Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty announced a formal departmental inquiry Sunday into schoolchildren singing the RSS-linked Gana Geetham during the inaugural ride of the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express on Saturday, warning that failure to adhere to educational norms could lead to revocation of the school's No Objection Certificate regardless of its affiliation board. The probe, directed at Saraswathi Vidyaniketan Public School in Kochi, will be completed within two days under Director of General Education N S K Umesh, who confirmed a detailed report will guide subsequent actions.

The controversy erupted when a video showed 20 students from the school, among invitees from five Kochi institutions, spontaneously performing the song aboard the high-speed train after media requests for a performance. School principal K P Dinto insisted the selection was entirely student-driven, with children opting for what they deemed a patriotic tune over movie songs, and vowed legal recourse if the investigation escalates unfairly. He emphasized the institution's desire to avoid political entanglement while defending the pupils' independent choice.

Southern Railway initially posted the clip on social media but swiftly removed it amid backlash, only to repost it later on X with translated lyrics. The lyrics contain no explicit mention of "Hindu" or religion, prompting Union Minister George Kurien to dismiss communal allegations and note that Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had sung the same song in the state assembly. Fellow Union Minister Suresh Gopi called it an "innocent celebration" by children, rejecting claims of coercion.

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Opposition Leader V D Satheesan countered that Gana Geetham is not a patriotic anthem and cannot be innocently chosen without adult influence, demanding action against the school management and questioning Railways' handling of the video—its upload, deletion, and repost. He argued that public functions must remain secular, and the incident suggests deliberate indoctrination behind the scenes.

As political lines harden, the education department stresses constitutional values prohibiting the use of children to advance any group's ideology at government events. With rehearsals possibly involved over weeks, the probe will examine selection processes, teacher oversight, and compliance with state guidelines, potentially setting a precedent for how schools participate in official programs amid Kerala’s charged communal-political landscape.

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