The Shiv Sena bullies are back!

I went to a Christian school, was converted to Catholicism (my mother's religion), kept my original Hindu name. I remember celebrating all religious holidays - Holi and Id, with my friends of all faiths. We didn't have to attend schools on these days.

I also disagree with allowing kids to wear their bangles/ bindis. The idea of a 'uniform' is that all kids come in to the classroom looking the same, and being equal.

Why don't the self-righteous Hindutva councilors spend their time improving the infrastructure of Hindu schools so that they would have equal prominence as Christian schools in Bombay?

As long as Hindu kids studying at Christian schools don't get the idea that Christianity is superior to Hinduism, let's leave politics out of the classroom, for Godssake (pun intended).

Christian schools balk at Hinduism directive

Published Date: May 26, 2010
By Priscilla Pinto, Mumbai

Church officials are hotly disputing a new directive that Christian
schools should follow Hindu traditions and culture more closely.

The Brihanmumbai (Greater Mumbai) Municipal Corporation passed a
resolution on May 18, calling on Christian schools to give holidays
for Hindu religious festivals and to allow girls to wear bangles and
the traditional bindi on their foreheads. The resolution also states
that school board seats should be automatically offered to elected
councilors.

The corporation is dominated by two pro-Hindu groups, Shiv Sena and
the Bharatiya Janata Party. The chair of its Education Committee,
Rukmini Kharatmol, insists that Catholic schools who seek government
funding should follow Hindu traditions, as most students in them are
Hindus.

Father Gregory Lobo, secretary of the Bombay Archdiocesan Board of
Education, which coordinates 150 Catholic schools around the city,
says most of their schools do give days off for important Hindu
festivals and allow girls to wear the bindi and bangles. But he went
on to add that “the corporation has no jurisdiction over our schools
and only the state education department can issue instructions.”

Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Catholic Secular Forum, went
further by saying his group “will not tolerate interference” and may
seek legal counsel.

Dolphy D’Souza, president of the Bombay Catholic Sabha, dismissed the
directions as a political gimmick and warned that Catholics could take
to the streets if the corporation fails to withdraw them.