By Matters India Reporter
Jarora, July 31, 2024: The student wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh state has hung the portraits of Hindu goddess in a Catholic school where statutes of Jesus, Mother Mary and other saints were kept.
Some 50 young members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on July 27 barged into the campus of St Peter’s Higher Secondary School managed by the diocese of Jhabua at Jaora in Ratlam district.
“The youth ordered the school officials to remove all the statues of Jesus, Mother Mary and other saints from the campus,” said Father Rocky Shah, the diocese’s public relation officer.
When the officials refused to heed to their demand, the intruders staged protest inside the campus for a while shouting slogans against the school management and the Christians.
“The school officials informed police and sought support. The police officials reached the spot so late and tried to silence the school officials and supported the youth,” Father Shah told Matters India on July 29.
“The youth in the presence of the police hang the portraits of goddess Saraswati, (the goddess of wisdom and knowledge) and Bharat Mata, (Mother India) on the wall above the statues of Christian saints,” the priest said.
They also threatened the school officials with serious repercussion in case they removed the portraits.
“They also accused the school of not producing any engineer or doctor but producing priests and nuns,” added Father Shah.
“We have not yet filed a police complaint,” he said and added, “It will be done after consultation with the parents of the students.”
Jhabua diocese has a history of hostility against Christians especially at the behest of Hindu nationalist groups who are inimical to Christian missionary activities, primarily educating the poor.
These groups accuse Christians of converting poor people to Christianity offering allurements, a charge Christian leaders deny.
Christians form about 4 percent of predominantly tribal district of Jhabua with more than 1 million population.
“They also accused the school of not producing any engineer or doctor but producing priests and nuns,”
The young members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has made a very serious allegation against the Catholic Church. If there is any truth in the allegation, the Church should immediately close down its schools.
Until now, Catholic Church was using Kerala as a factory for producing priests and nuns. Now that the production in the Kerala factory is coming down, they are opening new units in the tribal areas of Jharkhand, Orissa, M.P. etc