Karnataka - Mangalore   

‘Secular values should be taught in schools’

MANGALORE: A nun who deposed on Monday before the Justice B.K. Somashekhara Commission, which is inquiring into the church attacks, said: “Secularism should be learnt early in life. Schools should imbibe these values in children.”

Sister Celine, a teacher at a convent-run school in Kulashekhara, said that over 15 motorcycle-borne men had gathered before the Kulashekhara church early on September 15, 2008. “They were harassing church-goers and shouting slogans hailing the Bajrang Dal. Alice D’Souza, witness, pointed out that the attacks on churches continued even after the peace committee meeting that was held in the presence of Hindutva leaders and representatives from the church. Dora Fernandez from Kulashekar alleged that the police had beaten her son, who was sick at that time. “I was taking him to the pharmacy when a group of policemen beast him for no reason,” she said. Doris Lewis, also from Kulashekhar, said that her 15-year-old asthmatic son developed severe disorders after the police fired tear gas shells.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

It’s a different ball game altogether
Animation Training School students boycott classes
‘Secular values should be taught in schools’
Rival gang kills murder-accused
Second leptospirosis case in Mangalore
Budget unfavourable to small industries: KSIA

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu