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Protests continue over dress code Friday, July 20, 2001

BY EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT, THE TIMES OF INDIA NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD: Tension continued to prevail at the Hosanna Missionary School at Khodiyarnagar as a group of over 50 people gheraoed the school management demanding a written assurance that the school will not put any restrictions on students wearing bindis, anklets, tilaks and pyjamas.

Girl students and their parents demonstrated amidst tight security outside the school with bangles in their hands even as the Bajrang Dal demanded that the school revoke the suspension order of one the teachers, Grace Celine Luther. The protesters included parents, students, teachers and even corporators led by Bajrang Dal president Hasmukh Patel and Ashok Pandit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Here, while the school has officially accepted the demands for allowing students to wear bindis and other accessories and also submitted a written statement towards the same to the DEO on Wednesday, it refused to relent on the issue of revoking suspension terming it as a purely administrative matter.

Education minister Anandiben Patel had reacted sharply to the developments and warned that the state government will not think twice of de-recognising the school if it indulged in putting any restriction on attire or any other ban on the students. "The state government will not tolerate any such bans on the students and will even consider de-recognising the school for putting such religion-based restrictions on the students", Patel said on Tuesday.

Violence had broken out at the school on Monday with a mob of at least 100 people resorting to stone-throwing and setting vehicles afire to protest the suspension of a school teacher. Some of the parents had complained to the Ahmedabad District Education that the school did not allow the students to wear bindis or shalwars. The teachers too had protested the compulsory prayer meetings being held on Saturdays which they had to attend after their job hours.

The apparent immediate provocation for the violence, however was, the suspension of Grace Celine Luther. Curiously here, trustee of Hosanna School Rev Finny when contancted, said that the teacher was suspended because of undisciplined behaviour prompted by her links with the Bajrang Dal and VHP. "She had links with these fundamental organisations and used to throw her weight indulging in gross indiscipline", said Rev Finny. Finny alleged that some anti-social elements wanted them to vacate the school so that they could buy it.

Meanwhile, the All-India Christian Council in a letter to the chairman of National Human Rights Commission has termed the violent assault on Hosanna School as part of the series of planned attacks by majority fundamentalists on missionary organisation and has urged the commission to direct the state government to prevent any further attack on the minority community.

News Source : Times Of India News Service [ Lightning News ]

 

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