New Delhi: Following a recent call by a Hindutva group, Sanmilita Sanatan Samaj, to avoid all religious symbols and costumes in educational institutions in Assam, a number of top Christian institutions across the northeastern state have seen posters stuck on their premises, warning them against using their schools as religious institutions.
The posters, printed by the group in Assamese, have said, “This is the final warning to stop using the school as a religious institution…stop anti-Bharat and unconstitutional activities or else…”.
The minority institutions were asked to “remove” churches from within their school premises, along with all idols of Jesus and Mary. The posters also said, “Christian missionary educational institutions should stop ignoring the proposed New Education Policy (of the Narendra Modi government) and show respect to the Indian Parliament.”
On February 18, authorities at the well-known Carmel School in Jorhat approached the local police after spotting such a poster on its boundary wall.
“The application, written by school principal Sister Rose Fatima, said that her institution had ‘been very accommodating and respectful towards people of every religion and culture’ and maintained an ‘atmosphere of peace and tranquility’,” reported The Telegraph. The news report said that the police station had confirmed the development and was investigating the matter.
Soon, the posters were spotted at the Don Bosco Boys School and Saint Mary’s School in Guwahati and other Christian minority schools in Barpeta, Dibrugarh and Sivasagar towns. Posters were signed in Guwahati’s busy Dighalipukhuri area and Nehru Park too.
According to news reports, the poster campaign by the Guwahati-based outfit begun after it asked Christian missionary-run schools on February 7 to remove all religious symbols and statues from their premises within 15 days. A similar diktat was issued by another group, Kutumba Suraksha Parishad, recently.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.