Special Report |
Teaching school a
lesson
Shiv Sainiks target Christian—run institutions in Mumbai for the fourth
successive year, in an attempt to force admissions on school principals Come June every year, for the past three years
and the Shiv Sena, the big brother in the ruling alliance in Within the same week, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Sion and the
Infant Jesus School, Jogeshwari (east) were also threatened. Finally, St. Anne’s
School, Malad, was subjected to similar physical intimidation on July 3, when a
group of Shiv Sainiks, ‘presented’ the schools’ principal, Father Francis
Carvalho, with a list of 11 children that should be admitted. Needless to say,
the skirmish occurred when they were politely refused. Four schools threatened in seven days and what has been the
police reaction? Arrests, registration of cases against erring Sainiks and
prompt police protection in the case of the first school at Worli, thanks to the
intervention of former police chief, Julio Ribeiro, an ex–student. It has been
similarly swift in others. What has supplemented the police action, however, is
an extremely prompt response from an outraged citizenry in at least one of the
three areas of Mumbai where these threats have taken place. Over 300 residents of Mumbai residing in Malad, many of whom are
parents of students studying in St. Anne’s School, maintained a round-the–clock
vigil for 36 hours last week to ward off further intimidation. "Presently, there
is a certain amount of calm because of the positive role of the media in
projecting the violence," Dolphy D’Souza, national secretary, All India Catholic
Union, told Communalism Combat. D’Souza is also an active part of the
local resistance in Malad. "The archbishop’s clear and uncompromising stand has also
helped. He has repeatedly made it clear that no admissions would be entertained
under pressure and no intermediaries in the admission process would be
encouraged." What has made the biggest difference in Malad is also the united
resistance from parents of all communities who stood around the school in a
round–the–clock vigil. Which parent would want their child’s school being the
target of intimidation?" The archbishop of Mumbai, Ivan Dias voiced the serious concern
of the Catholic community of Mumbai to the chief minister, Narayan Rane,
following the physical intimidation. In a signed statement, he said that "the
priests and nuns have been selflessly serving society and catering to the
education of young boys and girls, seventy per cent of whom are non–Christian".
He formally drew the attention of the government, yet again, to the intimidatory
and pressure tactics being indulged in by a "certain political group" (read Shiv
Sena) that lives by the dictum, "might is right." Attempts at giving bribes and
subjecting the local school authorities to all kinds of pressures have resulted
in a Vigilance Cell being set up at the Archbishop’s house. This year’s assaults are the continuation of a four–year–old
stand-off between Catholic schools and the SS’ Shivshahi regime. The
latter has been trying to use its political clout to have a say in the matter of
admissions to the primary sections of these schools that offer quality
education, while the former have been fighting undue political interference.
Over the past few years several such attacks and intimidatory tactics have been
indulged in all over Mumbai. The propaganda that accompanies the attacks is
typical; bias towards Christian children in the matter of admissions or alleged
inadequate representation of Maharashtrians on the staff. Repeatedly, school
authorities have pointed out that over 70 per cent of the students studying in
Catholic institutions are non–Christians and the staff in most local colleges
predominantly hails from the state anyway. In 1997, another school, the Conossa Convent at Mahim was
pressurised by SS corporator, Prakash Ahire, for similarly refusing to
capitulate to political pressure over admissions. In April 1997, local Shiv Sainiks had forced the principal of
the Devi Gauridutt Mittal College of Arts and Commerce in Malad, run by a
Marwari trust, to give a written undertaking that henceforth as many as 80 per
cent of the staff would be Maharashtrians only. The same year, they had also
vowed to continue their targeting of institutions like the MD Shah Mahila
College and TS Bafna College, both at Malad. While the police response this time has been prompt, in the past
the message has been to the contrary, allowing the writ of the law–breakers to
go unchecked. |