The nun who was raped was my school principal
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31821&articlexml=The-nun-who-was-raped-was-my-school-20032015016031
Mar 20 2015 : Mirror (Mumbai)
The nun who was raped was my school principal
Farah Baria mirrorfeedback TWEETS @_MumbaiMirror
Sister was a quiet, soft-spoken, gentle soul, with nerves of finely
tempered steel. She was not like a principal at all: Slightly built and
almost ethereal. She would glide down our school corridors in her spotless
white habit to stand silently outside a noisy classroom until the
chattering died down. No admonitions were necessary. We were simply given
the space to examine our own behaviour, and correct it.
Ours was a secular, democratic school. We elected our head girl and house
captains by secret ballot.Both students and teachers could take their
complaints to the principal's office and be heard with equal fairness. She
would rebuke us for our impertinence, then discreetly call in the teacher
and encourage her to review her approach. Back then, the morning prayer was
followed by the national anthem.On Fridays, while the Catholic girls went
for choir, the rest of us were taught bhajans and regaled with stories of
Lord Krishna. In our class of 40 girls, barely a fifth were Catholic; the
rest mostly Hindu, with some Muslims, and a couple of Parsis. By serving
you, we are serving Him, the nuns used to say.
For Sister, that unswerving faith was put to the test last Sabbath.
Who would rape a 71-year-old nun? And why? The answers are as disturbing as
the questions. Rape in this country has become so frighteningly banal that
girls in short skirts and an elderly nun wearing a cross are equal targets:
Both, it seems, violate our neo-Vedantic sensibilities. Perhaps this also
explains the official catato nia. Following the rape, not a single union
minister condemned the incident, until growing public ire required a
response. Worse, this cowardly crime is the latest in a series of attacks
on Christian institutions in our country. This is ironic because while
Catholics constitute barely two per cent of our population, we have over
14,539 Catholic schools and colleges, second only to government-run
institutions. And in towns and villages across India, a convent education
is still the most coveted. Maybe it's time for our Sisters to stop being
taken for granted. Maybe it's time for every Catholic school, college and
hospital in the country to protest against this senseless bigotry by
closing down indefinitely; or at least until the powers that be wake up and
find they have nowhere better to educate their children. Maybe it's time to
let India acknowledge her debt to the countless nuns and priests who work
selflessly to offer education, healthcare and social services where the
Government has failed for over 70 years.
But Sister, of course, won't hear of it. Forgive them, she pleads for her
assaulters; they know not what they do. Christianity in India is alive and
well.
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