Kerala HC dismisses plea alleging children were forced to recite prayers outside their faith

The Kerala High Court has dismissed a plea by a Hindu man alleging that the Vidyarambham ceremony proposed by Mattannur municipality was violating the Sanatana Dharma by forcing children to recite prayers outside their faith, reportd Bar and Bench on Tuesday.

Sanatana Dharma is a term some people use as a synonym for Hinduism.

“India is a land of religious pluralism, it is what defines us,” the court said in its verdict on October 20. “It takes into its fold varied philosophies, beliefs, and ethos with ease; and it has been so for the past several centuries.”

In Kerala, the Vidyarambham ceremony is held on the last day of Navaratri that marks the formal introduction of toddlers to writing.

The man had moved the High Court after the Library Committee of Mattannur municipality invited applications from parents for the Vidyarambham ceremony. The petitioner contended in his plea that the municipality was forcing children to recite and write the prayers of religions they did not practise.

However, the Mattannur municipality told the court that they provided an option to the parents to choose the prayer they want their children to recite during the ceremony.

It also clarified that no specific prayer will be forced to be recited or written by any child, contrary to their religious belief or philosophy

The High Court decided not to intervene in the matter since the authorities provided an option for parents to choose the prayer based on their religious beliefs.

“Any attempt by anyone, much less respondents [Mattannur Municipality], to colour this with any other shade, by forcing or inducing children to write or recite any prayer contrary to their parent’s choice would, therefore, be anathema to free thought and freedom of belief,” the judgement said.

It also observed that the Mattannur Municipality was conducting the Vidyarambham in a library with secular thought.