The Vice Chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology in Kerala has declined permission to ‘North Indian students’ to perform Saraswati Puja in the Kuttanad campus of its Engineering college. The reason cited is that its a “secular campus” and therefore, can’t permit the Puja.
Joint Registrar,Cochin University of Science&Technology: VC has declined request by North Indian students to conduct ‘Saraswati Pooja’ in Cochin University College of Engineering, Kuttanad campus,as it’s a secular campus, can’t permit functions of any particular religion. #Kerala pic.twitter.com/cYXsNSgIYQ
— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2019
The letter from the Joint Registrar of the University states, “It is informed that the request of the North Indian students to conduct Saraswati Pooja has been declined by the Vice Chancellor since ours is a secular campus and as such we cannot permit religious functions/activities of any particular religion inside the campus.”
It is the same college where students had claimed last year that they were misled into eating beef. The Principal was accused of feeding beef to his students to satisfy his ego.
It is also interesting to note that Christmas is regularly celebrated in this same ‘secular campus’.
This move by the university again proves that secularism has a unique definition in India, where Christmas can be permitted by Saraswati puja can’t be.
There has been a concerted attempt by the Secular establishment to denude Indian educational institutions of Hindu cultural influences. Recently, the Supreme Court had sent a plea challenging the mandatory recitation of Sanskrit and Hindi hymns during the morning assembly in Kendriya Vidyalayas to its Constitution bench.
That petition was filed by one Veenayak Shah who is reported to be the father of children who received their education from Kendriya Vidyalaya. In the petition, he claimed that reciting prayers “creates a lot of obstacles in developing a Scientific Temperament” and that it was imparting religious instructions.
