Assam Hindu outfit gives Christian schools 15 days to remove religious symbols: Reports

In BJP-ruled Assam, a Hindu outfit has allegedly issued a diktat to Christian missionary schools to do away with all religious symbols, including churches on campus, idols or pictures of Jesus and Mary, and the religious habits and cassocks that the priests and nuns usually wear.

The group, called Kutumba Surakshya Parishad (family safety council), has reportedly set a 15-day deadline for all Christian missionary schools to comply or face dire consequences. Christian leaders are reportedly planning to approach Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the matter.

Conversion claims

According to Satya Ranjan Borah, the president of Kutumba Surakshya Parishad, the move is aimed at stopping Christian missionaries from carrying out conversions on the pretext of running schools. “Christian missionaries are converting schools and educational institutions into religious institutions. We will not allow that,” he reportedly said at a press conference in Guwahati on February 7.

Borah has accused priests and nuns of promoting Christianity in schools by wearing cassocks and religious habits on campus. According to news portal Northeast Now, Kutumba Surakshya Parishad also wants all churches within school premises to be removed.

In a related incident, the organization recently demanded action against a Christian missionary school in the state for allegedly assaulting a 10-year-old student for chanting “Jai Sri Ram” in the classroom.

Christian leaders consider legal means

Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati has reportedly asked all priests, nuns, and brothers to wear civil clothes on campuses for now as a precaution. The archbishop told UCA News that all the allegations of the Hindu outfit were “baseless” and said they would explore “legal means to deal with such open threats”.

In Assam and the entire North-East, Christian missionaries have been involved in education for several decades. There are many such schools run by the missionaries. But in recent years, threats from Hindu groups to Christianity and missionary activities have increased in the entire North-East, say Christian leaders.

Christians have a 3.74 per cent share in the population of Assam while the national average is 2.3 per cent.