In a diocese in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, a religious woman was expelled from school for allegedly making derogatory comments about Hindu gods and the prime minister. The proof should be a short audio clip on a social media network. Hindu nationalists had strongly demanded their removal.
Last month, after several days of protests, Sister Mary Prabha Selvaraj was dismissed from her job, St. Gerosa English Medium Primary School. The school is run by the Sisters of Charity of Mangaluru (formerly Mangalore). how ucanews Hindu nationalists led by local lawmakers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janati Party protested and exerted pressure until the school administration was forced to give in to the demands, it reported on Friday.
The employer cannot withstand public pressure
The sister's retraction was based on a short audio clip that spread on social media. Then a voice purporting to be the sister's reads the poem “A Work is a Praise” by India's national poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The poem says that God is not tied to a fixed place of worship. Shortly after the clip spread, Hindus called for a boycott of Christian schools. Sister insulted faith. The district government then ordered the school to fire the nun to maintain “law and order.” The school could not resist public pressure and followed orders.
Press Secretary Fr JP Saldanha said otherwise ucanewsThe allegations are baseless and the school is preparing a complaint against the author of the audio clip. “The sister was expelled without any evidence other than an unverified audio clip,” Saldanha said. “But the truth will come out when the police find the culprit.” Archbishop of the Bangalore Archdiocese Peter Machado also condemned the incident. “Some religious fundamentalists make false accusations against Christians in order to take revenge or incite religious hostilities,” the bishop said. Christians will always respect all other religions.
Strict anti-conversion law
The school is currently under police protection. Kanataka has a strict anti-conversion law which is often used against Christians. The Congress party currently in power in the state has made it its mission to protect all religious communities. Christians constitute only 1.87% of the population of the federal state. More than 80 percent of them are Hindus. However, the Diocese of Mangalore has a rich Christian past. More than 50 bishops in India come from the diocese that was first visited by Portuguese missionaries in 1521.
(Okan – wet)
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