05-19-2006, 08:14 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->INDIA: 'JESUS PRINCIPAL' CREATES STIR IN ASSAM
Guwahati, 17 May (AKI/Asian Age) - A school run by Christian missionaries has created a major controversy by claiming the "second incarnation of Jesus" in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam. The controversy began after the principal of the Christian missionary Oriental School at Silchar, in Assam's Barak Valley, claimed that Jesus Christ's "second incarnation is inside the bodies of the children behaving abnormally in his school."
The principal, S. Sailo, was so confident that he also made these claims in front of the district administration. The Silchar deputy commissioner G.D. Tripathi told the Indian newspaper Asian Age: "We have ordered an inquiry and closed down the school in view of increasing tension in the area. The ongoing examination has also been suspended for an indefinite period."
The local guardians of some students said the children reported to them that some of the other students had been behaving abnormally â dancing or falling senseless at prayer time in school. The principal, Sailo, instead of taking them to doctors, told the students that "Jesus had entered the bodies of these children and that was the reason for their abnormal behaviour".
"Some of the guardians complained, so we decided to check," said Tripathi. He added that "the principal of the school told us that abnormal behaviour in children is a religious phenomenon and that such references are also found in the Bible."
The matter was reported in some local newspaper, leading to tension in the area. "We have verified it with doctors, who say that the children exhibiting abnormal behaviour are infected with 'possession syndrome' so they should be isolated from other students. This disease also affects its surroundings," Tripathi said.
Meanwhile, some activists associated with the hardline Hindu group Bajrang Dal and National Students' Union of India of the Congress Party ransacked the school premises to protest against the claims of the principal.
"We are keeping a close watch on all developments and will not at any cost allow it to take a communal turn," the deputy commissioner of the district said, adding that the district administration has already sought the help of senior citizens and prominent religious leaders of the area to pacify the situation before it turns communal.
(Aki/Asian Age)
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Guwahati, 17 May (AKI/Asian Age) - A school run by Christian missionaries has created a major controversy by claiming the "second incarnation of Jesus" in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam. The controversy began after the principal of the Christian missionary Oriental School at Silchar, in Assam's Barak Valley, claimed that Jesus Christ's "second incarnation is inside the bodies of the children behaving abnormally in his school."
The principal, S. Sailo, was so confident that he also made these claims in front of the district administration. The Silchar deputy commissioner G.D. Tripathi told the Indian newspaper Asian Age: "We have ordered an inquiry and closed down the school in view of increasing tension in the area. The ongoing examination has also been suspended for an indefinite period."
The local guardians of some students said the children reported to them that some of the other students had been behaving abnormally â dancing or falling senseless at prayer time in school. The principal, Sailo, instead of taking them to doctors, told the students that "Jesus had entered the bodies of these children and that was the reason for their abnormal behaviour".
"Some of the guardians complained, so we decided to check," said Tripathi. He added that "the principal of the school told us that abnormal behaviour in children is a religious phenomenon and that such references are also found in the Bible."
The matter was reported in some local newspaper, leading to tension in the area. "We have verified it with doctors, who say that the children exhibiting abnormal behaviour are infected with 'possession syndrome' so they should be isolated from other students. This disease also affects its surroundings," Tripathi said.
Meanwhile, some activists associated with the hardline Hindu group Bajrang Dal and National Students' Union of India of the Congress Party ransacked the school premises to protest against the claims of the principal.
"We are keeping a close watch on all developments and will not at any cost allow it to take a communal turn," the deputy commissioner of the district said, adding that the district administration has already sought the help of senior citizens and prominent religious leaders of the area to pacify the situation before it turns communal.
(Aki/Asian Age)
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