Pro-Left members to boycott honorary doctorate ceremony at Calicut University on October 6
Pro-Left members of the University of Calicut’s senate, Syndicate and academic council have announced a boycott of the honorary doctorate presentation ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, alleging procedural violations and objecting to the plan to sing the National Song, Vande Mataram, in full during the event.
Ceremony details
The event, to be held at the university’s main campus in Tenhipalam, Malappuram district, is set to confer a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) on film-maker Sathyan Anthikad and industrialist P.K. Ahammed, and a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) on scientist E.D. Jemmis.
Boycott call and reasons
In a press release issued on Monday, October 5, Syndicate members M.B. Faisal, K. Mohammed Haneefa, K. Pradeep Kumar, P. Sushanth, E. Abdurahim, and P.P. Sumod, MLA, said the boycott is in protest against the administration’s decision to bypass the senate’s authority in conferring honorary degrees and its insistence on the full rendition of Vande Mataram at the function.
According to the members, when the Syndicate first took up the matter of awarding honorary doctorates, there was no indication that the senate’s role would be set aside. They alleged that “special provisions” were subsequently invoked to bypass the senate, with the university seeking the Chancellor’s permission directly. They added that although senate members recorded their dissent in writing and Syndicate members registered their disagreement, Vice-Chancellor P. Raveendran did not offer an explanation and was unwilling to engage in discussions.
Process concerns and legal angle
The pro-Left members also referred to a counter affidavit filed by the university in the Kerala High Court in response to a petition by two senate members who had raised these concerns. In that filing, they said, the university argued that placing the matter before the senate would be unnecessary as it could attract media attention. The members condemned this stance, calling it anti-democratic.
Vande Mataram dispute
Alongside their procedural objections, the members said they had urged the Vice-Chancellor not to require the National Song to be sung in full at Tuesday’s ceremony. They alleged that their concerns on this point were also disregarded by the administration.
What’s next
The honorary degrees are scheduled to be conferred on Tuesday as planned at the Tenhipalam campus. The announced boycott by pro-Left representatives underscores an ongoing standoff over decision-making processes and ceremonial protocols at the university on the eve of the high-profile event.
