Kochi — A fresh controversy has erupted in Kerala’s student politics after Students’ Federation of India (SFI) state president M. Sivaprasad claimed that simply uttering the full form of Muslim Students Federation (MSF) is enough to counter the organisation, a remark that has been widely criticised as Islamophobic, reported the Hindu.
SFI, the student wing of CPI(M), and MSF, the student wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), have been engaged in an increasingly heated war of words. Speaking at a press conference in Kochi on Monday, Sivaprasad said: “For a communist, for a left-aligned person who comes to the streets of Kerala, even mentioning the full form of MSF is enough to shake the organisation, as the people of Kerala have already understood what the name itself represents.” He went on to say that SFI did not need to protest or demonstrate to oppose MSF: “Dear MSF people, your politics is becoming irrelevant, and we will wipe away that irrelevant politics itself.”
Strongly reacting to the statement, MSF state president P. K. Navas lashed out at Sivaprasad, calling his remark “dripping with communal hatred.” He asked, “What exactly do you mean will happen if someone says the full form of MSF? Would you say the same about NSS, SNDP, DMK, Akhil Dal, or ADMK?” Navas reminded Sivaprasad that while CPI(M) had changed its name, flag, and symbols multiple times, MSF had been functioning under the same name and flag since 1948, with representation “from the village assembly to the United Nations.” He further told Sivaprasad, “You are not a leader of ABVP; you are the leader of SFI. Correct your mindset.”
The row intensified after SFI state secretary P. S. Sanjeev earlier branded MSF “the biggest communal organisation Kerala has ever seen” and accused it of being a “textbook communalist outfit.” He alleged that MSF provided a platform for Jamaat-e-Islami and the now-banned Campus Front of India, calling it “the leftover scrap of SDPI goons.” He also accused MSF of manipulating student union elections in colleges under IUML control.
Adding fuel to the controversy, Hindu Aikya Vedi leader K. P. Shashikala publicly supported the statements made by SFI leaders. Rejecting the charges, MSF accused SFI of resorting to “sectarian venom” after losing its long-held influence in Kerala’s campuses. “For decades, SFI monopolised Calicut University. Today, deprived of that control, it lashes out with communal rhetoric in the guise of political debate,” MSF said.
Last month, the United Democratic Students’ Front (UDSF), an alliance of MSF and the Kerala Students Union (KSU), won the Calicut University students’ union elections. MSF’s Shifana was elected as union chairperson, making history as the first MSF leader to hold the position in 45 years. The political clash between the two student organisations shows no signs of slowing, with accusations of communalism, irrelevance, and political hypocrisy flying on both sides.
