March 6, 2008

State body seeks to ban worship, religious inscriptions in private educational institutions.

NEW DELHI – Communists and Christians can be best of pals in defending against the onslaughts of Hindu nationalism, but their differences over Christian educational institutions surge to the fore where the leftists rule – as has just happened in Kerala state.

A government body in the southern state of Kerala has recommended banning of religious worship and use of religious inscriptions on the walls in private schools that receive assistance from the state, a move that is believed to be targeted at Christian institutions, according to a report in The Telegraph newspaper on February 11.

The newspaper reported that recommendations of the Kerala Education Rules Reforms Committee (KERRC) are being seen as a move to curtail the religious freedom enjoyed by minority communities, mainly Christians, under the constitution. Article 30 of the Indian Constitution grants the right to religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.

Schools run by Christian groups in Kerala hold regular prayers, including Catholic mass, and walls abound with quotations from the Bible. School buildings and premises are often used for religious conventions.

The KERRC has also recommended that classes with religious instruction be given only to students who have permission from their parents to participate. It also has suggested that religious teaching be substituted with moral science classes to teach students the values of honesty and non-violence.

The committee has further proposed that private schools appoint teachers only from a list prepared by a free agency with statutory powers. This move, Christians fear, might lead to the discrimination of teachers from religious minorities.

Christians form close to 20 percent (6.05 million) of Kerala’s population of 31.8 million, with a segment within the state’s Christian community regularly voting for communist parties.

But since 2006, church leaders in Kerala have issued 10 pastoral letters against the Communists, which are read out in churches, in an apparent attempt to discourage church members from supporting them.

The Asia News agency on February 11 reported that Paul Thelakat, spokesman for the Syro-Malabar Synod and editor-in-chief of Satyadeepam (Light of Truth), said that the recommendations are an attempt “to bring political control” and the “party’s agenda into the school system.”

“We stand for the right of private schools to hire their own teachers as a guarantee of their autonomy,” Thelakat told Asia News. “Any eventual restriction on this freedom is a violation, especially for religious minorities. We Christians want our teachers in our schools because it is the only way to preserve and protect the Christian culture and faith.”