Police in a central Indian state have begun investigating complaints that a Catholic school has been hurting the religious sentiments of its students by insisting on reciting prayers in English. “A case is registered against us for following the medium of instruction [English] in our school,” said Sister Rashmi Kuzhyil, vice principal of Vandana Convent School at Guna in Madhya Pradesh state. The school management and its principal Sister Catherine Vattoly are the prime accused in the complaint filed by the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP or All India Students’ Council), the student body of the ruling pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “It is a fabricated case,” Kuzhiyil told on July 23.
The English-medium school has 3,700 students and has been run by the Sisters of St. Elizabeth congregation for the past 50 years. It falls under the Sagar diocese and is a much sought-after school for Guna city residents. Kuzhiyil said that during the assembly on July 15, Vattoly found the students reciting prayers in Hindi instead of English. She stopped them and instructed them to follow the school’s medium of instruction and recite prayers in English. On July 22, around 50 activists from ABVP forcibly entered the school premises and began to shout slogans against the principal and school management. They also sought the immediate removal of Vattoly, alleging she “hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu students.” A few students later joined the protesters. “A police official informed us about the complaint, but we are yet to get its copy,” Kuzhiyil said. A district education official and others visited the school on July 23 and recorded statements from the students and staff members. “Unfortunately, a five-decade-old school is dragged into un-necessary controversy,” said Bishp James Athikalam.