The term Islamic jihad and terrorism are increasingly dismissed as politically inconvenient. To downplay the violent history and ideological motivations linked to them, newer terms are being deployed, particularly within Islamic and far-left student circles. One such word, Intifada, is now being promoted not only globally but also in Indian academic spaces. A recent example is the naming of the Kerala State Inter ITI (Industrial Training Institute) Union 2024–25 Youth Festival as ‘Intifada’ led by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).
The controversy began when the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) state secretary E.U. Eswaraprasad wrote a letter on June 11 to the Director of Training & State Apprenticeship Advisor at the Employment & Industrial Training Department, urging action against the Inter ITI Union. The letter highlighted the inappropriateness of using an extremist-linked term like Intifada for a state-funded youth festival.
According to promotional posters, the Inter ITI Union has scheduled the festival from June 16 to 18, branding it ‘Intifada’ in Malayalam. The word is prominently featured in the festival’s logo, which is designed in the colours of the Palestinian flag. ABVP alleged that the organisers claimed the term was being used to symbolise “the resistance of arts against invasions” and as a show of solidarity with Gaza. However, ABVP strongly refuted this justification, asserting that Intifada is far from an innocent or artistic term.
The word Intifada, derived from Arabic, means “uprising” or “rebellion,” and is most commonly associated with violent campaigns led by the PLO and Hamas against Israel. The term carries undeniable connotations of Islamic fundamentalism and is explicitly connected to uprisings against non-Islamic forces.
The ABVP pointed out that Intifada is not exclusive to the Israel-Palestine context. It was co-opted by Pakistan in the early 1990s to refer to separatist insurgencies in Jammu & Kashmir. The term has since been invoked by radical Islamist organisations to legitimise violence, especially before Article 370 was abrogated. Moreover, the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and its student wing Campus Front of India (CFI) reportedly used the word to indoctrinate and radicalise young people. Following the government’s ban on these organisations in September 2022, many of their digital channels rebranded under the name ‘Intifada’ to evade detection.
ABVP underscored that such usage by a government-funded educational body amounts to indirect propaganda against a friendly nation—Israel—with whom India shares a strategic partnership. Such actions, it warned, could jeopardise Bharat’s diplomatic interests and internal harmony. The term Intifada, far from being a symbol of artistic resistance, represents a bloody legacy of militancy, separatism, and ideological violence. Its glorification is an affront to the countless victims of terrorism within India, particularly those affected by decades of unrest in Jammu & Kashmir.
The controversy is not new. Last year, Kerala University Union had also included the term Intifada in its youth festival logo. Following protests and a memorandum submitted by ABVP, university authorities were compelled to remove the word.
In its letter, ABVP strongly urged authorities to take immediate action to ensure that such extremist-linked terms are neither promoted nor normalised in academic and cultural settings. The organisation also demanded disciplinary measures against officials responsible for approving such content, warning that failure to act could set a dangerous precedent.
ABVP has sent a second letter to the Secretary of Labour & Skills at the Union Government, and a third to the Kerala State Ministers for Labour, Skills, and Education—each reiterating the same concerns.
