New Delhi, March 11 The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday alleged that Hindu students in some minority-run educational institutions are being prevented from wearing tilaks or putting tilaks and bindi, even though they make up to 95 per cent of the student population.
It also sought a review of the "minority" status of such institutions, saying it will raise the issue with members of Parliament during its ongoing three-week Sansad Sampark Abhiyan.
Alleging that the population share of Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs is declining while that of Muslims and Christians is increasing, Bagra also called for a national debate on what he termed a "demographic imbalance" and sought the formation of an effective national population policy.
Addressing a press conference here, VHP secretary general Bajrang Lal Bagra said, "There are many institutions where good education is imparted, and there are also many educational institutions run by minorities where examples of Hindu students being misguided come to light from time to time."
"In many such institutions, up to 90-95% of the students are Hindus, yet they are not allowed to wear tilaks on their hands. In many Christian schools, the management asks our Hindu girls to remove bindi or tilak from their foreheads.
"If they wear bangles in a rural area, they are made to remove them. If a woman is married, they even make her remove her mangalsutra," he said.
The VHP leader, however, said it would not be appropriate to generalize the issue across all minority institutions.
Bagra said the VHP would also press for reviewing how minority educational rights are applied under Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution and seek a clear definition of the term "minority".
"Articles 29 and 30 give minorities special rights to establish and administer educational institutions so that they can impart religious education to their followers without state interference. But the way these provisions are being implemented has created major discrepancies," he said.
"Educational institutions run by Christian or Muslim management often have neither Christian nor Muslim students. This special right was not given to Christians or Muslims to educate Hindus," Bagra added.
He said the organisation would raise the issue with MPs during the three-week outreach campaign that began on March 9 and will continue till March 27.
Bagra also raised concerns about the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), under which "Hindu-run institutions" must provide 25 per cent seats to students from economically weaker sections while minority-run institutions are exempt.
"This has created an uneven playing field and many Hindu-run educational institutions are becoming financially unviable. Therefore, through all MPs, our request is that a review of Articles 29 and 30 is necessary," he said.
On the question of population imbalance, Bagra said, "In the case of Muslims, the reasons are a higher birth rate and infiltration from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar. For Christians, the increase is mainly due to religious conversions."
Bagra said the VHP would campaign to build consensus for policies that discourage families from having more than three children.
"No one can be legally stopped from having more children, but rules can be framed to discourage families with more than three children," he said.
Another issue the VHP plans to raise with MPs is the promotion of pilgrimage tourism. The organisation has sought the creation of a dedicated pilgrimage tourism body within the Union Culture and Tourism Ministry.
"Pilgrimage tourism is nearly three times larger than other forms of tourism. There should be a separate department for pilgrimage promotion so that these centres can be developed properly and pilgrims do not face hardships," he said.
During the campaign, workers from different states are reaching Delhi and will meet MPs from their respective regions and present the organisation's views irrespective of party or ideology.
