Complaint filed against school in K’taka for forcefully imposing Christianity on students, NCPCR takes cognizance

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Mandya to initiate inquiry and take necessary legal action against Nirmala English High School located in Pandavapura Town, Mandya district for forcefully imposing Christianity on minor Hindu children.

The Nirmala English High School is running under the aegis of an International Christian Missionary organization named Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (SMMI) is also receiving aid from the Karnataka State Government for providing education to the poor.

It was reported that on 23 December 2021, parents of some students and locals had an argument with school management for making their children participate in Christmas celebrations in the school and collecting ₹50 from each student in the name of celebrations.

As soon as this came to light, legal activism organization Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF) probed the incident and found that the management is imposing Christianity on non-Christian students by making them participate in Christian events like Christmas, Good Friday, etc. and distributing Bibles and other Christian literature. Students were also being made to observe fast on the eve of Christian religious events.

It was also found that the school management made it mandatory for students belonging to different religions to participate in daily Christian prayer in the morning while making it optional for them to stand for National Anthem.

A complaint was lodged with the NCPCR by LRPF against the school for violating Article 28(3) of the Indian Constitution.

The NCPCR has now taken cognizance of the matter and has directed the district administration to initiate action against the school.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.