A mosque’s annual festival procession in the Palakkad region of Kerala featured prominently displayed images of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Banners with the titles “Tharavadis, Thekkebhagam (Ancestrals, Southside) had pictures of terrorist commanders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Hassan Nasrallah. Notably, all three were neutralised by Israel. A group of young participants paraded the banners on top of elephants. The development which transpired on the evening of 16th February in the presence of Communist and Congress leaders led to major controversy.
Terrorists glorified on the streets of Kerala. As per local media reports, during a recent Uroos procession at a local mosque in Thrithala, the mosque authorities displayed posters of Hamas Islamist terrorists Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Hassan Nasrallah. Why no action yet? pic.twitter.com/nfgPIkpu2M
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 17, 2025
Although the event organizers have not yet responded, the participation of Congress leader VT Balram and Minister MB Rajesh also drew major criticism. The procession, which was part of the yearly “Uroos” of a mosque in Thrithala, attracted around 3,000 people but the installation of the controversial flags resulted in severe backlash. “Trithala Uroos” is celebrated by the Muslims in the area. The crowd applauded the youngsters as they carried the posters of the three terrorists during the parade. The event soon became a contentious issue, with many condemning the organizers for permitting such antics.
The incident is the latest in a series of incidents involving pro-Palestine demonstrations in the state. Intifada, the name of Kerala University’s annual youth festival, triggered a massive row in 2024 because the word was linked to the Palestine-Israel conflict and its utilization by Hamas. The university’s vice-chancellor, Mohanan Kunnummal, ordered that the term be taken off of all festival promotional materials, including posters and social media posts. The event was dubbed the “Kerala University Youth Festival” afterward.
Khaled Mashal, the former leader of Hamas, spoke at a rally in Malappuram in October 2023 for at least 7 minutes. It was hosted by the “Solidarity Youth Movement,” the youth arm of radical “Jamaat-e-Islami.” The group had started a campaign titled “Uproot Apartheid Zionism and Hindutva.” Meanwhile, slogans like “buldoze Hindutva” and “unroot Zionism” were raised during the event.
The involvement of Hamas leaders in these events had been sharply denounced by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The participation was referred to as “extremist” by party’s state president K Surendran, who also sought for an investigation into the event and added, “Things have reached such a state in secular Kerala. Hamas extremists are participating in programs in Kerala.” Additionally, he noted that Mashal’s address was virtual only due to his visa denial. Interestingly, it has been discovered that banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was being funded by Hamas.
