SUMMARY

BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday criticised Stanford University students who staged a walkout during the university's commencement ceremony featuring Google CEO Sundar Pichai, calling their actions an example of "extreme ignorance". In a social media post, Chandrasekhar shared a video of the students leaving the venue and said they had squandered an opportunity to study at a world-class university and to hear directly from someone who had achieved remarkable success and built major enterprises.

According to reports, several students walked out during Pichai's keynote commencement address while voicing support for Palestine. Chandrasekhar said he understood that young people often have a natural enthusiasm for opposing systems, questioning authority, challenging institutions and fighting for causes, and noted that previous generations had done the same during their student years. However, he said standing up for a cause should not be confused with "ignorance or foolish behaviour". "This is the latest example of the extreme ignorance that seems to have gripped some of our youth today," he said. "You are living in the age of Artificial Intelligence, not in the age of ignorance," he added.

Chandrasekhar's remarks came after the walkout during Stanford University's commencement ceremony, where Pichai delivered the address. Pichai, who received a Master of Science (MS) in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University, returned to his alma mater on Sunday to deliver the commencement address to the class of 2026.

A Stanford Report article said more than 20,000 people, including 3,600 students, attended Stanford's 135th Commencement ceremony. Another report in SFGate said about 200 students walked out as Pichai addressed students, faculty, parents and other attendees at the event.

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The SFGate report said pro-Palestinian protesters condemned the company's ties with the Israeli government, particularly its controversial USD 1.2 billion cloud-computing deal with the country in 2021, known as Project Nimbus. It added that the walkouts followed other Stanford commencement ceremonies over the last three years where students had demonstrated in response to Israel's war in Gaza and the university's crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus.

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Videos from the ceremony shared on social media showed students walking out carrying Palestinian flags and banners and shouting slogans such as 'Free Palestine' as Pichai spoke. Reports said the protest was organised by groups including 'Students for Justice in Palestine' and 'No Tech for Apartheid'. The walkout during Pichai's address was later cited by Chandrasekhar as an instance of what he described as "extreme ignorance" among some young people.

Published on: Jun 15, 2026 12:35 PM IST