Permission of students or their parents necessary for reciting prayers or mantras !

• Issue over Christian prayers and mantras in Christian (convent) schools

• Statement by Indian Revenue Service officer Nisha Oraon from Jharkhand

Ranchi (Jharkhand): If a minority school receiving partial government aid conducts a religious prayer, no student can be compelled to participate in it under Article 28(3) of the Constitution. If the student is a minor, obtaining the consent of his or her parents is mandatory, said Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Nisha Oraon. She was responding to a question regarding Christian prayers in convent schools.

Religious prayers cannot be conducted in schools receiving full government funding !

Oraon said that most minority schools receive government funding or are affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), or State Education Boards. Such minority schools are required to comply with Article 28 of the Constitution. If a minority school receives 100 per cent government funding, then under Article 28(1), no form of religious instruction or religious prayer can be conducted there.

My parents’ permission was not taken for reciting Christian prayers !

Nisha Oraon said, “I studied in a missionary school. Permission was not taken from my family or from any Sanatani parents for reciting Christian prayers. However, we too had no objection, and families that raise no objection are truly secular.”

Even in completely private minority schools, students cannot be compelled to participate in prayers. Here too, if a student or his or her parents raise an objection, the school cannot force the student to participate in or recite prayers. Even in fully government-run schools, if mantras are recited that are not a form of worship of any particular religion but express a universal wish for knowledge and peace, they cannot be banned. However, this matter is currently sub judice. Under Article 25, there is freedom to propagate and protect religion. However, according to the Supreme Court, this right is available not only to minorities but also to followers of other religions and faiths.

Why are Hindus called fanatics or intolerant when they speak about protecting their own religion ?

Nisha Oraon said, “The issue is not why Sanatani prayers are not conducted in Christian schools. Every minority institution has the freedom to make its own choice. The real issue is why the Masih Samaj in Chhattisgarh is objecting to Sanatani mantras. No Sanatani has objected to Christian prayers in schools. The issue is also whether secularism is not the responsibility of every community and every religion. Whenever the majority (Hindus) speak about protecting their own religion under Article 25, why are they called fanatics or intolerant ? Constitutional rights are equal for everyone. Followers of every religion and community should demonstrate true secularism equally.”