Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM government in Kerala is once again facing serious allegations of undermining constitutional institutions. Reports suggest that the state is attempting to distort the constitutional role of the Governor, a position appointed by the President of Bharat, by portraying it in school textbooks as a mere executing body and “not an elected office.” Critics argue this is part of a larger agenda to brainwash school-going children, mislead the younger generation with twisted narratives, and build sympathy among tomorrow’s voters.
Brainwashing children through academics, misleading with distorted stories, and injecting party ideology into young minds has long been described as the standard playbook of Communists to achieve their objectives. Whenever held accountable, they devise new methods to evade challenges. Now, rewriting the lessons in social science textbooks has emerged as the latest tactic of the CPM government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
One controversial lesson, titled “Democracy: An Indian Experience”, reportedly reduces the Governor’s office to a “nominal head of the state,” asserting that real power rests with the cabinet headed by the Chief Minister. The chapter goes further, stating that the Governor cannot control the CM-led cabinet, is not an elected office, and cites recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission against appointing active politicians as Governors. It even calls for panel discussions among students, thereby reinforcing the CPM narrative in the classroom.
Observers note that this deliberate framing insults the Constitution of Bharat, where the Governor is clearly defined as the head of the state’s administration. Instead, students are being misled about the jurisdiction of the office, critics allege, with CPM politics injected directly into the curriculum.
The backdrop to this ideological push is the long-running clash between the CPM government and the Governor’s office since 2019, when Dr Arif Mohammed Khan assumed charge, followed by Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar in January 2025. Unlike earlier times, Governors appointed during the Modi government have not yielded to what many describe as the illogical diktats of the CPM leadership. The confrontations have spanned reckless university appointments, syndicate nominations, disputes over nationalism and Bharatmata Puja, SFI violence against Governors, and what critics call the government’s luxurious spending and mishandling of institutions.
With the CPM government unable to silence the Governors through confrontation, critics allege it has shifted to poisoning school textbooks, a classic communist method seen globally, where ideological indoctrination of the young is used to secure long-term political advantage.
