Looks like there is no end to the conversion cartel active in the name of missionary schools in Madhya Pradesh. In the month of march itself, four such incidents have been reported. Some schools are operating illegally, skipping the permits and legalities, others have full-fledged conversion records, while the remaining had sexual abuse complaints.
The new to this never-ending list is Saint Peter’s school, located at Simaria–Dabra tehsil of the Gwalior district in Madhya Pradesh. This time the chairperson of the Madhya Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MP-SCPCR) Onkar Singh was on a surprise inspection drive in Gwalior with his team.
The team found that the school had no registration or recognition be it with the state education board or the ICSC board since 1997. For now, the school has been sealed and the education department issued notices imposing huge fines against the perpetrators.
However, students whose exams are left will be allowed to take their examinations.
The inspection drive
SCPCR head Onkar ji was accompanied by State commission member, Nivedita Sharma. In this drive, the commission members found loopholes with the permits and the registration of the school with the Madhya Pradesh state board and the ICSC board as well.
Nivedita told Organiser Weekly, “The school prospectus says, it is an ICSC board school but the school had no registration from the year 1997 to date even with the state education board. The school claims they have been offering students education as per the ICSC board since 2007, but as per the permits they can only hold examinations”.
She added ICSC provides registration to any school for ten years, even if the school did the registration in 2007, it expired in 2017 and since then they are running this school illegally at least on paper.
She added, “there are loopholes with the land documents as well, how much land is to be used for the school, agriculture and residential purposes is yet to be revealed.”
Nivedita added, at the basement of the school there were hundreds and hundreds of books relating to Missionary activities, these books are often used for religious propagation and conversion. The commission suspects that the school was also conducting illegal conversion activities apart from just providing education to the students.
She added as the school has no registration certificate they were playing with the future of students who studied there. They managed to conduct examinations without such document is shocking and alarming as well.
Beds were lying in the school basement. The building marked as the educational centre is being used for residential purposes. The school buses do not meet the desired specifications, and there are no documents relating to the drivers of these buses and whatnot told Nivedita.
Despite all these loopholes, the school authorities were charging hefty some of the money from these students. The authorities were reportedly forcing the students to recite some prayers compulsorily.
The religious preachers, nuns and fathers vising the schools would come and stay at the premises only. When the SCPCR members questioned Father Dilip Nanda, they did not get any satisfactory answers.
When the members of the commission asked Father Dilip Nanda to show the documents related to the construction of the building, and the diversion of the land, he could not present those documents.
It has also come to the fore in the investigation that no police verification was done for any of the school staff, fathers, nuns and sisters living there, even the principal himself. Along with this, the building of this school has also been prepared by cutting a hill without any permission.
Notably, the principal of the school has already been booked under section IPC section 376 (rape) some years ago.
This action continued till late at night when no documents could be provided by the school authorities, the school was sealed on the instructions of the SDM (District Magistrate).
The Chairperson of MP SCPCR, Onkar Singh while speaking with Organiser Weekly said, “More than 97% of students studying at this school come from Hindu religious backgrounds. The school force them to recite religious prayers compulsory in Church. They are forced to follow missionary customs. The school authorities are playing with the future of the students. The condition of the girls and boys toilet are vulnerable, looks like the authorities are playing with the privacy of the minors. The presence of beds in the basement of the school also raises suspicion”.
He added, “We are working for the interests of children and this is not acceptable at all”.
Vivek Chaukhutia, education officer of Dabra block, said that the school management does not have recognition, and this is absolutely true. In this regard, many letters have been issued from time to time, but to date, the school management did not make any effort to get the permits.
He added, At present, St. Peter’s School has been sealed as per the instructions of the SDM.
However, no case has been registered against the authorities so far. As per the local sources, the education department is going to impose a huge fine against the school in the coming days.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Hindu Jagran Manch became active
On the other hand, as soon as the news of these irregularities came to light the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Hindu Jagran Manch volunteers reached the Dabra SDM office to protest. In one of its kind protest, the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad played drums and recited Hanuman Chalisa in front of the SDM office. They also handed over a memorandum to the SDM demanding strict action against the perpetrators.
Madhya Pradesh: VHP members demand action against the #conversion mafia active in Dabra.
Recently, members of the Madhya Pradesh Child Commission during their surprise inspection drive found irregularities at a Missionary school.
Report @eOrganiser soon pic.twitter.com/Pw2w0v6ZmR
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) March 30, 2023
Readers will be amazed to find that this is not the first instance, in the month of March itself four such cases have been reported. All these cases came to light after the Child Commission members and the Child Welfare Commission members inspected these institutions.
The first case was reported from the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh, where seven minor girls reported sexual abuse by Father, a principal and a teacher at the school. Minors made a shocking revelation on camera saying, “the teachers would press the breasts of the girls, stand behind them and touch them inappropriately in front of the class”.
The name of the school was JDES Convent school.
As many as seven FIRs on concerned authorities at the government offices and schools were registered after the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Priyank Kanoongo visited the town and made sure the minors are relocated to the new school and authorities can no more be a threat to them.
Find the ground report on this case by the correspondent here:
Readers can also watch the video report of the case here:
Within a week of this incident, a similar case was reported in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh where members of the child commission visited the St Joseph hostel and found conversion activities. The authorities had no permits or clearance.
The students told the members that they were forced to worship Jesus, and go to the prayer in Church and the school teachers asked them to rear cattle after school.
Similarly, the members of SCPCR during a drive at Morena district’s St Mary’s found contraceptives and alcohol in the office of the principal. His residence was next to the classrooms, and doors to his room would open directly into the class. There were beds lying in the abandoned classrooms and many other things.
After the visit, the accused manager and principal were booked by the police.
Find a detailed report on both cases here:
The recent revelations at St Peter’s in Dabra town are alarming. The land acquired for agricultural purposes is being used to run a school that looks more like a conversion hub.
Students are being exploited sexually, they are being forced to leave their religion, they are forced to live in untidy spaces and all of this after paying huge sums of money.
Notably, in the case of Dindori where students reported sexual abuse, the school JDES convent was charging money from the students even after taking government funds. These missionary schools in the name of the charity take huge sums of money and then charge hefty sums from the parents as well.
Inspection drives like these are necessary to bring the hidden conversion agenda behind impeccable academic records. The authorities who silently clear the permits illegally also need to be held accountable.
(with inputs from Dr Mayank Chaturvedi)
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