Overview
- The state tourism week concluded with a large closing procession in Thiruvananthapuram that was flagged off by Vice‑President C. P. Radhakrishnan and attended by the governor, chief minister and senior state ministers.
- The national song Vande Mataram was sung in full at the ceremony, following a July 9 Ministry of Home Affairs order that designates the six‑stanza text as the official version for mass singing.
- Kerala officials and the Tourism Minister said the full rendition was driven by visitor protocol for events with the President, Vice‑President or Prime Minister, not by a change in state policy.
- CPI(M) leaders sharply criticised the move as a concession to the Sangh Parivar and a challenge to Kerala’s secular traditions, while the event proceeded under tightened security including a one‑kilometre airspace red zone and traffic restrictions.
- The episode revives earlier controversies this year over the song — including a truncated Assembly rendition in May and its omission on Independence Day — and intersects with wider political campaigns in the state that have promoted mass singings of the full version.