenda behind such decisions is of those disturbed by the student movements that have emerged in the country,” he said.
Amid growing backlash, Congress leader and Higher Education Minister Roji M John clarified that the circulating material is an unapproved administrative draft. Reaffirming the UDF government's stance, he said campus democracy remains crucial to political life and will not be prohibited in Kerala.
“We firmly believe political engagement must exist in colleges. A misleading narrative is being spread claiming that this discussion paper represents an official resolution. No step will be taken under our tenure to suppress student political participation in any manner,” the Minister told reporters following the outcry.
Minister Roji also said that the suggestions in the draft are based on the guidelines issued by Mahatma Gandhi (MG) University in 2005. While the 2005 rules officially ban political activities on paper, in practice, active student politics thrive across MG University and its affiliated colleges.
Speaking to TNM, Kerala University Syndicate members and student representatives noted the draft Regulation is unlikely to become official policy, as many Syndicate members are strongly opposed to it.
Meanwhile, SFI said the prohibition recommendations of the draft Regulation were targeted at their organisation as they are the dominant presence across Kerala University campuses.
What the draft says
The draft essentially bans campus politics, by restricting organised political activity on campus.
According to the document, political activity includes any action, event, programme, or coordinated attempt by students inside the university. This includes promoting, advocating, or spreading the agenda, principles, or campaigns of political entities, displaying allegiance to any party, or engaging in actions linked with prohibited, illegal, or ‘anti-national’ groups. Furthermore, holding or attending gatherings, rallies, and drives aimed at furthering political agenda remains prohibited under the proposed rules.
Students shall not use digital platforms to incite, organise, or propagate political activities affecting University functioning. Students acting collectively or individually outside the campus to influence University activities in political ways are also liable for disciplinary action.
The draft mentioned that academic discussions, research, debates, or classroom activities conducted under faculty supervision, which are not linked to political mobilisation, are not considered political activity under these Regulations.
The draft recommends that organising students or gatherings on campus for political activities be treated as serious misconduct. Each person involved will be held responsible, and the Principal or Head of Department can take disciplinary action. If such activity happens on the University campus, the Vice Chancellor can also act.
Draft, not policy
In February this year, the Kerala High Court had directed the syndicates of various universities in Keralam to formulate a mechanism to regulate political activities of students on campuses and to ensure the maintenance of discipline.
The direction came in the backdrop of the political killing of a student, Abhimanyu, in Ernakulam's Maharaja’s College in 2018.
The Kerala University Syndicate referred the matter to the Affiliation and Student Services Standing Committee.
According to advocate Ajay Juel Kuriakose, a Kerala University Syndicate member, an eight-member subcommittee was constituted, comprising members representing different political parties, including the Congress, CPI(M), and BJP. At the first meeting of this subcommittee, the Legal section of the University was asked to prepare a preliminary draft. That preliminary draft is what has now come into the public domain, Ajay alleged.
“The first meeting was conducted on September 9, and at that time, what we received was a draft similar to the 2005 MG University regulation. We rejected it as it mentioned a prohibition on student politics. The current draft circulating now was prepared by the legal department of the university and not seen by any of the Syndicate members during the meeting,” he said.
Ajay added that the committee suggested creating a draft that permitted student politics conducted in a ‘disciplined’ manner.
Ajay explained the process of passing a draft recommendation to be submitted to the court: “The subcommittee will discuss the draft in detail. A second draft will then be prepared and sent by registered post to all student political organisations, inviting their views, suggestions, and concerns in writing. The suggestions received will be considered, and a final draft will be prepared. The final draft will be placed before the Standing Committee, which may make further modifications if necessary. Finally, the draft will be discussed in detail at the Syndicate meeting chaired by the Vice Chancellor, and only thereafter will it be officially notified.”
Speaking with TNM, S Nazeeb, a left-leaning Syndicate member of the Kerala University, said political restrictions cannot be accepted under any circumstances and that students should have political awareness. He also added that the left Syndicate members openly expressed their views in the meeting, during the discussion about political activities on campus.
“The purpose of a university is not merely to make academic contributions; rather, it is also to create politically aware citizens. We want student participation in democratic activities to be recognised as part of the broader educational and academic experience,” Nazeeb stated.
PS Gopakumar, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-backed member of the University Syndicate, called the circulating document merely an unauthorised administrative draft that has not yet been vetted or approved by the University’s sub-committee or Syndicate.
“These suggestions would become an official order only when they are considered and approved by a body authorised by the University, such as a Syndicate subcommittee or standing committee, and subsequently approved by the Syndicate. Currently, neither the sub committee nor the syndicate discussed these proposals or made any decision on them,” Gopakumar added.
He also said he does not agree with completely banning student politics; adding that, at the same time, he cannot endorse the student organisational activities currently taking place in universities and colleges in Keralam.
“There is now a situation where people with criminal backgrounds, or individuals involved in criminal activities, are reaching leadership positions in student organisations. Moreover, in protests related to student issues, some organisational leaders are getting involved in several criminal cases.” He added that the SFI has repeatedly clashed with Kerala University VC Mohanan Kunnummal and other BJP Syndicate members.
‘Targeting SFI’
Keralam state president of the SFI, M Sivaprasad, told TNM that the move was to target the SFI. He argued that the ban proposed in the draft is a politically motivated conspiracy involving the Vice Chancellor and right-wing elements. It aims to silence secular resistance and suppress the SFI’s specific success in opposing the Sangh Parivar agenda on campuses, he alleged.
“Out of 75 campuses under the Kerala University, 64 have student unions led by the SFI. So, this move is to ban SFI. By banning SFI, they are banning the protests against RSS and Sangh Parivar,” Sivaprasad said.
“If they move forward with the draft, we will conduct protests against it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ajay said that the premature leak of this draft to the media was a politically motivated distraction designed to mislead the public and shift focus away from other controversies. “This is an effort to shift the focus from the case against former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter T Veena and the arrest of Reporter TV managing director Anto Augustine,” he alleged.
Ajay also emphasised that the Congress is against the prohibition of politics in campuses. “Many leaders in Congress, including the Chief Minister, were once student political activists. We were never in support of banning campus politics,” he said.