Reality Check India

Analyzing Indian education law in light of Christian schools ban on Hindu symbols

Posted in Uncategorized by realitycheck on October 24, 2015

mehandhibill

The picture above is a receipt of a Rs 500 fine imposed on a student for coming to Doveton School with a Mehandi – a temporary Hindu  tattoo.  The school is run by Doveton Protestant Schools Association one of the oldest schools in Chennai. The  details of the incident can be found in this news story. These incidents are becoming commonplace around the country just recently Hindu girls in Kanpur were severely punished by St Marys Convent for wearing a pagan string called Rakhee. Hindus tie this string to symbolize a brother sister bond on only one day every year. Similar restrictions are in place in most schools and by and large the Hindu student body abide by these rules.

When the father of the 7 year old protested, this is what the Christian management had to say.

“I told them it was a tradition in a Hindu function, and they told me that if that was the case then I should not admit my child in a Christian school,”

Prima facie this counter argument made by the school sounds impeccable. The exact equivalent would be “Why are you buying our product if you don’t like it” argument made by free market supporters. I try to analyze whether this argument has merit in this article in light of India’s unique sectarian laws governing education.

The sentiments on both sides

It is important to see this issue from the Christian school management point of view first.

Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
Leveticus 19:28

Bindi – a dot on forehead of Hindu girls,  Vibhuti – a sacred ash mark, Sandal paste, Mehandi – the temporary tattoo for which the boy was fined –   are all markings on the body. There may be many Christians willing to accommodate this  but there may be many others for whom these are satanic symbols. If you are concerned about coercion of students into abandoning pagan symbols it is also fair to worry about coercing the school management into accepting satanic symbols.

This conflict is not limited to display of symbols but also to the prayers and surrounding culture of the school. Consider this example : According to Wiki,  “Onward Christian Soldiers”  is the founders Hymn [1]. The hymn has lines like “At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee; on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!” – Onward Christian Soldiers [ hymn ]

Now I am not sure if in this particular case students are forced to sing this hymn, but this would be a useful example to analyze the issue in the general case. Suppose that such a hymn were to be sung as prayer – would that be acceptable ? Even though there may be no coercion to sing along it is still jarring because the song clearly talks about destruction of non-believers.  On the other hand –  does the school NOT have the liberty to sing whatever hymn they want ?

Nature of the school – public or private

We need to first sort out  not if the school is Christian or Hindu but to determine if the school in question is public or private. This determination is not as simple as you would think because it is not just about the ownership but about whether a given school is ‘affected with the public interest’ and therefore is expected to pull back and behave in certain ways.

First let us see how this rights dilemma would be resolved in a “Rule of Law” country like the United States or any of the advanced countries. Next we will consider the skew introduced by the “Idea of India” legal regime due to its sectarian processes.  Finally we will try to model the current education situation in India in terms of contract.

Symbols and Prayers

The secular test for symbols is whether there is any functional impact on other children that somehow distract the teaching/learning experience. For example you may not allow a kid to wear a sombrero or a distracting Jedi costume to school.  This could block the view of teachers and obstruct other students. Similarly loose and skimpy dresses could be unsafe or lead to unwanted problems. The local customs prevalent in the territory where a school is located dictates a lot of what is acceptable even in these cases. In India, Hindu symbols like Mehandi, Bindi, do not have any functional impact at all. The only argument against them can be religious.

Prayers can be as sectarian, warlike, or denominational if the school is private. Advanced countries take great care to clearly demarcate the public from the private.  USA for example goes to great length not to fund private schools – even to the extent of questioning grant of library books and school bus routes [1]!  When the institution is public the rules for prayer are simple. Apart from a prohibition on proselytization,  prayers that ..” denigrate nonbelievers or religious minorities, threaten damnation, or preach conversion,” would not be permissible [1].

So in advanced countries the question reduces to  : What are the rules to determine if a school is public or private“.  Is it Private? Do whatever you want (subject to general rules for public order, sedition, and the other good stuff). Public ? Play by non-sectarian rules.

Public interest

As mentioned earlier, the Christian school management is essentially making a business analogy when he says “Why come here if you dont like our rules?” One can argue that unlike a grocery store, a school by nature of its activity is automatically ‘affected with the public interest’ and therefore must be subjected to fair and non-discriminatory regulations. However, let us concede that point and treat the school as a business.

The test for whether a business is public  or private is largely rooted in an ancient 1676 judgment by an English judge called Sir Matthew Hale [1] – who when writing about commercial activities of ports and customs houses coined the term ‘affected with the public interest’.  The tests  in simple terms –

  • If you take government money you are public – end of story. (this part is wrecked by Idea of India as we shall see)
  • If you operate under a franchise or  license from the crown or govt – your activities are affected with the public interest because you have secured a virtual monopoly
  • Natural monopolies such as public utilities, those requiring public right of way are all considered to be affected

Now if a business (like our school here) is affected with the public interest it does not mean the government owns and runs it. It usually means that the rates charged must be fair, non-discriminatory, and reasonable.  Each of these terms are precisely selected by western judicial scholars. ‘Non discriminatory’ means you cannot select your customers for special treatment. To give you an example :Airtel holds a license from the govt which controls a natural monopoly of airwave spectrum – hence they cannot offer special rates to Punjabi Males and then say “If you dont like this policy go to Idea”.  On the other hand a private wholesaler can offer special rates and finance packages to groups because due to absence of licensing or a monopoly situation he is free to use his best business judgment and discriminate.

The above is just obvious and most people just ‘get ‘ this at an instinctive level. Unfortunately, in India I do not know where the planes of agreement are anymore. This may be obvious but are people willing to scream if these principles of private-public separation are violated?

