A Hindu mob, including a few students from St. Mary's Post Graduate College in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, gathered at the college gate on Saturday morning, demanding the installation of a Ganesha idol on the college premises for ten days in celebration of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival on 7 September.
Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival that honours the birth of the deity Ganesha. The devotees install clay murtis (sacred representations) of Ganesha in private residences and public spaces by putting temporary shades. Rhythmic chanting is performed of Vedic hymns and the recitation of Hindu scriptures. A key feature of the festivities is the distribution of prasad (food sacrificed to the idol) and blessed offerings from daily prayers to the community. The ten-day celebration culminates in a grand finale known as Visarjana. This event sees Ganesha's idol paraded through streets amidst music and communal chanting, before being immersed in a nearby water body, symbolising the deity's return to his celestial home.
A week before Ganesh Chaturthi, a group of students of St. Mary's P.G. College met the college authorities expressing their desire to install a Ganesha idol inside the college campus. The college authorities explained to them that it was not possible inside the college campus.
"The Ganesh Chaturthi festival is a 10-days celebration, that is a day-and-night program. How can such a program be allowed inside a college campus, that has fixed working hours, and the gate closes at 4 p.m.," said Father Sabu Puthenpurackal, Education Secretary of the Dioceses of Sagar to Christian Today. "Installing a Ganesh idol inside would mean, visitors day-and-night. What about the regular classes of the students for all the ten days?" questioned Fr. Puthenpurackal.
The college authorities asked the students to install the idol outside the college next to the main gate. "We said we will help financially, because it will cost them financially to have the program for ten days," said Fr. Puthenpurackal. But the students did not agree.
The college approached the civil authorities who seconded their decision. Huge police force was deployed in and around the college to avoid tensions on Saturday.
On Saturday morning a crowd of about 50-60 ABVP and Sanatan Shri Hindu Utsav Samiti members gathered at the college gate and sloganed against the college.
"There were hardly 5-6 students of our college, rest all were outsiders," emphasised Fr. Puthenpurackal.
The crowd dispersed around noon, but a group of St. Mary's college students the same evening approached the college authorities asking permission to install the idol outside. "We said you can do it outside, because it is not our property, and we have no objections to it. But after all the ruckus, we will not support financially, as we were willing to earlier," said Father Puthenpurackal. They put a small awning outside and installed the Ganesha idol, he confirmed.
In previous years, recalled Fr. Puthenpurackal, who was the Director of St. Mary's college from 2009-2015, during Ganesh Chaturthi or any other festival, no such demand has ever been made by the students.
He feels that such incidents are politically motivated to stir trouble intentionally. "They know when you talk about religion, everybody will react," said Fr. Puthenpurackal, recalling an earlier incident of Sagar, when some children were caught in a matter by the school authorities, and they went outside and gave it a religious angle. They said that they were sloganising "Jai Shri Ram" (Hail! lord Rama), and they were scolded for saying so. "Some individuals are exploiting school and college authorities by giving a religious angle to non-religious matters," said Fr. Puthenpurackal.
He clarified that the college celebrates all the festivals like Diwali. "But we do not keep programs that are day-and-night program stretching for many days but stick to one-day stage performances and celebrations."
All the professors teaching in the college are non-Christian staff, with all of them Hindu professors with few exceptions to Muslims. "None of them are Christian professors," said Fr. Puthenpurackal.
A crowd gathered at the college gate today morning, said Fr. Puthenpurackal, demanding to speak to the college authorities. A Hindu professor went and spoke to them and made them understand that the majority staff is Hindu and majority students who benefit from the college education are Hindus. The crowd dispersed peacefully.
Fr. Puthenpurackal also emphasised on the behavioural change he has noticed in students after the Covid-19 lockdown when children had to continue their education from home via online classes. Since they rejoined, they do not want to listen or sit at one place. "We are finding disciplinary issues with them, they have become very aggressive; Even parents are facing similar issues with their children," said Fr. Puthenpurackal.
St. Mary's P.G. College, is one of the oldest private colleges in district Vidisha. It is a well reputed private graduation as well as post-graduation unaided, Christian Minority College, under the governing bodies of Sagar Dioceses, affiliated to Barkatullah University, Bhopal established in 2000-2001.
