The Nirmala College in Muvattupuzha is in the news for all wrong reasons. According to reports, it has to do with a demand from a section of the students for a space to offer Friday prayers (Jumu'ah).
What the students are demanding is for them to be allowed to offer namaz inside the college campus as they usually do or extend the afternoon break on Fridays so as to enable them to go to the mosque and return after prayers.
Now, within a few days, things have come to such a pass that the Syro-Malabar Church has intervened affirming that it will resist any efforts to "destabilise" Christian minority institutions. Since the issue has taken a communal colour, thenewindianexpress.com spoke to students who are in the know of the issue to find out what actually happened on Friday, July 26, the day when students launched a protest in support of their demands.
A student meanwhile pointed out that it is a practice in the college that every first Friday of the month students were provided an hour's break for attending the holy mass at a chapel located inside the campus. Similarly, the management can also extend the afternoon break for Muslim students to offer namaz every Friday noon.
Following the protest organised by the students on Friday, the principal apologized but their demand for extending the lunch break to help them to pray was declined.
Jumu'ah prayers
A few female students were offering Jumu'ah prayers peacefully, without any disturbance to others in the ladies resting room on Friday when a woman worker told them that they should meet the principal.
The principal questioned why namaz is being offered inside the resting room. He said this is not allowed and asked the students to go and offer namaz in the mosque.
In that case, the students sought the management to extend the lunch break every Friday to enable them to offer namaz. Because, it is a practice in the college that if anyone enters after the bell into the class he/she won't be provided the attendance for the period which automatically will lead to nullifying the half-day attendance of that candidate.
However, this request was turned down by the college management.
“The room which the four women students sought for offering namaz is a girls waiting room with a washroom. It is not a clean enough room fit for offering prayers,” said Vice-Principal Emmanuel. “It is not possible to offer space for offering namaz inside the college campus,” he added.
“It was the worker who was in charge of the room where the four girls were found praying on Thursday last who objected to their praying there,” Emmanuel said. “At the time, the students told the worker that they got permission from the commerce department HOD. But no such permission was given,” he claimed.
A student told TNIE that contrary to some media reports, students did not request a separate prayer hall but instead sought, an extended lunch break on Fridays to allow time for prayer at a nearby mosque. They also demanded assurance of attendance for returning late to the class after prayer.
The students believe that their requests are reasonable. They urge the media to present an accurate picture of the situation.
The management, according to them, was against the students offering namaz inside the campus.
The students apparently demanded an apology from the principal for insulting the religious sentiments as well as for mentally hurting the students. This led the students to call a strike, without tagging along the banner of any political party.