By Matters India Reporter

Mangaluru, Feb 15, 2024: A convent school in Mangaluru, southern India, on February 15 denied the allegations from some Hindu nationalist groups that a nun teacher had made derogatory remarks against Hindu deities.

St. Gerosa High School’s denial came three days after it suspended the nun, yielding to the pressure from the Hindu groups.

A press statement from Sister Anitha, the school headmistress, clarified that Sister Mary Prabha Selvaraj had not insulted Hindu gods but only taught Nobel Laureate poet Ravindranath Tagore’s poem on “Work is Worship” in a moral science class.

The headmistress said the nun had denied belittling Hindu deities. What she did was to explain to the students the meaning of the poem. The teacher had clarified that she had not hurt Hindu religious sentiments.

The trouble started after an audio clip from the mother of an unnamed student went viral. It alleged that the nun had made derogatory remarks about Hindu gods during class in early February.

On February 12, Hindu groups led by local legislator Vedavyas Kamath barged into the school and demanded immediate suspension of the teacher.

“As alleged by the anonymous woman in the voice message and the BJP leaders, Sr Prabha did not make any derogatory remarks against Hindu or any other religion or on the prime minister while explaining the poem.”

The headmistress also clarified that the school management had urged the district administration to conduct an enquiry into the matter, stating that the audio message was far from the truth. The school also sought protection from any untoward incident.

“A complaint was also lodged with the police to take action against the woman’s audio that had gone viral,” Sister Anitha said.

The headmistress also regretted that the protest was staged to tarnish the image of school that has imparted quality education with minimum fees for the past 60 years.

“We, being secular in our outlook, always respect all students and do not discriminate against anyone on the basis of caste, creed and religion. Every year we celebrate Deepavali, Christmas and Eid,” the headmistress explained.

She also said that on February 10 four persons had approached her with the complaint that Sister Prabha had made some derogatory statements against the Hindu religion and the prime minister in the class.

The headmistress said she had then assured them that she would look into the matter and take appropriate action. On enquiry, she said the teacher concerned had completely denied the allegations.

On February 12, officials of various government departments visited the school and the management had explained the truth, Sister Anitha explained.

“Meanwhile, a mob led by MLA pressurized me to remove the teacher with immediate effect. With no other go and to maintain law and order and to disperse the mob that was swelling, I was forced to issue a statement removing Sister Prabha from the job,” the headmistress said.

“It was hurting to see that the MLA who should have been a person for all, gathered the children around him and instigated them to shout slogans, against their own school. The students who were not in the class while teaching the poem, but of other classes were also made to shout slogans,” the statement said.

The headmistress said the suspended nun has 16 years of teaching experience, five of them in Gerosa School. “There has been no complaint against her so far,” she added.

She expressed doubt about the intention of the woman who made the allegations over social media. “If she was a parent, why did she not give a written complaint to the school management about the issue?” the headmistress asked.

Meanwhile the diocese of Mangalore and the Archdiocese of Bangalore have condemned the incident and asserted that the allegations were false.

“It is universal that our Christian Institutions are rendering selfless service especially in the field of education and health, to the people of all religions without any discrimination,” said a press statement from Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore.