Politically charged mime

#Politically charged Mime

The teachers of Kumbala Government Higher Secondary School acted responsibly and within their rightful authority by stopping the pro-Palestine mime show. At a time when India maintains a carefully balanced diplomatic stance on the sensitive Palestine issue, allowing a politically charged performance within a school setting would have been inappropriate and potentially divisive. 

Educational institutions must remain spaces for learning, not platforms for political expression or international controversies. The teachers, therefore, rightly intervened to prevent the school from being drawn into a politically motivated spectacle under the guise of art, thereby upholding institutional discipline and neutrality.

In contrast, the statement by Kerala General Education Minister V. Sivankutty supporting the inclusion of the same mime in the State Festival is both improper and legally questionable. It undermines the authority of the school and district-level selection committees, which are the legitimate bodies to decide which performances qualify for higher-level competitions.

 Ministerial interference in such academic and artistic processes sets a dangerous precedent and risks politicizing educational events. Moreover, granting special permission to one item outside prescribed procedures could attract judicial scrutiny and erode public trust in the education department’s fairness and professionalism.

-K A Solaman