In the midst of commotion and controversies following attacks on Christian churches in Karnataka and terrorist serial blasts across the country by religious fundamentalists and fanatics, I had some uncanny experience, which I wish to share with my readers.
The first experience was when I visited a small township, Ponnampet, in Kodagu on 26th Friday, Sept. 2008. Seeing a Police van pull up in front of a shop where I had been, I enquired the reason. The shoppers around smiled. They were locals. There was trouble at the local St. Anthony’s church, they said and explained the cause.
The church Father had constructed cement steps leading into the public road encroaching upon the footpath. This was to enable people who walk on the road to pray to the statue of Jesus Christ under a shelter at the edge of the compound wall. The church had broken a small stretch of the compound wall for this purpose. Naturally the public were upset with this encroachment for two reasons. One, it was an illegal, obstructionist encroachment on a public road, which would certainly cause obstruction to the pedestrians and disturb the motorists at this point. Two, the timing of this action by the Father was rather bad. That was the time when attacks on churches were making news and disturbing peace in different parts of the State. This “step” would be one more cause for trouble.
I personally visited the church and even met the Father Jayaraj who spoke to me rather frankly. He said that the DC, SP and DySP had come and inspected the place and found the steps were constructed on the public road. So on their request he had removed the steps. By way of caution, Police force was sent to the church premises for security reason. The district administration had even covered the statue of Jesus with a wire-net to prevent miscreants from harming the statue. I asked Father Jayaraj what if miscreants pelted stones. After all, wire-net with holes can't prevent stones from piercing through it. He smiled.
The local residents told me there was no problem with the church, till that day, which was patronised by them because of the convent school attached to it. When the church Father decided to construct the controversial step, it provoked the public inviting Police presence.
My second experience was at a local college. I was invited to a college of management studies on KRS Road to address the students on their graduation day. The Hon. Secretary told me that some students belonging to a particular community had approached him with a request to postpone the graduation day function to a day after the festival which they were observing.
The Secretary impressed upon these students that as their number is very small compared to the other students their request could not be granted. At the same time, they were given the freedom to absent themselves on the graduation day to observe their festival.
According to the Secretary, who also runs a women's engineering college, earlier in the beginning of the academic year a group of 27 girl students had wanted the college authorities to allow them to attend the college in their special attire enjoined by their religion. The Secretary told the students and the priest who accompanied them that while he respected their religious sentiments, it would not be possible to grant their request. If the college discipline came in the way of their religious observance he would be happy to give the TC (Transfer Certificate).
What would you do if students belonging to other religions also made the same request? the Secretary asked me. I smiled.
Should an educational institution, which imparts same kind of knowledge to all students, irrespective of their religious differences, be forced by religious groups to divide the students as separate human beings by their extremely distinctive dresses?
The parents and the priests should be considerate enough at least in their expectation from an educational institution. In the 21st century, when the whole world is becoming a village, a global village, we expect solidarity and unity of purpose in that global village rather than divisions even on the basis of the dress one wears. And, of all places, in general and professional educational institutions. One can understand if religious dress is imposed in religious schools or a theological college.
The Secretary said that he gave the students and the priest an unsolicited advice saying that the dress code they wanted to observe in the college might be a necessity in a different country due to its geographical and climatic conditions but not in a city or place like Mysore.
I was a student till 1960 and, believe me; I never had any student wearing an extremely distinctive dress symbolizing his or her religion, even though students belonging to different religions and also subsects were studying with me, from the Primary to the degree classes and even in the law college. The Secretary in this college was overly shocked for the reason that it is an exclusively women’s college and this particular section of girl students made the request.
If the present democratic and electoral trend continues for another two general elections, I say it on my own authority; our country will cease to be a democratic country. There is a danger of India becoming a failed State that Pakistan today is. You are warned. Cry, my beloved country.
K. B. Ganapathy
Courtesy: Star of Mysore
