Khandwa- M.P: A Church-run school in Madhya Pradesh is being intimidated by the ABVP, the students’ wing of the BJP, for denying admission to a student in St. Jude’s Higher Secondary School in Khargone in Khandwa District of Madhya Pradesh. The school in Khargone, coming under the Khandwa Diocese in MP, is presently operating under police protection.

Father John Victor, the Manager of the School said that on 2nd July the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists tried to get a Grade 5 student admitted to the school by force. The activists had been causing problems for the school for more than a week. Fr. Victor said that they always consider transfer cases, but unfortunately all Grade 5 places are full and so they couldn’t help refusing the admission for that student.
He said that the trouble began after they refused admission for a girl whose father had come to the school seeking admission for his daughter with a letter of reference from a political figure.

The young activists then tried creating a disturbance on the school campus. They tried again on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the National Students Union of India also joined them. They alleged that the school was not flying the national flag and also that they did not have a portrait of the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, Father Victor said.
The Police later dispersed the protesters, who vowed to intensify their efforts if the girl was still denied admission. Local authorities and the police are offering protection to the school’s students and the property, according to Father Victor.  read more »