The school situation in USA and the west are clean – if you take money from the government you usually frame that as a contract. This is called a Charter Contract. Once a company signs a charter they no longer can discriminate or proselytize on the same lines of public schools.  The rules are so bright lined that even hosting a prayer meeting for a sick student in a California charter school was frowned upon recently.  The liberal and civil rights circuit in the west even forced charter schools to amend its contract when teachers were caught asking children to pray – even innocently [2]

The obsession in the west to separate the private from public domain especially in education is due to the recognition that separating the Church from the State must involve the domain of public education first. It is through education in schools that a culture can replicate itself, the school promoters gain stature in society, can use the school assets funded by the taxpayer for structured bargaining in other economic areas and so forth.

Barring the few sparks of tension this has worked beautifully for the west.

Now lets turn to India.

The Idea of India as a judicial doctrine

If you believe that  school education is the chief method of cultural reproduction is follows naturally that controlling this activity will be a target for those who think strategically.

The 10 Billion dollar secret of India’s education law is that it is sectarian and rooted in religious discrimination. This is how it works for those learning about these things for the first time.  India’s constitution has a ‘protective’ shield for minorities in two clauses called Article 29/30. The reasonable reading of these articles is that religious minorities shall be allowed to run their schools and colleges which are essential to preserve their culture. Over 60 years this simple clause has been the subject of such vexatious litigation as huge benches of supreme court judges tied themselves in knots over the issue. Since there are no principles being discussed the whole issue tilted to progressively favour minorities and subject Hindus to ever tightening regulation. This is due to two pulls. First the failure of the socialist state to provision education led to the state taking from private effort. Next this was challenged at each step as minority runs schools repelled each of these efforts that Hindu run schools could not.  In early 2000’s  a total of  21 judges of the Supreme Court in marathon deliberations over 3 years in TMA Pai series finally ruled that minorities have same protections as Hindus and are not on a higher pedestal . With this everyone thought the matter would rest. The Congress government however immediately upon getting elected in 2004  struck back with a vengeance and passed the 93rd Constitutional Amendment which obliterated the judicial consensus and restored the anti-Hindu tilt. The 93rd Amendment then enabled the innocuously named “Right to Education Act” which imposes toxic burdens and loss of autonomy for  Hindu-run schools while exempting in-toto Christian and other minority run schools.  I have written about this extensively in this article.

The current situation in India is split along minority/Hindu and aided/private axis as follows.

  • If you are a private unaided Hindu-run school – you need to follow RTE rules and need NOC (a No Objection Certificate – a uniquely Indian license) and other establishment rules
  • If you are an aided Hindu-run school – you need all of the above and you need to cede management control to school management committee. Essentially a shell.
  • If you are minority unaided school – you have full autonomy and the RTE does not apply to you. The NOC process is extraordinary because you can approach NCMEI that Hindus cannot.
  • If you are a minority aided school – you still have full autonomy except some very basic service conditions for teachers.

You can see how the Idea of India completely destroys the carefully constructed common law principles of  ‘affectation with public interest’.  If you are a minority – even if you run on public money you are treated like a private enterprise. If you are Hindu running the school without any government help – you are considered a public establishment.

Franchise models

Post  Pramati Educational Trust vs India [1]  the 93rd amendment was held to be valid and the minority both aided and unaided were exempted from the RTE Law, we can try to model the situation as contracts.

One of the key formalities if you want to operate a school  is the requirement of NOC (a No Objection Certificate – a license kind of). The NOC alongside an array of mind numbing procedures also stipulates a exclusivity question  “Is there an existing school nearby“.  Does this sound familiar ?  Yes due to the geographical exclusivity  these schools are operating under a franchise from the state.  I am ignoring another license called the “Essentiality Certificate” that have similar terms in some states are not  required of Christians, Muslims, and other minorities. In Delhi only Hindus need the EC as shown in the official rules below.

Any individual, association of individuals, society or trust, desiring to establish a new school, not being a minority school, shall before establishing such new school, give an intimation in writing to the administrator of his or their intention to establish such school. (Rule 44 of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973)

Source : Official Delhi Govt Rules for Essentiality Certificate

Here is an attempt at formulating a contract model. You can think that the  Govt of India hands out private schools by four different franchise models.  You can also use the term Charters if you’d like. The franchises available are :

Maximum Autonomy Franchise (Platinum) :  Run the school however you want subject only to public order. Full autonomy in teacher hiring , selection of students, and fees – subject to basic controls only. State will ensure franchise exclusivity by distance criterion for NOC from competitor. You are allowed to perform any kind of prayer and force any kind of dress code and symbols on student body. Can fine and expel.

Medium Autonomy Franchise (Gold) : Run the school with major autonomy subject to basic service conditions for teachers. Some fee control, autonomy of selection of students for at least 50%. State ensures franchise exclusivity. You are allowed to select teachers, force any dress code and invoke any prayer.

Low autonomy (Copper) : Run the school under very specific rules under the Right to Education Act. Lose autonomy for selecting students, force cross subsidy to make up for deficit induced by state. Still retain autonomy in some management matters. Strict non discrimination rules under watch of hostile civil society jury means you cannot enforce uniformity or fee payment.

No autonomy (Clay) Franchise : This type of school is private in name only. All rules of Right to Education must be followed. Fees are fixed, teachers are appointed by caste quota and external govt agencies, teachers cannot be terminated. Management is illusory as real control of these schools are with the School Management Committees.

The mere fact that you have four types are franchises does not make them wrong or suspect. You could imagine that based on geographical and backwardness issues you can allocate more or less autonomy in exchange for government money or in line with social objectives. Once you lay out these types of franchises the question is what are the qualifications for obtaining one of these franchises.

