Leaders from various religious groups are making an appeal to the government, after it began training public school teachers for classes on Hindu traditions and sacraments. The Hindu holy book is also to be made part of the school curriculum.
The Harmony Foundation, including Father Anand Muttungal of the Catholic Bishops Council, is requesting an alternative. The organization’s president L. S. Herdenia, said, “We want the government to introduce summary of all major religions as a subject in the educational curriculum.”
Father Muttungal, who is the general-secretary of the organization, noted, «The secularism in the constitution is defined as non-promotion of any particular religion but there is space for promotion of all religious values for the sake of promoting harmony. So we ask to provide equal opportunity to children to learn values of all major religions.”
The Harmony Organization was careful to note that it does not oppose the inclusion of a particular religion in the curriculum, but advocates for all major religions to have a place in government functions and schools.
