Illiberal Lessons

It’s more than a simple case of being denied admission. Rather, it could be seen as an instance of an affronted big-wig exercising his privilege of wrath. Last year, when UP Governor Suraj Bhan’s four-year-old grand-daughter applied to the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ambala, she was told she was under-age. This year, when Aparajita Dhir applied again, she was refused admission on grounds that she’d overshot the age limit by 27 days. That was when the administration stepped in. School authorities say the district commissioner called Sister Tara, the principal, and asked her to admit the child. "She replied that rules didn’t permit this," says Dinesh Gupta, the school’s lawyer. The furious DC, states a petition filed by Gupta in the sessions court, threatened to "take action against the school authorities".

Two days later, on February 4, Haryana Roadways stopped plying special buses for the school. "The service was restored a day later, but only after parents complained to the DC," says Gupta. Then, on February 8, local municipal officials visited the convent. The petition says they "threatened the principal, asking that the child be admitted or the building would be demolished and heavy taxes imposed on the school." In fact, executive officer S.K. Goel handed over a notice to the principal asking her to supply proof of ‘ownership’ and the building sanctions. Another notice from the building inspector followed-a bill for Rs 1,05,000 as house tax for ‘98-99 and ‘99-2000.

The school has filed a case against the Municipal Council and has managed to procure a stay order against the demolition-on charge of an unauthorised construction-until March 14. The petition links the harassment by the civic authorities to the denial of admission to Bhan’s grand-daughter. "There is no link at all," says B.C. Dhir, the child’s father and Suraj Bhan’s son-in-law. "I didn’t ask the DC to call the school." According to Dhir, it’s part of a larger plan to defame his father-in-law. "When I met the principal, she asked me only two questions: How’re you related to Suraj Bhan? and Wasn’t he the deputy speaker in ‘96?" Bhan’s family claims it’s a case of the infamous Hindu versus Christian angle at work. "If you remember, at that time the Congress had moved a bill asking that scheduled caste (SC) Hindus who’d converted to Christianity also be provided the same reservations as Hindu SCs," explains Bhan’s son, Arun Kumar. "My father mobilised MPs and it was because of him that the Congress could not pass the bill," he added.

But, says a school teacher, "If Sister Tara knew the child was Bhan’s grand-daughter she’d have given her admission regardless of the age-limit," she says. According to the teacher, the admission form only had the girl’s father’s name. "Dhir’s an upper-caste. Had the principal known the child’s grandfather himself belonged to a backward caste, she’d have taken the child as the school essentially looks after the minorities," she claims. But Dhir says when he pleaded with the principal to make an exception for Aparajita as she was a Governor’s grand-daughter, he was told rules could only be relaxed for Christians.

Ram Niwas, the DC, denies making any phone call to the principal and says the school buses were withheld due to the heavy rains. As for the demolition threat and the huge house tax, Niwas claims it’s all routine, "As many as 20 educational institutions have been served notice during the last year for non-payment of the house tax. " But Dhir says he’s lost interest, "I’ll send my daughter to another school. Anyway, she’ll never be eligible for admission here." His frustration seems to be similar to that faced by harried parents all over the country. But Aparajita’s family thinks it’s more than just a case of routine harassment by school authorities. "We’ve lost out as we’re related to Suraj Bhan," says Dhir.

"It wasn’t us but the school which dragged in his name," says Shalini Dhir, Bhan’s daughter. "My father didn’t even know we had applied to this school," she adds. But the irony of the situation is lost on no one. A family with members in the same Sangh parivar that specialises in vandalising Christian institutions now wants to avail the advantages of a similar set-up. "I wanted to send my daughter there as it has a good reputation and it’s an all-girls school," says Dhir, sounding like an average middle-class father. But he’s much more than that. Whether this is a case of a VIP flexing political muscle or an instance of a minority institution hitting back at a member of the saffron brigade-the situation has fast developed into something slightly more complex than just a question of school admissions.