Now if I told you that these are the qualifications :

  • If you are Hindu you cannot get Platinum and Gold franchises – even if you offer to foot the entire bill. The maximum you can get is a Copper Franchise.
  • If you are a Christian , Muslim or other minorities the minimum you can get is a Gold Franchise.
  • If you are a “linguistic minority” you are taking advantage of an escape vent so that the scheme cannot be called ONLY religious. You could, if you have the political clout, get a linguistic waiver and aspire for Platinum or Gold. (But you cannot have the NCMEI bat for you in the NOC stage)

Would you recoil at such an atrocious rule ? This is exactly the situation in India. This is not perpetrated by Sadhvi or Yogi but by modernists, liberals and think tanks support.

Once you model the situation as above you can see where the  Christian management draws its arguments from. Despite taking advantage of the virtual monopoly granted by the NOC, the exemption from uniform law, and  preferential treatment in allocation of franchise, they do not consider themselves to be ‘affected with the public interest’ and are therefore bound by only by private rules of business.

I have been an observer of various laws and institutions in India on this blog for the past 10 years. India’s education law is spectacularly isolated in the world – there is no country where the majority community faces special burdens by law in this sector. The education law is also remarkable for the complete absence of comment in Indian intellectual, think tank,  and liberal circles. For example the Pramati judgment which is of such a monumental nature overruling 50 years of evolution of jurisprudence and stamping finality to sectarian consideration in education  –  spurred no debate at all !!  Even on social media  if a handful of us stop talking no one will even know that such laws exist. In a way this is the best example of the liberal bigotry , a close mind without any curiosity. Free speech in its full definition allows the uninhibited discussion of *ALL* aspects, events, and laws.

I call this the business end of Idea of India.

/end

53 Responses

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  1. S Raghavan said, on October 24, 2015 at 1:59 pm

    I have gone through the blog. My view is that collection of 500/- as fine for having mehndi is not correct. The mehndi is not affecting anybody in any way. For Hindus, during family functions or festivals, this is a common thing.
    School being a public institution cannot impose its custom merely because this is run and managed by Christians.
    School must review its decision in this particular case and amend the norms to prevent any cases of similar nature in future.

    • rajoo ananth said, on October 26, 2015 at 3:31 am

      I went to Don Bosco for 11 years wearing 3 vibhoothi lines on my forehead and attended church prayers, was on church committee to welcome pope, kissed pope’s hand and continued reciting my mantras at home and learned all Christian prayers and have attended mass- Christians in my school loved me with all their heart – learned about christianity and in later life learned about Islam – not conflicted now -still practise daily japams,,rudrams, and educate my only American born and raised son about all mantrams with an open mind to respect every form of worship and freedom to choose as he pleases – why is all this hang up about education ?education only liberates us

      • usha said, on October 26, 2015 at 3:51 am

        absolutely right.The above article is taking things to an absurd level

      • rc said, on October 26, 2015 at 3:51 am

        That means nothing other than the fact that

        1) Don Bosco was accommodating of your interests purely at their pleasure.
        2) Your reciting Mantrams privately at Home has little to do with my point which is uniformity of law.
        3) Your syncretic culture of attending mass, reciting Mantrams etc are your personal preferences. Nothing virtuous per se – even if you did not do any of that stuff would not change a word in my arguments.

        Thanks,

      • sriram said, on October 27, 2015 at 6:56 am

        I think this is just over reacting.. I remember in the schools run by chirstian missionaries, bindi and viboothi were not allowed. And, now in UAE for taking the mugshot for the Emirates ID, Sudha had to remove the bindi etc… And once we are back, it’s all the same – back to our culture.. 🙂

      • _chAyA_ (@_chAyA_) said, on October 27, 2015 at 11:49 am

        Obviously education doesn’t help in understanding the SOP of Church, its institutions, its followers & monotheists in general. No wonder the barmaid ruled us over & will continue to rule if we don’t wake up.

      • Prasad said, on February 7, 2020 at 7:19 am

        Hi Rajoo Ananth – I also went to a Catholic convent and then to a CSI school. My experience is not exactly the same as yours, but similar. But I will strongly disagree with your conclusions. You as a Hindu welcome all religious teachings and influences. If you had been a Christian you would have been repeatedly told by your church that Hindus are devil worshippers and you would have just “put up in public” with the bonhomie while rejecting everything Hindu in your personal life. While you will welcome the Pope and celebrate christmas (in school or with christian friends in their homes) had you tried to call your christian friends to your home during a deepavali pooja you would have discovered the truth. Whether it is a christian school or Hindu school or Islamic school it will always be the Hindu students who will be “secular” and they get fooled into thinking that the christians and muslims also follow the same principles. Please wake up..
        Regards

    • SAVEBHARAT said, on July 3, 2018 at 12:03 am

      The CONGRESS has stabbed HINDUS in the back. The party is one of most corrupt and since Sonia Gandhi the nation is being turned into a vassal to Christian organizations and Vatican.

      No country in this world can allow such acts of treason. This is nothing but slowly eroding the culture and destroying the nation. The nation is in dire situation and neither people nor the law makers are paying heed. Have these law makers gone drunk and dozing?

      Europe, US and so called western developed countries are driving away anyone other than Christian and calling themselves as Christian nation then why is India/Indians not having the courage to be proud to be a Hindu in Hidustan? Have Hindus lost their balls and learned to drop their pants and bend over?

  2. Dailygrinder (@Dailygrinder1) said, on October 25, 2015 at 12:23 am

    It is stunning that this huge change in India’s education sector went completely under the radar of think-tanks and intellectuals for a decade. And continues to be so now. What do you think are the reasons for this not becoming a hot topic of discussion and action?

