E-Paper
Guru puja is part of our culture: Kerala governor after education minister slams ritual
On Saturday, Sivankutty hit out at the managements of two CBSE-affiliated schools where students were seen washing the feet of teachers as part of “guru purnima” celebrations
A day after Kerala general education minister V Sivankutty slammed authorities of two schools where students washed the feet of teachers on the occasion of Guru Purnima, governor Rajendra Arlekar said that offering flowers at the feet of teachers as part of “guru puja” is a part of Indian culture.
Speaking at a programme organised by Balagokulam, the children’s organisation affiliated with RSS, in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, the governor said, “Some of the schools in our state performed ‘guru puja’. ‘Guru puja’ is our culture and as part of the culture, we offer flowers at the feet of our guru. And some people have objected to it. I don’t understand from which culture these people are coming. What is their thinking?”
“If we try to forget our culture, we will forget ourselves,” he added.
On Saturday, Sivankutty hit out at the managements of two CBSE-affiliated schools where students were seen washing the feet of teachers as part of “guru purnima” celebrations. The minister termed the action “violative of democratic values and condemnable” and directed the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) to seek reports from the managements of the two schools on the practice.
The incident took place at the Saraswati Vidyalaya in Bandhadukka in Kasaragod district and Vidyadhiraja Vidya Peetham school in Mavelikkara, both schools run by the Bharatiya Vidya Niketan.
“Education is meant to instil scientific awareness and progressive thinking in children. Such actions defeat the very basic goals of our education system,” the minister said.
“Education is a right that was fought for and won from a time when literacy was denied in the name of the caste system. This right should not be surrendered at the feet of anyone,” he further said.
The governor’s remarks continued to invite sharp criticism from the ruling CPI(M) and Opposition Congress which accused him of trying to implement RSS agenda in the state and taking it back to the dark age.
In response to Arlekar’s remarks, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said that the governor’s decision to justify the act of making schoolchildren wash the feet of teachers is a “shame” for Kerala.
While talking to reporters in Palakkad, he alleged that the feet of a BJP district secretary was also washed by children in one such incidents. “Arlekar is trying to take Kerala back to the dark ages. Perhaps the governor does not know the history of this land that has witnessed a renaissance,” he said.
CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan also said that while respecting teachers was important, such rituals are rooted in “feudal culture” and aimed to revive the caste system. “Such practices will aim to instil a slave mentality in the younger generation, particularly in RSS-administered schools,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
