KOLLAM: The Kerala University Youth Festival got off to a glittering start here on Wednesday, with a colourful procession which showcased the cultural and folk arts forms of the state.
The five-day festival was inaugurated by Speaker G Karthikeyan at Kakkanadan Nagar at Sree Narayana College. Karthikeyan said that the nationalism and political thought were not gaining strength on campuses in the state. Instead, communalism is gaining strength on our campuses, he said.
Expressing concern over the depoliticisation of campuses, the Speaker said that college campuses had now became a ‘recruiting’ ground for anti-social activities. Urging student wings of political parties to check such tendencies, he said that they should not show apathy in responding to such negative trends.
University Union chairman M Harikrishnan presided over the function.
Earlier, a colour procession heralded the inauguration. Hundreds of students from various colleges of the district presented folk art forms and tableaus on various social issues.
The procession which began from the St Joseph’s Covent School culminated at the main venue at Sree Narayana College.
Competition began with the Mohinayattam competitions.
Nearly 5,000 students from 250 colleges under the university are participating in the competitions.