  3. Paul Joshua said, on October 25, 2015 at 1:14 am

    The writer has gone on length to discredit Christians in the Education sector in this country.He is not sincere in his skewed reasoning and is cleverly trying to mislead the readers into suggesting that Chrstian Institutions are anti-national.What he has cleverly (stupidly rather) avoided is the statistics and ground realities.

    The writer has absolutely no idea as to how schools run here in India.In my opinion (unlike the author i am entitled to an opinion as i have been actively involved in this field for 3 decades now ),almost all schools in India are “Copper Franchise” (author’s wisdom)-at least that’s what the RTE act suggests.To get a minority tag the school needs to have atleast 75% from that community -Which is ofcourse illogical and stupid.Here is a partial list of “minority” institutions as per law in Karnataka.Note:The karnataka government (Congress) has increased the quota from 60% to 75%. Kindly check as to who has benefitted most. Few examples:
    Primary Education (Karnataka)
    http://www.schooleducation.kar.nic.in/minoedn/MinPdfs/MinInstn080614.pdf;
    Higher Education (Maharashtra)
    http://www.aicte-india.org/downloads/minoritywesternmt.pdf.You can google and pull out the complete list for yourself.

    Christian Schools are known for discipline and to give it a communal colour and undermine the yeomen service done by the community only proves the writers right-wing inclinations and mindset.Schools are more inclusive nowadays,symbols are worn during cultural events and not during other days.As a general rule and as agreed upon in writing by all parents any deviation from a uniform pattern in the school will be considered as indiscipline and to give it a communal colour and quote the bible out of context is taking it a little too far.

    Kindly check on the facts before posting something from a right-wing BAKHT!!

    • chaya said, on October 25, 2015 at 11:16 am

      christians & their institutions by nature are a fifth column. read your own history instead of accusing others.

      • activist said, on October 25, 2015 at 5:19 pm

        …exactly and why put your wards into christian schools???

      • _chAyA_ (@_chAyA_) said, on October 27, 2015 at 11:51 am

        @activitst Hindu run schools are few & far in number because of systematic discrimination since Brit days. That plus $$ inflows enable Christians to show themselves as “doing good”.

    • rc said, on October 26, 2015 at 3:52 am

      Mind your language around here. friend Pinochet. Deleting

    • Prashant said, on October 27, 2015 at 6:10 am

      Dear Paul,
      if these schools are doing social work, can you please explain how much they charge and why they charge huge ransom for social work ? If they are doing so much yeomen service why they are forcing their prayers specific to releigion in their schools . Please go back and check how church specifically planted the the dravidian theory to achieve the conversion in south India .

      Please go back and check how religious leaders in church are paid and who is paying, how huge funds are coming to India to build churches and promote conversion .

      Please do not talk about service and all , everyone knows how much money is made in this so called education social service .

      Regards,
      Prashant

  4. Paul Joshua said, on October 25, 2015 at 1:49 am

    The writer has gone on length to discredit Christians in the Education sector in this country.He is not sincere in his skewed reasoning and is cleverly trying to mislead the readers into suggesting that Chrstian Institutions are anti-national.What he has cleverly (stupidly rather) avoided is the statistics and ground realities.

    The writer has absolutely no idea as to how schools run here in India.In my opinion (unlike the author i am entitled to an opinion as i have been actively involved in this field for 3 decades now ),almost all schools in India are “Copper Franchise” (author’s wisdom)-at least that’s what the RTE act suggests.To get a minority tag the school needs to have atleast 75% from that community -Which is ofcourse illogical and stupid.Here is a partial list of “minority” institutions as per law in Karnataka.Note:The karnataka government (Congress) has increased the quota from 60% to 75%. Kindly check as to who has benefitted most. Few examples:
    Primary Education (Karnataka)
    http://www.schooleducation.kar.nic.in/minoedn/MinPdfs/MinInstn080614.pdf;
    Higher Education (Maharashtra)
    http://www.aicte-india.org/downloads/minoritywesternmt.pdf.You can google and pull out the complete list for yourself.

    Christian Schools are known for discipline and to give it a communal colour and undermine the yeomen service done by the community only proves the writers right-wing inclinations and mindset.Schools are more inclusive nowadays,symbols are worn during cultural events and not during other days.As a general rule and as agreed upon in writing by all parents any deviation from a uniform pattern in the school will be considered as indiscipline and to give it a communal colour and quote the bible out of context is taking it a little too far.

    • rc said, on October 25, 2015 at 4:52 am

      Thanks for your comment.

      There is no need to scream atrocity because I am not attacking the Christians at all. This is a matter of legal process and uniform law. Did I scream atrocity on the Mehandi fine ? Can you imagine the humiliation on the little seven year old boy – who applied the Mahendi in a joyous mood of a festival and then get this? You need a certain coldness to analyze things from a hand-length distance.

      > To get a minority tag the school needs to have atleast 75% from that community -Which is ofcourse illogical and stupid.Here is a partial list of “minority” institutions as per law in Karnataka.Note:The karnataka government (Congress) has increased the quota from 60% to 75%.

      You are misinformed about the KA rules.

      The current legal position for determination of minority status is the following (NCMEI Act + several SC judgments – I can cite if you want ) :

      Minority Educational Institution” means a college
      or institution (other than a University) established or
      maintained by a person or group of persons from
      amongst the minorities”

      There is no hard and fast rule for minimum percentage of students. Let me see if I can explain this to you and other readers.

      There are two types of minority schools& colleges – AIDED and UNAIDED.

      In AIDED minority schools the govt has a right to prescribe a certain proportion of non-minority students by following a ‘sprinkling of outsiders’ rule. In unaided minorities there are no such rules other than voluntary behavior. Let me come to the Karnataka example you have given about 60-75%.

