There are 22 missionary schools in tribal-dominated Jagdalpur.
Goddess Saraswati and Mother Mary are already being hailed together in some Catholic schools of Jagdalpur. Now, as per a new diktat from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, if the radical saffron group has its way, Catholic priests will be called "Sir" or "Pracharya" by non-Christian students, and not 'Father'.
What triggered the VHP's peeve was a speech by Chhattisgarh Bishop Joseph Kallamparambil at a Catholic school, made on November 17. He had mentioned the works of Kerala's Father Kuriakose Chavera - who was canonized by the Vatican a week later. Father Chavera's pioneering contribution was setting up schools along with churches, and Father Kallamparambil said he would like to do something similar in Jagdalpur.
Soon after, the VHP declared its demands. It said it did not want the Christian faith to be imposed on non-Christian children.
There are 22 missionary schools in tribal-dominated Jagdalpur. Of the 22,000-odd students many are non-Christian.
"If they have a statue of Mother Mary, why not a statue of Goddess Saraswati?" said Suresh Yadav, district president of VHP. "We have no problem if they (the priests) are addressed as father or grandfather by their community. But religious teachings should not be imposed on our children."
The VHP claimed the decision was taken jointly with representatives of the Catholic community. But the church denied it.
"We have no objection to the principal being called 'Sir' or 'Pracharya'. We said no to statues of gods and goddesses, but agreed to have one picture of Goddess Saraswati," said Father Abraham Kannampala, spokesperson of the district's Catholic community. But he added that the decision could be implemented "only after the Bishop's approval".
Nonetheless, in several schools of the district, images of the Goddess have already been put up.
The authorities are not happy. Father Mathew Kunnail, Principal of Nirmal Higher Secondary School, told NDTV: "Father is a title given to us after 15 years of vigorous training. We are not compelling anyone to refer to us by that. (But) This proposal is absurd."