By Er Rajesh Pathak, Bhopal
Affiliated with a Church, Sister Rita’s Public School is there in Kochi of Kerala state. It is along with Hindu and Christian students that there are 100 Muslim girls also study in the school. The other day, a Muslim girl came to the school wearing hijab. Management objected to the girl’s ‘misconduct’, calling it violating the school-dress code! The issue flared up and took the political turn even as Kerala Education Minister had to issue directive to allow the girl wearing hijab into the class.
However, here the power of community organization reminded the minister that his hand laid on wrong place. Tolerant and divided on the caste lines are not the Christians, as the Hindus are! And that they knew how to react and repel the threat to their faith and missions based on it. They soon set upon setting the things to their way already well-defined in such exigencies. First of all, the school principal reached the court for the justice. So, on the other side, the Cyro-Malabar Church soon unleashed the charge on this minister of Communist Party of intensifying the communal sensitivities in his audacity.
The state is composed of 54% Hindus; 26% Muslims; and, lowest of all, 20% Christians. In the state it was the church that first of all raised the matter of ‘Love Jihad’, notably. A delegation of the church met the then Chief Minister, Mr. Achyutanand, and handed over the evidences to him. Convinced, Mr. Achyutanand warned that no ‘jihad’ would be allowed in the state. In 2009 church even made contact with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other Hindu organisations. Since then they together are engaged in dealing with this common threat. Later, the problem further compounded, for there came to be added the issues of ‘Land Jihad’ and ‘Narcotic-Jihad’. Notably, a few years back the Bishop of a Church warned on this case in the point. He came to the national limelight when he called ‘Love-Jihad’ and ‘Narcotic-Jihad’ complementary to each other, both being used as a weapon to push the non-Muslims to the path of illegal activities suiting to their greater plan.
And, however, here a new turn came into the ‘hijab-dispute’ as this 8th class student is reported to have left the school in ‘disappointment’. The father of the girl alleged that it was the principal of the mission school that had said, ‘Wearing the hijab would excite fear among the rest!’
This is not something new in Kerala as for the Christian community to be dragged into a communal disputed that could otherwise be avoided by mutual engagements. Months back a Moulvi (cleric) named Al Hikami living in Kondotty township of Malpooram district of Kerala had gain notoriety for inciting Christians through posting a message in contempt against Christ in social media. On complaint a report against the moulvi was then lodged by the Cyber-cell Police of Kochhi.
Truly speaking, the so-called progressive intellectuals are no less responsible for such kind of increasing intolerance among non-Hindus. For, when it comes to condemn the Hindu-communalism they spontaneously grow vocal about it. And that’s too in a big way. Whereas same is found wanting regarding other!
(The writer is an Engineer and a freelancer writing across various publications and can be reached at Mob-9826337011/9755542841)