      This is the situation in KA:

      The BJP govt in KA floated the idea that for a school to claim immunity from Right to Education burdens citing the minority exemption – their student body had to be 75% from the same minority community as the management. This was in 2012. This was immediately challenged in the High Court but in any case this new rule was only for those schools seeking new minority status not those which already had one. The KA HIGH court STAYED this order in end of 2014.

      Then CON swept into power and released a G.O in 2014 Jun (I think) that reduced the percentage from 75% to 25%, once again for new status. Azim Premji foundation challenged this and I think sought a 50% rule and also to extend some other aspects of RTE to minority – but they withdrew the application. In May 2014 -the Supreme Court ruled in Pramati that minority schools aided and unaided were out of RTE ambit. So this part of the case was closed.

      The 25% Congress Karnataka GO is also suspect and I dont think there is any support for it. Even if the 25% rule were to be followed then Hindus should also be able to admit 25% from CommunityX and gain exemption.

      Understand that the post is not about Christians or Hindus but about the uniformity and non-sectarian requirement for Rule of Law.

      • chaya said, on October 25, 2015 at 11:34 am

        ofcourse its an atrocity on a child for following his ancestral customs. bet never our ancestors would have imagined that their progeny will be treated like this by corpse cultists in their own land! & hindus are told that they shouldnt outrage because of ‘minority rights’! hindus make perfect dhimmis; more educated the better!

      • Paul Joshua said, on October 25, 2015 at 5:07 pm

        Thanks for reverting! As you rightly said by definition,a minority school is supposed to be for the minorities by the minorities. I guess there should more awareness so people who may have a problem do not admit their children to these minority schools as the minority schools are meant to promote Christian/Minority values

        I do not agree with your view that minority institutions impose a certain discipline coz of a certain verse in the Bible.Believe me, most of the Christians may not be even aware of the Bible verse you have quoted.If youve noticed most or all christian minority institutions declare their statement of faith to the parents in writing and get a written undertaking that they do not have a problem with their wards exposed to the faith of that minority institution .If after this the parents have a problem ,the parents should be squarely blamed for flouting an undertaking that they themselves have promised to adhere to.Please do not confuse the value systems with the discipline in the school -The discipline imposed may be obnoxious and insensitive -Like it or leave it ! It has nothing to do with culture or religion! Insensitive punishments if any should be brought to the notice of competent authorities.

        The government should also extend these RTE exemptions to Hindu schools which promote the hindu belief systems..and why not ? why is this government silent ? and why are minority institutions not penalized if they do not have the requisite number of minority students.Action should and must be taken by this government against minority institutions if they have flouted norms.After all the government has designed the law so none can be categorized as a religious minority institute.

        You are also surprisingly silent on the LARGE number of linguistic minority institutions-Whom do these institutions cater to ??

        Note to the admin : Dear sir/madam ,Kindly take note of the abuse above (Rudolf Pinochet) .This is a healthy discussion and people have no right to abuse my religion

    • AdarshLiberal said, on October 25, 2015 at 6:10 am

      You got it wrong. The post is about special rights to minorities which are denied to Hindus. The post is about lack of rule of law i.e, about different laws/rules based solely on the religion of the school management.

      You are also wrong about minority certificate. NCMEI gives the minority certificate. If your claim of 75% needed for minority certificate is true, please check whether the schools in this list have that requirement. As an example, Ryan International School, Bangalore is in this list. Go to Ryan school in Bangalore and check whether it has 75% Christian students. Please come back and post your findings.

      List of schools granted minority status by NCMEI recently.

      Click to access 0cabfdc2_Details%20of%20MSC%20issued%20as%20on%2031%20July%202015.pdf

    • AdarshLiberal said, on October 26, 2015 at 2:31 am

      The post is not saying the school did it precisely because it is prescribed in Bible. The school can do it because it is according to their holybook i.e, the school has a right to do it. The whole post is about the skewed system. He/she is pointing out how easy it is for minorities to open schools but not for Hindus unless they use secondary minority of linguistic. A Telugu has to go to Karnataka to claim minority(Why the hell someone has to do it in a free country is the basic question – whether language or religion). That also does not guarantee the autonomy given to linguistic minority. Sri Vani, a Telugu minority school in Bangalore, was denied such right by Karanataka High Court citing dubious reasons. No strict rigor followed in these procedures.

      http://dnasyndication.com/showarticlerss.aspx?nid=1ENclAF3Y03dPulsHhJppVVOUSYi5sQ3dPulsgRH/s3dPulsmiGaYLEn48=

      Now you ask why Hindus send kids to schools run by Christians. Let us discuss in market terms.

      Christians – can get Platinum if run by private players(Eg: Ryan school) -Complete autonomy in fixing school fees, selecting teachers, selecting students etc., At worst Gold – but still can get autonomy largely.

      Hindus – copper/clay. No autonomy in selecting students or teachers, how to much to charge.

      In market terms, Hindus do not find it easy to enter the market because of extra burdens and those Hindus in the market are discouraged to run them. But the demand for schools(market) increases but Hindus are not entering the market. Christians can enter the market and capture it(this is how Ryan schools are expanding.) So Hindu parents don’t find much supply from Hindu education providers in the market. Where would they send their kids? Certainly they have to send somewhere. That’s how the system is rigged.

  5. GJ said, on October 25, 2015 at 2:06 am

    Submission from the Jesuit Educational Association on the New Education Policy to MoHRD:

    http://www.jeasa.org/new-education-policy-suggestions-we-submitted-mhrd-minister-22nd-august-2015

    What are your views on it?

  6. Students said, on October 25, 2015 at 4:55 am

    Sir – you have it wrong it is about the students not about the schools. The beneficiaries of 25% are hindus also why are you complaining ?

