Sanskrit varsity suspension row: Prakash Raj says protesting students ‘are not Savarkars’ to tender apology
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Actor and activist Prakash Raj visiting the protest site at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit on Saturday to express solidarity with the suspended SFI activists participating in an indefinite relay fast demanding that the varsity authorities withdraw the disciplinary action against them unconditionally. | Photo Credit: R K Nithin
Actor and activist Prakash Raj said here on Saturday (November 7, 2026) that “the youth of the country are not Savarkars to write sorry petitions for raising questions and protesting for their rights.”
“This generation is not violent like your Godse. This generation protests with the strength of what Gandhi has taught them. This generation is asking questions with the right Babasaheb Ambedkar has given them,” he said after expressing solidarity with the relay fast organised by the suspended activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) at the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) at Kalady.
He was referring to the Syndicate decision to withdraw their suspension once they submitted an apology stating that they will not breach disciplinary norms in the future. Sixteen students were suspended in connection with the protests held at the campus on August 13, 2026 while the first meeting of the re-constituted Syndicate was underway.
The actor alleged that the university authorities and the Minister for Higher Education Roji M. John were showing “a dictatorial attitude” towards the protest.
“How long will everyone become like Narendra Modi and the Central government to stop the youth from protesting and asking questions? What have the students done?. They had issues with the basic necessities of the university. They have done a play as they come from the Department of Theatre. Is doing a play a crime in this country?” he asked.
He asked the authorities to show the evidence related to the allegations that the suspended students had physically assaulted Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas during their protest on August 13. “All this is drama. Let the theatre students perform the drama. Why are you doing the drama. Why are you writing the scripts? It is for them to write the scripts of their future,” he said.
The actor said he would join the protesting students if they were not allowed to appear for their examinations.
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