# Kerala University VC says Vande Mataram opponents don’t know mother 2026-08-15T17:10:32+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Kerala University Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal has sparked a fresh controversy by stating that those who oppose saying 'Vande Mataram' 'do not know who their mother is'. He made the remarks on Saturday while addressing an RSS youth meet, 'Sankalp 2026 Yuva Sangamam', in Thiruvananthapuram. Speaking about the idea of Bharat Mata, Kunnummal linked the national song to motherhood, saying: 'That is why when we pray, we say Vande Mataram. It is our mother.' Student organisations SFI and KSU have accused him of attempting to push an RSS agenda at Kerala University. Both the LDF and UDF have questioned his appointment by the Governor, alleging efforts to 'saffronise' the state's education system. The controversy follows the state government's refusal to recite 'Vande Mataram' at its official Independence Day celebrations despite a Union government directive. The Kerala Governor, as Chancellor of universities, appoints vice-chancellors, a practice both previous and current state governments have challenged. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in - rediff.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-09-27T06:16:42+00:00. Tags: Kerala University, KSU, Mohanan Kunnummal, RSS, SFI, Vande Mataram Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/kerala-university-vc-calls-vande-mataram-opponents-ignorant/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/kerala-university-vc-calls-vande-mataram-opponents-ignorant/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/