Puja in Catholic schools: provocations by nationalists also in the North-East

In the State of Tripura a group wants to impose a Hindu celebration at the Don Bosco School. In Assam they use the clothes of Christian religious as a pretext to cry out for conversions. Bishop Moolachira: "The government protect us". The bishop of Agartala: 'We serve everyone selflessly. And in our classes the poor have found dignity'.

Guwahati (AsiaNews) - Two disturbing cases of threats against Christian schools have occurred in recent days in the north-eastern region of India. In the first case, a missionary school in Tripura approached the administration requesting protection from a group of people who identified themselves as members of the Hindu Jagran Manch and Sanatani Dharma and threatened to bring into the institution on February 14 “with by hook or by crook” the Saraswati Puja, a Hindu rite.

Tessy Joseph, principal of the Don Bosco School in Dhajanagar, on the outskirts of Udaipur, asked the district magistrate of Gomati to take measures to "prevent this illegal act and protect the institution, its property and its rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution".

Similar Puja "requests" were also made to three schools in Assam, prompting representatives of missionary schools in the North East to hold a meeting in Guwahati on Sunday to address the situation.

A leader of the Hindu Jagran Manch of Gomati district said that "a group of people belonging to the Hindu Samaj and some parents met the principal of the Don Bosco school with a request to celebrate Saraswati Puja there, just like Christmas is celebrated by everyone, because most of the students in the school are Hindus."

In his request for protection, the principal of the school - founded in 1999 - recounted the three visits made between February 8 and 9 by people who wanted to celebrate Saraswati Puja.

“Although it is a Christian minority institution intended primarily for Christian students - explains Joseph - our school caters to students of all religions and we are committed to making students better human beings and better citizens of India. We reiterated that we have full respect for Saraswati Puja and other religious rituals of any religion, but we reserve the right to run our institution in accordance with Article 30 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees minorities the freedom to run their own schools. However, they were adamant,” we read in the letter.

In a second case, a Hindu group in Assam gave the state's Christian schools a 15-day ultimatum to remove all Christian symbols and religious clothing worn by priests, nuns and clerics on their campuses. The initiative comes from a little-known group, the Kutumba Surakshya Parishad, which also calls for the removal of statues and images of Jesus and Mary, as well as the closure of churches located in school complexes. Its leader Satya Ranjan Borah told reporters: “Christian missionaries are converting schools and educational institutes into religious institutes for conversion activities. We will not allow it."

The archbishop of Guwahati, Msgr. John Moolachira who is also president of the Episcopal Conference of the North-East region, commented on this news to AsiaNews: "We do not allow the celebration of a Puja on our premises. They can drink tea or promote cultural programs within the complex, but not carry out religious activities. Christian religious programs are also not held during school hours. We fear that these elements may enter the school and perform the Puja. If the government doesn't protect us, we won't be able to continue as before. As for religious dress, we have our dress and we will not remove the statues. Before these groups, no one ever raised any problems."

Also Msgr. Lumen Monteiro, bishop of Agartala in Tripura, adds to AsiaNews: "The Catholic Church in the diocese selflessly serves the people, without discrimination of caste or creed, through our apostolate of education. We work for nation building without performing any religious function in our schools because they are not a suitable place. We have no intention of giving in to any of these groups. Many of our region's best scholars, public officials, entrepreneurs, doctors and educators have been students in our schools. And the poor have found dignity and valorized their God-given talents in our classrooms."