BIBLE CLASSES AND THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
By Hilda Raja
http://www.vijayvaani.com
Friday, April 17, 2009
When non-Christian students are compelled to attend Bible
classes, it is coercion and force: It means denying them
their right to FREEDOM.
This has to stop: the compulsory Bible classes for non-
Christian students. It has been quietly going on in every
Christian school. Only at college level do Catholic
students have Catholic doctrine; other Christian students
have Bible classes, and the rest have ethics. But Hindu
students are free to attend Bible classes or Catholic
doctrine.
In Tamil Nadu, I am aware that in schools run by the
minorities, it is again the same story -- all have to
attend daily Christian prayers. They are even taken to the
nearby church for prayers. When the school celebrates Mass
on feast days all children have to attend. The schools are
government-aided and I do not see why this is allowed. On
the other hand, Hindu private institutions cannot compel
children to attend Hindu instructions.
This has been allowed to go on unquestioned for too long.
The fact that Minority rights to manage and administer
education institutions are Fundamental Rights does not give
them the right to compel students others than its own
denomination to attend Christian services and Christian
doctrine classes. This is a violation of other Fundamental
Rights and an abuse and misuse of Minority rights.
No single Right is superior to another Right, but must go
hand in hand; Minority Rights cannot supersede other
Fundamental Rights like Equality and Freedom. When non-
Christian students are compelled to attend Bible classes,
it is coercion and force. It means denying them their right
to FREEDOM. Knowing well the power of education, Fr. Jerome
D'Souza, a member of the Constituent Assembly, made a
powerful demand for conferring on minorities this Right and
cleverly got it enshrined in the Fundamental Rights. He did
not want Reserved Constituencies for Christians.
Coming to the present day, compelling children to attend
Bible classes, something that was quietly going on but has
now caught the attention of non-Christians, this is the
most blatant and dangerous of all proselytization methods
carried out in the country, and inflicts irreparable damage
because it violates the human right of the child and
creates a schizophrenic personality. The child sees and
hears something in school but at home is exposed to some
thing different. This confuses the young mind. The number
of minority schools keeps increasing and correlates with
the damage to young minds. We face the results in the
indifference of young people towards their own religion.
But what has happened to parents and responsible citizens
of this country?
The rationale for conferring of Minority Rights was
justified on grounds that minorities need to protect their
religious 'ethos.' But in all minority institutions, non-
minorities form the majority, so whose ethos has to be
safeguarded within these campuses? The injustice wrought on
the people -- both minority and non-minority by Minority
Rights needs a separate write up.
This is only to high light the case of the student of
Bishop Cotton School, Bangalore. Today with communalism
based on creed invading every aspect of people's lives,
Christian schools, evangelists, both missionary and career
ones, are geared up with their crusading propaganda. The
political scenario is best suited to their insidious
designs. Being a Christian/Muslim is being secular;
anything associated with Christian and Muslim teachings and
propaganda means the spread of secularism. Anything
associated with Hindu religion and its religious teachings
becomes communal-Hindutva.
Hence madrasas are being financed by taxpayer money, and
that is secularism. Minority education institutions are
aided -- full salaries of staff and their pensions are
State financed. In this scenario, what is the role of
parents of non-Christian students? Parents are prepared to
pay heavy sums as donation to get their children admitted
in Minority-run institutions. Parents do not object if
their children are made to attend Bible classes and
religious services in these schools. The compulsory
indoctrination is overlooked by parents. So I will say that
if parents are not bothered what their children learn, if
parents are not bothered of their own culture and religion,
what is the solution?
Speaking English with an anglicized accent is a sign of
being well-educated. Speaking in the mother tongue is
looked down upon. While the speaking of any language is a
skill and a positive acquisition, this cannot be done at
the cost of the mother tongue, by the displacement of one's
own mother tongue. The power of having education
institutions is tremendous and that is exactly why the
first Marxist government which came to power in 1955 in
Kerala focused on minority institutions as one of their
first priorities. They wanted to nationalize all schools
but had to quickly withdraw because a people's movement
started which led to an agitation in which large numbers of
children took part and courted arrest. What is the remedy?
1] The creation of awareness at grassroots' level. This is
tedious, strenuous and time-consuming, but will pay in the
long run.
2] A cadre of dedicated workers to be trained
3] Parents groups to be formed and periodical interaction
with them
4] Schools to be opened and run efficiently with an Indian
ethos. Here in Gujarat, my grandchildren are attending a
school, Nalanda, wherein an Indian ethos is well
maintained, be it in its curriculum, co-curriculum and
extra-curriculum activities. No religious instruction is
being imparted, but the school environ speaks. Such schools
must be opened are in high demand because of their
efficiency and dedication to learning.
5] A think tank to be formed to be vigilant and monitor
activities in Minority educational institutions. Cases of
coercion, compulsion and brainwashing to be picked up and
cases filed in the name of Human Rights violations. This
may start as a trickle in the beginning but will gather
momentum. The Bishop Cotton School case can be the first
PIL provided parents co-operate.
6] Cultivate the media and provide it with case studies.
7] Keep the public informed how its tax money is being
misused through an information cell. Information is power.
A detailed study of the impact of Minority Rights on the
Minorities themselves and the non-minorities must be taken
up after the General Elections. This is because the
majority of the minorities are denied admissions in these
elite minority education institutions; similarly, the
minority institutions also do not follow the reservation
policy in the strict sense, but manipulate.
The author is a retired Professor from Stella Maris
College, Chennai, and lives in Vadodara
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