  7. jay21121945 said, on October 25, 2015 at 12:36 pm

    Very nicely argued.. I just would like to draw the attention of Cardinal Newman discourses on the Idea of an University in 1851. He was an Oxford scholar. During those times only men were admitted into Oxford.. Only Christians were allowed to study in Oxford. Third you must agree to follow the thirty nine articles of the Anglican Church.. Newman was a very pious Christian n became a Catholic.. So he had to leave Oxford and later he became a Cardinal n gave these discourses on the idea of an University. He recommends liberal education and strongly argues against utilitarianism, fragmentation, rationalism n supports secularism.. He advocates any education must develop universality of outlook, cultivation of the mind, illumination of the intellect and instil love, care, tolerance and accommodating others views.. He speaks in the context of leaving Oxford because he became a Catholic from Protestant.. Even after two centuries I realise institutions are not following the Holy Cardinal Newman’s wise sayings..😔😔.

  8. CK said, on October 25, 2015 at 3:08 pm

    Christians are deluded. From the onset, their adoption of a Jewish text, faith and son as their ‘God’ shows their ignorant unoriginal sycophancy. These deluded abusers of humanity have overseen the death of millions and millions of innocent human beings through their murderous crusades and inquisitions and continue to carry on such atrocities by way of deceitful conversions, false flag attacks and vaccine programmes that renders their victims sterile. This inhumane religion deceived the world by convincing them that they bring ‘civilisation’ to savages. “Nine-tenths of what has been written by the British about India is so expressed that we are made to believe the shameful falsehood that stability and civilized government in Hindustan began only with the rule of the British”, said H. M. Hyndman. The same savages that remain at the cradle of civilisation, as Professor Eugene Burnoff one famously said, “We will study India with its philosophy and its legends, its literature, its laws and its language. Nay it is more than India, it is a page of the origin of the world that we will attempt to decipher”. The so called ‘savages’ that gifted language, maths, science and religion on them. They lie, steal and distort history to suit their agenda, an example would be the filth about corpses amongst tens of thousands of falsly injected rhetoric on a peaceful group of people designed so that they may one day hate themselves in order to accept this hostile forgein empire. These unashamed heathens would do well to read Edmund Burke, “This multitude of men (the Indian nation) does not consist of an abject and barbarous polulace, much less of gangs of savages; but of a people for ages civilized and cultivated; cultured by all the arts of polished life while we (Englishmen) were yet dwelling in the woods”. Materialism is their true religion, Apollonius Tyanaeus on his travels before Christ once said “In India I found a race of mortals living upon the Earth, but not adhering to it. Inhabiting cities, but not being fixed to them, possessing everything but possessed by nothing.”, in comparison to which the Abrahamic groups seem to be the true savages. Take their legendry history destroyer and icon, Max Muller, once said of these so called Indian ‘savages’, “If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India”, if you know of Muller and his role in India you understand the weight of this statement. Lord Curzon reminds them, “Powerful Empires existed and flourished in India while Englishmen were still wondering painted in the woods, and while the British Colonies were a wilderness and a jungle”. Short memories and selective amnesia like Frederich von Schlegel once said, “The Indians possessed a knowledge of the true God, conceived and expressed in noble, clear and grand language…Even the loftiest philosophy of the Europeans, the idealization of reason, as set forth by the Greeks, appears in comparison with the abundant light and vigor of oriental idealism, like a feeble spark in the full flood of the noon-day sun”. We can go further, Einstein and his claim “The whole world should be indebted to India, not because they gave us the number ‘zero’ but because they gave us the ‘Place value system, without which mathematics wouldnt have developed and without mathematics, we would have been primates till date”. These people have no shame or remorse, they are cultural terrorists who will steal a history, an identity, a culture from a people and call it their own, whilst at the same time fooling the world into thinking they are ‘civilized’. Dr Carl Sagan once said, “Hinduism is the only one of the Worlds faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond to those of modern scientific cosmology”, and he’s an atheist. Religion came with Abraham, a cynical twist on ‘Brahma’, Abrahams wife ‘Sara’, a twist on Brahmas wife Saraswati, prior to which we didnt have a concept of ‘God’, a single entity giving all instruction, all we had was ‘energy’ and Dharma(duty), towards ourselves, our communities, each other and the Earth we live on, a truly scientific way of living. “It is curious that people like Schroedinger, Neils Bohr and Oppenheimer were Upanishad scholars”, said John Archibald Wheeler the eminent American physicist that was one of the first to be involved in the theoretical development of the atomic bomb. See what they did with the knowledge, ‘destroyers of worlds’ Oppenheimer named them. We are not a religion like yours, we are scientifically based with no central dictatorial ‘God’ and no assumptions that we are born to be ‘saved’. Charles H. Townes, Nobel prize winner, once said of us, “Indian students should value their religious culture and of course, the classical Indian culture bears importantly on the meaning of life and values. I would not seperate the two. To seperate science and Indian culture would be harmful, I dont think it is practical to keep their scientific and spiritual culture seperate”. This is exactly what these imperial colonisers did. You have to ask why the still hold the ancient texts written by so called ‘savages’, why their children can learn Sanskrit and soon Malyalam, and not ours. The reason is simple, like Lord Macaulays’ address to the British parliament in 1835 explained, “I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth have I seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we will ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self esteem, their native culture, and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation”. All this from a group of people that still deludedly hold themselves up to the world as some sort of image of purity. American historian Will Durant said, “India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europes languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother through Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self goverment and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all”. How is your version of democracy going? Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Josephson, Oppenheimer, Schopenbauer and Einstein were scientists we will all remember, all of them scholars of Vedanta, all of them asked to be cremated after their awakening. From Voltaire and his claim that “everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganga”, to Pierre Simon de Laplace and his credit for mathematics to India, to Lin Yutang and Indias influence on China, Ahmed al-Ya’qubi and his credit to Indian astronomys influence on Arabia, Abu Uthman al-Ja i al-Basri and Indias influence on Iraq in medicine, mathematics, astronomy and other sciences. We still see and read of our influence all over the world yet these heathens remain in racial and prejudicial denial. All over Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa we find remanants of ancient Indian culture and history. Our longevity is due to our honesty, our integrity, consciousness and our intelligence. You have plagiarized your whole existence from us and yet you have not quenched your ravenous appetite. You have failed to erase us for thousands of years, truth is on our side, you will carry on failing.

