A conversion racket has been exposed in Tamil Nadu where the warden of CSI Monahan Girls Higher Secondary School, Royapettah, allegedly pressured the girls to convert to Christianity. A ruckus erupted when the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) team visited the hostel. Upon learning what was happening in the hostel, NCPCR wrote to the state authorities to initiate an investigation into the matter.
The state unit of NCPCR visited the school and communicated with the girls living in the hostel. The commission found that the girls from poor families live in the hostels and there were forced to convert to Christianity.
In a written complaint to the commission, the girls alleged that they were assaulted and severely tortured. The girls said the hostel warden not only abused them but also kept them hostage and forced them to convert to Christianity.
The conversion racket came to light when an NCPCR team was inspecting hostels linked to the schools across the state. When the team reached the hostel attached to the school, the girls living in the hostel started crying and urged the team members to save them. The team found that there was no registration of the said hostel and no facilities were being provided to the girls living in the hostel.
Furthermore, the entire hostel was unhygienic and the beds were dirty. There were bibles placed next to the beds and photos of Jesus Christ were pasted on the walls of the hall. The hostel administration has also restricted girls from wearing bindi, earrings and flowers in their hair.
The commission wrote a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu and DGP Silendra Babu and asked them to initiate an inquiry and take appropriate action as per the law against the school for forcibly converting girls to Christianity. The commission also wrote to the state government urging them to evacuate the girls but reports suggest no action has been taken by the state government so far.
Forced conversions are not new for Tamil Nadu schools
This is not the first time reports of forced conversions have come to light from Tamil Nadu. In January 2022, a class 12th student named Lavanya committed suicide after being forced to a school in Tamil Nadu to convert to Christianity. Her family alleged that she was thrashed and tortured by the hostel warden when she refused to convert.
On January 9, Lavanya could not bear the pressure and consumed poison. She was rushed to the hospital where she died on January 19 following 10 days of treatment. The Tamil Nadu allegedly government tried to cover up the matter.
