My decision not to send my children to Christian school

Today I am writing about my decision not to send my children to any Christian school. I took this decision despite fact that fee in Christian schools are lower than other private school. I did never apply to any Christian school for admission. I have two children one boy who is studying in class 4 and a girl who will start going in Nursery class from April 1st next year.

Reasons for this decision:  I took this decision based on examples of discrimination against Hindu student and misinformation given about Hindu religion in these schools. I am listing few of these examples here:

1. Hindu gods are not capable of helping their devotees but Jesus is: I heard from one of my colleague whose niece  was going to Don Bosco school Delhi that one day school bus broke down on the road and the driver of the bus asked children to pray to their God to fix the bus. Children were asked to pray to Bhagwan Ram but the bus did not start. Children were asked to pray to Wahe Guru but the bus did not start. After that they were asked to pray to Jesus to fix the bus and the bus started after that. Impressionable mind of children got an impression that Hindu gods are incapable of helping them but Jesus is capable of helping them. These kind of stories I have heard from many people and sometimes these are even published in newspapers also. I can't close my eyes and hope that these kind of things will not happen to my child if I send my child to these schools.
2. Misinformation about Hindu religion: Somerville School Noida few years back staged a play on Ramayan  in which Bagwan Ram, Sita and Lakshman was depicted as characterless and Ravana was as good character person. People objected to it when they came to know about it from their children and even a FIR was registered in this case and this news was published in newspapers. This school is still running under same principal and no action is taken against people who staged the play.
3. Misinformation about Hindu Religion St. Xavier School: When I was in my collage one of my classmate from St. Xavier School told me that in Vedas it is written that incest is recommended for good citizen. I was shocked and amazed that Vedas are in curriculum of a christian school and not in my government school. I inquired about in which classes Vedas are being taught in St. Xavier School. He told me that this information was given to him by his English teacher and Vedas were not in their curriculum. How come nothing about Vedas were being taught in the school but this kind of misinformation which will cause hatred for Hindu religion was being taught in the school.
4. Children are taught things which are not suitable for their age: One of my classmate from a christian school told me that they shown video of how abortion are carried out and how unborn baby is killed and taken out from womb of the mother. Does it help in stopping abortion to show in gory detail how abortion are carried out? If they want to campaign against  abortion they can just say that killing a unborn baby is equal to killing any other human. Why this gory details were being shown to children.
5. Christian schools are center of corruption: Christian school fees are lower than other schools and it is projected that these schools don't make money but education is being subsidized by donation of christian charity organization and that is why 50% seats are reserved for christian children. It is not true, One of my colleague went to Somerville School Noida and he was asked to pay 50,000 rupee to a Christian Charity to get his daughter admitted to school. This is nothing but corruption they are forcing parent to pay bribe to Christian Charity to get admission for their children. The amount paid by Hindu parents to this charity will come back to school as Christian Benevolence. These schools are running on Hindu money and working against Hindu religion. Fee in these schools are low because these schools are getting subsidized land and other aid from government. On the other hand schools run by Hindu organisation don't get any subsidy or aid.
6. It is not as if there is no discrimination with poor christian: The schools which are forcing Hindu parents to donate money to Christian Charity are also forcing christian parents to donate money to Christian Charity. One of the christian student who was denied admission in St. Stephen College under quota for christian filed a case in court because he was denied admission on the bases that he was not member of a particular Christian society which charges annual subscription fee. Any poor christian who can't afford to be member of these societies don't get admission. St. Stephen Collage gets crores in grant from collage and still discriminates against majority who pay taxes for the grant received by this collage.

I am OK if I do need to spend few thousand extra on education of my children and I am also OK if they get 5% less marks in their 12th class exam. But I am not OK with my children's mind being polluted by these Anti-Hindu schools. 

Surge pricing of app based cab companies

Today's post is regarding surge pricing of app based cab companies UBER and OLA. The app based companies increase their prices a demand increases. Today I was discussing with some of my friends that cab drivers at Airport and Railway station charge 600 rupee for a ride which should have been 350 rupee this is nothing but blackmailing. When I asked them about surge pricing of app based cab companies they said that it is demand and supply economics and customer had option of going to another alternative if he/she does not agree with surge pricing. I don't see any difference between surge pricing and taxi drivers asking for extra money at Airport and Railway Stations. It is also surge because of demand and supply economics. Why should it be called blackmailing if some small group of taxi drivers do it and demand and supply economics if a 1000 crore company do it?

I do know of a case when a passenger paid 5000 rupee for a ride to Airport in UBER cab at the time of even and odd scheme in Delhi, the surge was 20 times at that time. I heard about this on FM radio channel, I don't know why other people don't remember it. Had it been a normal taxi driver everyone would have been talking about ending this blackmailing of taxi divers but since it was a 1000 crore company it is being called free market economics. Why?

As far as I am concerned I think that there should be a control on free market so that service provider don't exploit consumer by overcharging. So there should be a maximum price for any product offered to consumer. Free market is about getting more consumer by offering cheaper products and making profit by providing service to more consumers and not by blackmailing customer and selling product at exorbitantly high price and making more profit by that.  

A nun who wanted to quit a Kerala church, now faces criminal cases, branded mentally unstable

Why is media silent about malpractices which are continuing in Churches? I do see them highlighting any small thing about Hinduism and about churches they are always silent even on big issues. I see same problem with my Hindu friends, they are always critical about Hindu religion and India but if someone says anything bad about Christianity or USA they start fighting with him. Why do we see only bad things about over selves and only good things about others?  