  9. Mallika said, on October 25, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    Since independence it was fashionable for parents to send their kids to convent schools. But that has changed with new assertive Hindu middle classes choosing to send their children to DAVs, Bhavans, Chinmaya Colleges, NPS, DPS etc. So This new RTE is a mechanism to privilege Missionary and Minority schools over Hindu run schools.

    This RTE is nothing but a sinister means to shut down Hindu Schools for lower middle classes and fill that space with minority institutions.

  10. rc said, on October 26, 2015 at 4:28 am

    Dear Paul,

    I’ve deleted the obnoxious comment.

    You frame the question correctly when you say “Minority school is supposed to be for the minorities by the minorities” but fumble on the next step by advising publicity so Hindus and minorities other than those of the management are dissuaded from applying. That is the main thrust of this post.

    1) there is an instinct of minoritie schools WANTING to admit non-minorities. After all if this were not the case they can simply announce a 80% quota for minorities. If you see my old blog posts I make a distinction between christian institutions that are run for benefit of Christians – such as CMC Vellore and St Johns Bangalore. They have 80+% quota for Christians and are therefore model minority institutions.

    2) the point of this post is by accepting the franchise ( which includes NOC + non-applicability of RTE and other regulations) – the schools can no longer claim to run by private rules of business.

    3) the four franchise models are valid because minorities have full freedom to recruit teachers AND students from the majority (and non-management minority) population. Therefore we have a single market where four franchisees are playing. Once you recognize the craziness of this situation only then can you make rules to either segment the market or to make these franchises available on non-sectarian basis.

    >> a written undertaking that they do not have a problem with their wards exposed to the faith of that minority institution .If after this the parents have a problem ,the parents should be squarely blamed for flouting an undertaking that they themselves have promised to adhere to.Please do not confuse the value systems with the discipline in the school -The discipline imposed may be obnoxious and insensitive -Like it or leave it ! It has nothing to do with culture or religion! Insensitive punishments if any should be brought to the notice of competent authorities.

    These agreements hinge on the meaning of ‘being exposed to minority faith’ – I believe the Mehndi as well as prayers with damnation cross the line. They should be invalid because of the ‘franchise’ nature and that they are coercive in nature. Like I have already said Mehndi and Bindi etc are not acceptable due to religious sanctions – there is no other reason.

    >> The government should also extend these RTE exemptions to Hindu schools which promote the hindu belief systems..and why not ? why is this government silent ? and why are minority institutions not penalized if they do not have the requisite number of minority students.Action should and must be taken by this government against minority institutions if they have flouted norms.After all the government has designed the law so none can be categorized as a religious minority institute.

    Extending RTE exemption to Hindu schools is exactly what I want 🙂 Because that would mean both Minority and Non-Minority are exempt from RTE. Which means RTE itself is repealed. YAY! ONLY if RTE is repealed is there any hope for education in this country.

    Minority themselves should realize that even though Congress govt may appear to be their friend in exempting them, this kind of unsustainable and invidious discrimination has the potential to cause great harm.

    Finally this post in no way demeans the contributions of Christians. Kudos but that does not in any way impact the legal skew. Catholics have contributed in America without any legal preferences over the majority protestants. This is to show that what is required is uniform law where each religious group is allowed to play to its strenghts fully without the state picking winners.

    > You are also surprisingly silent on the LARGE number of linguistic minority institutions-Whom do these institutions cater to ??

    Linguistic is abhorrent too. I ‘ve blogged about them. Google for “realitycheck minority linguistic”

  11. LALITHA said, on October 26, 2015 at 9:10 am

    Why is it that when an article is written involving ‘minorities’, people begin to read it with a prejudiced mind? Nowhere has the writer accused anyone on basis of religion. He/she is only pointing out how skewed the system/law is.And this needs to be questioned. There should be uniformity. Good rc, that you have raised the issue.

  12. Jayendran said, on October 26, 2015 at 10:05 pm

    https://www.facebook.com/tvy.thiruvidachery/videos/658716077596867/ please check this link! one of the christian minority school in TN is behaving and treat students like a animals!

  13. Karthik said, on October 27, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    Very interesting article. Thanks for this!
    To add value to your point in the first few sentences of the last paragraph, I think the main reason why the majority population is burdened with laws is because the majority is (1) too divided by caste to act, if not be, united.
    (2) heavily brainwashed to not be proud of being a majority. It is to a point that any other who wants to be identified as a majority, is automatically labeled as a racist
    The best example here is the way few people belonging to the majority are pointing out things without a single piece of factual evidence.
    Having worked in both a minority school as well as a Hindu school as a teacher, I know the practical discriminatory practises that exist when it comes to rte implementation and overload of rules.
    The education officer knows that if he’s going to mess with the principal of a minority school, he’s had it. And he very very well knows that if he does the same in a majority run school, no one can do anything about it.

