Christians boycott Hindu ritual in Madhya Pradesh India
(january 12, 2012) Christian and Muslim schools in Central India’s Madhya Pradesh
defied an order to participate in a mass Hindu sun-worshiping ritual being staged
on Thursday by the government to remember a renowned ascetic and to gain entry into
the Guinness Book of World Records. Television channels reported students from more
than 6,000 schools were among 10 million people who joined the surya namaskar, salute
to the sun. The ritual involves practicing a specific sequence of movements in what
was traditionally a form of worship to the sun deity Surya. Participants included
state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The signal to start the ritual was given
over government-owned All India Radio. The event marked the birthday of Swami Vivekananda
(1863-1902), an Indian ascetic who introduced Hindu philosophy to the West and who
was a participant at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago, in 1893.
The government had originally ordered students from all schools to practice the ritual,
but made it optional after Christian and Muslim groups protested. However, some principals
from Christian schools later said government officials had insisted that all students
must take part. Father Anand Muttungal, a Catholic Church spokesman, said no Christian
school participated in the ritual. The Church had earlier instructed them not to do
so. The Catholic Church manages around 500 formal schools and equal number of non-formal
schools in the state. Muslims also refused to take part, saying it was against the
tenets of their religion.