09-22-2006, 07:02 AM
<!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> Self-financing colleges: Churchâs celluloid crusade takes on govt
RAJEEV PIPosted online: Thursday, August 17, 2006 at 0000 hrs Print Email
KOCHI, AUGUST 16:The influential Syro Malabar Church, Keralaâs oldest Catholic church formation, has produced a documentary film to rally its flock to take on the Left government in the minority status and self-financing colleges issue.
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The film, interestingly, slams politicians for their doublespeak in the self-financing issueâespecially when Left leaders have been insisting that nothing would happen to Kerala even if these college stopped functioningâand lists senior politicians who had opted to have their children educated in the best self-financing colleges.
They include CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, who had reiterated even today morning that those intending to make profits from running self-financing colleges had better stop and get into some other business. The documentary underlines that Pinarayi did not send either of his two children to government colleges, but to premium self-financing ones. His son Vivek Kiran (now studying in UK) took his MBA from SCMS College, Kalamassery and his daughter pursued her MCA at the Amrita College in Coimbatore.
State Law Minister M Vijayakumar, whose department put together the controversial new law that the state government brought in on self-financing colleges, has his daughter Archana studying in the Mohandas Self-Financing College, Thiruvananthapuram. CITU leader and CPI(M) MLA Kadakampalli Surendranâs son Arun is one of her collegemates.
State Industries Minister and CPI(M) heavyweight Elamaram Kareem has his daughter P K Sumi studying in another self financing college, the MWH Special College at Kallai in Kozhikode. Former MLA P Raghavan has sent his two sons, Ajit and Arun, to self financing colleges in Karnataka.
But many Congress leaders too have their kids in the best self-financing institutions instead of local government colleges. They include former chief minister Oommen Chandy, whose son is at New Delhiâs St Stephenâs College (the college is partly financed by Delhi University), and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala, whose son Rohit is pursuing his MBBS at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Ernakulam. Former UDF minister Adoor Prakash has his daughter Yamuna at the Self Financing Medical College in Kolenchery, where Congress leader P C Chacko has got his son Sidharth admitted as well.
Beginning next week, thousands of copies of the documentary, turned into CDs, will be hand delivered free by volunteers to the homes of each member of its laity in Kerala through the respective parishes. The film is replete with religious symbols and visuals and top Church leaders berating the CPI(M)-led government for being anti-minority. The basic message is the comrades are out to prevent Christians from getting educated and are conspiring to take away their minority rights.
The Archdiocese of Changanassery, which oversaw this documentaryâs production, will also launch a simultaneous second documentary called Donât We Too Need Protection?.
This one shows Bishops and Church heads explaining how the Left government is pushing an anti-Christian agenda and allegedly misleading the public.
Church sources say this one will be the basic training manual for volunteers of the Minority Rights Protection Council that the Church has formed to campaign among the laity.
rajeev.pi@expressindia.com
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> Self-financing colleges: Churchâs celluloid crusade takes on govtRAJEEV PIPosted online: Thursday, August 17, 2006 at 0000 hrs Print Email
KOCHI, AUGUST 16:The influential Syro Malabar Church, Keralaâs oldest Catholic church formation, has produced a documentary film to rally its flock to take on the Left government in the minority status and self-financing colleges issue.
Advertisment Related Stories VS tries to save face, turns on own cops for killings, corruption
SC allows Kerala colleges old admission norms, fee
Centreâs no to Vizhinjam plan ruffles Kerala govt feathers
After HC snub, Kerala tries to make peace with self-financing colleges
On college Act, VS for middle path
The film, interestingly, slams politicians for their doublespeak in the self-financing issueâespecially when Left leaders have been insisting that nothing would happen to Kerala even if these college stopped functioningâand lists senior politicians who had opted to have their children educated in the best self-financing colleges.
They include CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, who had reiterated even today morning that those intending to make profits from running self-financing colleges had better stop and get into some other business. The documentary underlines that Pinarayi did not send either of his two children to government colleges, but to premium self-financing ones. His son Vivek Kiran (now studying in UK) took his MBA from SCMS College, Kalamassery and his daughter pursued her MCA at the Amrita College in Coimbatore.
State Law Minister M Vijayakumar, whose department put together the controversial new law that the state government brought in on self-financing colleges, has his daughter Archana studying in the Mohandas Self-Financing College, Thiruvananthapuram. CITU leader and CPI(M) MLA Kadakampalli Surendranâs son Arun is one of her collegemates.
State Industries Minister and CPI(M) heavyweight Elamaram Kareem has his daughter P K Sumi studying in another self financing college, the MWH Special College at Kallai in Kozhikode. Former MLA P Raghavan has sent his two sons, Ajit and Arun, to self financing colleges in Karnataka.
But many Congress leaders too have their kids in the best self-financing institutions instead of local government colleges. They include former chief minister Oommen Chandy, whose son is at New Delhiâs St Stephenâs College (the college is partly financed by Delhi University), and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala, whose son Rohit is pursuing his MBBS at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Ernakulam. Former UDF minister Adoor Prakash has his daughter Yamuna at the Self Financing Medical College in Kolenchery, where Congress leader P C Chacko has got his son Sidharth admitted as well.
Beginning next week, thousands of copies of the documentary, turned into CDs, will be hand delivered free by volunteers to the homes of each member of its laity in Kerala through the respective parishes. The film is replete with religious symbols and visuals and top Church leaders berating the CPI(M)-led government for being anti-minority. The basic message is the comrades are out to prevent Christians from getting educated and are conspiring to take away their minority rights.
The Archdiocese of Changanassery, which oversaw this documentaryâs production, will also launch a simultaneous second documentary called Donât We Too Need Protection?.
This one shows Bishops and Church heads explaining how the Left government is pushing an anti-Christian agenda and allegedly misleading the public.
Church sources say this one will be the basic training manual for volunteers of the Minority Rights Protection Council that the Church has formed to campaign among the laity.
rajeev.pi@expressindia.com