    Oh and some guy pointed out that the writer is calling Christians anti-national. No. The writer is trying to tell you that it’s not a level playing field. I can understand that you fear that all your privileges are under question but don’t fear. The point of this article is not that!

  14. Guest said, on October 29, 2015 at 10:46 pm

    Many or all most all of the Minority schools get funding/salaries from the local Governments [ie tax payer funded]. They should stop doing all this in the name of promoting a religion. Such actions create divisions among people and actions are too communal.

  15. ALU said, on October 30, 2015 at 10:44 am

    It’s going to be ending of mine day, except before end I am reading this great article to improve my experience.

  16. renag13 said, on October 31, 2015 at 6:13 pm

    Its happening in Many of the Christian School/College in india in the name of Discipline. Required to understand , not only State government / India Government is helping they are getting help from the other side of indian Boarder too , Also not only these schools are getting helped also the corrupt politician also getting helped from there to provide funds to these school in the name of Social Service .

  17. […] In general, it is important for the lay public not to be bamboozled by the name of a particular law. This is truer for the Right to Education Act than for any other. Our research has led us to reasonably conclude that in the long run, laws such as the Right to Education will end up determining who has the sole Right to Educate. For comprehensive research and analysis of this law, one can refer to these posts of Reality Check India(@realitycheckind): 1, 2, 3, 4. […]

  18. Intolerance of parasites | Akshar Smriti said, on November 5, 2015 at 8:43 am

    […] Church run schools than ban pagan symbols such as bangles or mehndi. Example here. […]

  19. Mallika said, on November 27, 2015 at 4:38 pm

    Dear Rc,

    You have been commenting about RTE and article 29/30 and equality before law. Here is a very important article by N N Taleb where he says a single asymmetric rule is enough to create asymmetry every where. This RTE and amendment 93 are those asymmetric rules.

    Mallika
    _________________________________________
    The Most Intolerant Wins:The Dominance of the Stubborn Minority

    by N N Taleb( Nicholos Nassim Talib)

    “This large payoff from stubborn courage is not just in the military.The entire growth of society, whether economic or moral,comes from a small number of people. So we close this chapter with a remark about the role of skin in the game in the condition of society. Society doesn’t evolve by consensus,voting,majority,committees,verbose meeting,academic conferences,and polling; only a few people suffice to disproportionately move the needle. All one needs is an asymmetric rule somewhere. And asymmetry is present in about everything.”

    Click to access minority.pdf

  20. […] blog by @realitycheckind exposes the troubling mentality prevalent in even the most sophisticated […]

  21. […] Hindu students for showing even the slightest attachment to their socio-religious practices. This blog captures the harsh reality of the regular injustices faced by Hindu students – from being […]

  22. […] Government selects all schools that are run by Hindu people only. […]

  23. […] Government selects all schools that are run by Hindu people only. […]

  24. Should Hindus Celebrate Christmas? - said, on December 26, 2016 at 2:57 am

    […] recently expelled from a Christian school in Bengaluru for sporting a ‘shikha’; this blog by @realitycheckind captures the harsh reality of the injustices faced by Hindu students who dared […]

  25. […] 500 fine imposed on a student for coming to Doveton School, Chennai with a Mehandi– a temporary Hindu  tattoo. The school is run by Doveton Protestant […]

  26. Geetu Aggarwal said, on September 14, 2017 at 1:07 pm

    I had studied in sacred heart secondary school in Chandigarh for 12 years. I have a very good experience. We are taught about Hindu religion by teaching Ramayan and Mahabharata as syllabus books. Even taught Kathak and Bharatnatyam dance forms. Also we were taught about 10 gurus of Sikhism. During school functions we used to put bindi, mehandi etc. There was never a ban of any kind on Hindu religious activities. We were taught God is one. Also they inculcated Indian family values in us.

  27. Anu said, on September 15, 2017 at 9:10 am

    I studied in a convent school and…. decided never to put my kids in one…
    I kept my promise. They went to a completely secular, very democratic school…

  28. John Mathew said, on September 20, 2017 at 9:35 am

    Shame on this Christian school for this stupid attitude !! They should grow up fast !!! I am a christian who studied in christian schools. !!! In MCCHS we would have rioted !! Taht was possible in the 70s……

  29. […] 500 fine imposed on a student for coming to Doveton School, Chennai with a Mehandi– a temporary Hindu  tattoo. The school is run by Doveton Protestant […]

  30. […] caned the girls who had applied Marudhani (Henna or Mehendi) on the occasion of Diwali. This is not the first time we hear of children being punished in Christian schools for applying Mehendi. So the school […]

  31. Gopal said, on April 2, 2018 at 3:21 pm

    If some Christians run certain schools and they find Hindu symbols offensive then they should step out of a Hindu country. If the Christians dare do this in a Hindu country then they should follow Hindu customs and discard all Christian symbols and rituals as it is offensive.

  32. Shweta thakur said, on July 31, 2018 at 10:54 am

    who are searching a boarding school for kids. This school level facilities in affordable fee.

  33. Sarita Sharma said, on July 31, 2018 at 11:03 am

    A popular CBSE School in Dehradun.its a good school for our child.

  34. Should Hindus Celebrate Christmas? said, on December 25, 2019 at 5:44 am

    […] recently expelled from a Christian school in Bengaluru for sporting a ‘shikha’; this blog by @realitycheckind captures the harsh reality of the injustices faced by Hindu students who dared […]

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  36. Jayesh said, on October 14, 2022 at 7:03 am

    We have witnessed it, my daughter studies in Nirmala convent school Rajkot and there’s strict “No’ for Mahendi, no “Rakhi” etc. I have nothing against missionary schools, but they are intentionally and subtly trying to suppress local traditions…. you have to uproot people from their traditions before you can convince them that your culture / religion is inferior


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