An upper primary school teacher, Guru Prasad Master, from Pallathadukka in Kasaragod has been suspended after preparing a Freedom Quiz question on the freedom fighter who served the longest jail term under British rule during the independence movement. Veer Savarkar was listed among the objective answers. BJP leader K. Surendran condemned the suspension on August 9, describing it as a witch-hunt and stating that Savarkar served the longest term. He called the action deplorable, noted it as a historical fact, and pledged party support for the teacher’s legal fight to recover salaries with interest. Surendran said the move exceeds vote-bank politics and challenged the government. He added that no one has denied Savarkar was a freedom fighter or was jailed for decades, not for criminal acts, and that an alleged apology remains disputed. The suspension is viewed by critics as an effort to appease minority vote-bank interests opposed to nationalist history.