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http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/nun-who-wanted-quit-kerala-church-now-faces-criminal-cases-branded-mentally-unstable-47810

A nun who wanted to quit a Kerala church, now faces criminal cases, branded mentally unstable

"I forgave them and tolerated everything till now. I cannot take it any further,” Sr Mary Sebastian says.

Megha Varier| Monday, August 8, 2016 - 12:24

The Church preaches charity, kindness, and compassion towards everyone but Sr. Mary Sebastian, a 45-year-old nun, is afraid that the very institution that she has served for 25 years might harm her.

Sr. Mary wants to leave the Church and it is a well-known fact that the Church does not take too kindly to rebels.

In January this year, Sr. Mary took the decision to quit the Church because of the harassment that she allegedly faced in the hands of her superiors at the Syro-Malabar Church’s Cherthungal Nasrathubhavan Convent under Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC) in Pala, Kottayam district of Kerala. She has been living there for the past three years.

Sr. Mary approached the Church to grant her 3 years of exclaustration that allows a nun to stay outside the convent as a common citizen and return to the convent after the designated period.

However, she was denied permission as the Church feared that granting her this would encourage other nuns to follow suit.

When the Church deliberately delayed the proceedings, Sr. Mary approached the Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement, an organization that works for rehabilitation of ex-priests and ex-nuns. Matters went haywire after the organization intervened.

In May, she was given dispensation and was asked to quit the Church. Having decided that it is best to do so, Sr. Mary demanded that she be paid her due in order for her to lead a life outside the church. The authorities objected.

Renji Njellani, organizing secretary of KCRM, points out that any priest or nun who wishes to quit the Church is entitled to be given money according to the canon law. The Church refused to pay the sum of Rs.30 lakh that Sr. Mary demanded and offered to pay Rs.1 lakh, after months of negotiation.

Two weeks ago, Sr. Mary filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and Women’s Commission alleging that she was facing physical and mental harassment at the hands of her superiors. But after she approached Women’s Commission, the Church, she alleges, has found new ways of taunting her.

They even filed a police complaint recently, accusing her of theft. She says that police officials threatened her to quit the Church as per their order. 

Last week, a complaint was filed with Child Welfare Committee accusing her of harassing the children at Balabhavan, a children’s home associated with the convent. Sr. Mary claims that the authorities of the committee forcefully made her sign a document pledging that she will stay away from the children.

Renji points out that the Church in fact uses the committee to its own advantage, with priests appointed in key positions.

“I am scared for my life…They are so powerful that they may even harm me!” - these were her first words as Sr. Mary spoke to The News Minute over phone.

Sr. Mary claims that false allegations have been levelled against her ever since she joined the Church.

In 1997 when she was a student of Master of Social Work, her superiors at the convent had accused her of being in a relationship with a priest.

“Nobody asked for any explanation from my side…I wasn’t given a chance to prove the allegations wrong, or at the least defend myself. They accused me of wrongdoing and I was forcefully sent for retreat camps where I wasn’t allowed to speak to anybody. I used to spend the days cut off from the outside world,” she says.

But things became worse when in the early 2000s, Sr. Mary objected to a misappropriation at Shanthinilayam, a special school in Pala run by the Church. 

“When I found that they were forging documents to include nuns in the teachers’ list to claim university grants, I objected. I discussed the issue with other nuns and the superiors came to know about it. Since then, they have constantly been trying to tag me as a mentally challenged person,” she says.

She also alleges that she was repeatedly transferred from one convent to the other, at the behest of the Church, often in the middle of an academic year.

Sr. Mary, who works as a teacher at a school run by the Church, says that she was brutally assaulted by her superiors at the various convents she has lived over the years.

“They would hit me, accusing me of various things, including robbery. They hid letters addressed to me. I forgave them and tolerated everything till now. I cannot take it any further,” she says.

The Church involved her family in all these matters too and would demand that they visit to sort things out.

Sr. Mary’s decision to leave the Church citing harassment is not a unique instance. Only a few years ago, Sister Jesme, who had been a nun for over 33 years, quit the Church alleging harassment by her superiors. Her leaving and the subsequent release of her autobiography "Amen: The autobiography of a nun" had created a huge controversy at that time. Sr. Abhaya’s murder, in which priests are the prime accused, is yet another example of how things are not exactly holy in the Church.

Once she leaves the convent, Sr. Mary cannot go back home.

"Do you know what it means to be a nun who quit the Order? Our society hasn't grown enough to accept such things. People will see it as my betrayal towards Jesus. But only if they knew that my fight is against the Church and not Jesus...." 

She says that her family does not want her to return home. "In fact they don't want me to quit the Church. It is all because of the stigma that is associated with it. Society will only target my family for my actions."

Dismissing the allegations of harassment at the hands of superiors, spokesman for Syro-Malabar order of the Catholic Church, Dr Paul Thelakkat states that the Church does not stop anybody from quitting.

Saying that he is unaware of the case in detail, Dr. Thelakkat claims that the canon law does not prescribe the Church to pay compensation to those who quit.

“As far as I understand, there is only one problem here. If the nun wants to quit, it is up to her to decide. But she cannot hold the Church responsible to provide rehabilitation. When a nun joins the Church, she voluntarily does so, agreeing that she will not hold any property under her name. Then how can she now stake claim in the Church’s joint property?” he asks.

Instances where the Church does provide monetary help to those who quit are purely out of ‘humanitarian concerns’, he maintains, adding that the nunnery is a service and not a means to earn money.