One more holy week and Easter are over. God has given us the opportunity to be witnesses of Christ’s resurrection this year as well. Through the resurrection, God the Father confirmed the existence of life against the tyrannical attitude of the authorities. Resurrection is victory over the fear of death. The resurrection is an opportunity to show the world that God’s power is the power that stands against the world’s authoritarian system. Therefore, we should be able to free ourselves from the fear of death and become heirs of eternal life.

Last financial year ended on March 31st. We have entered into a new financial year. Let us work with a new perspective, a new sense of purpose and a new sense of direction. Changes are happening very fast. But we must remember that God is immutable and divine precepts are unchangeable.

Here is a continuation of the thoughts from the last issue.

Violent trends in education
Although free and compulsory primary education is promised to all children, we have not been able to achieve the said goal even after so many years of India’s independence. No government has ever made a sincere attempt to do so. Education is reserved for the wealthy by undercutting the budget and encouraging parallel education on the grounds that education is not productive. Different syllabuses are used right through the primary education stage. The government’s sanctioning
of education, which moulds a variety of citizens, is itself violent.

The very purpose of education becomes violent
The objectives of education were to enable the individual to live, to become cultured, to become a responsible citizen and to become a good social being. The New Education rejects all this. Today’s goal of education is to create people who have the ability to compete in the market and come first. Those who come second are said to be inept people. Humans are mere commodities in the marketplace. They are trained as an export product. The Human Resource Development Department itself has been formed for this purpose. How can social consciousness grow in students who practice to come first by robbing the opportunity and rights of others?

An education that fosters hostility and rejects social relationships makes a child machine-like. Children are made tense by parents who advocate a greedy culture that trains their children before they are born for a desirable job in a rich country, money-grabing educational agencies who see education as a commodity, and teachers who are destined to slave for them for a meagre salary. Children’s personality development, aptitude, character formation or social relationships are not considered here. This brutality towards the new generation is not out of ignorance, but because they are unwilling to give it up because of their greed for profit.

The violence of private capital
When service became a commodity, education became more expensive. From the start, anyone with wealth could enter the arena and roam as they pleased. Such schools have gained importance like star hotels. No limit for capitation fee collected or for tuition fee charged. While the rich and the learned rely on such institutions, the starving man follows suit, mistaking it as our only way.

From the old concept of education being a government liability, education has come to be defined as something meant only for the wealthy. Education is the only way for the downtrodden and the poor to come into the mainstream of society. That way is closed. This can be understood if we look at the advancement of the underprivileged in India over the past long years through reservation and eligibility criteria.

Injustice of teachers and staff
Incidents of injustice to students often occur from the side of the staff including the teachers working in the field of education. There are teachers who do not perform the minimum program of imparting knowledge and guidance to the students in curricular and extra curricular matters. Inaccuracy of internal assessment, vindictiveness, nepotism, lax teaching, lack of focus on personality development and character formation, many teachers are guilty of negligence. Inadequacies in the examination system, delays and inaccuracies in evaluation, the staff are more lax than the teachers. Due to this, there is a delay in further studies and getting a job. If violence in this field is stopped, the teacher-student relationship will be stronger and firm.

Campus politics turns violent
Students often resort to violence as a result of the pressure of political parties. One’s reaction as a citizen to the small and big events happening in the country is inevitable. But the organized power of students on campus as advocates of different political parties often turns violent. Merciless treatment of those who do not support their ideology, organized attacks on the freedom of others, destruction of public property, frequent boycotts, attacks on opposing political factions, organized accusations against innocent people, these are all blatant acts of violence in this field. Its latest victim is Siddharth, a veterinary college student. A handful of students engage in such activities as a shortcut to reach positions of power.

Political leaders play a crucial role in inculcating hatred and enmity among students. Hundreds of martyrs have been created in colleges by each party. They implement the decision of the party’s superiors. Students are systematically used by politicians as an organized force that can be used quickly. This has led to the formation of public opinion against student politics and the depoliticization of campuses. College unions, which are supposed to inculcate social consciousness in students, have become devoid of any vision or commitment. Students do not understand violence, corruption, terrorism and communalism as issues to be rejected.

Farewell
My beloved Parishioners,

Thanking God for the opportunity to serve as your Vicar for the past three years. Christ Church, Thiruvananthapuram is very large congregation. People are scattered in and suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram. The number of services will also vary as the number of families increase. Therefore, it is not possible to reach out to the needs of everyone. However, I have tried to reach to the best of my ability. All are not claimed to be perfect. Under the leadership of the area prayer group conveners, it has been possible to visit and pray in as many houses as possible. I know that it is not complete either. I wish to inform you with gratitude that I was able to pray for you twice a day.

I want to retire from the active service of the church and stay with my family in my native place, Mundiappally. I am retiring now because I am determined to retire at the age of 65. I am the person who disagreed with 67, 70. Not only some bishops and presbyters, but also the CSI Church itself, have had many scandals because of wanting to increase this retirement age. The matter even reached the Supreme Court. The sanctity of the Church was tarnished. Things like this are likely to increase. It is because of this, I am sticking to my policy that I want to retire at the age of sixty-five, when I can still serve for two more years. I believe that God who has brought me this far will continue to do so. We will always be grateful for the love and respect shown to us by all of you. My successor Rev. Alex P. Oommen is an accomplished priest. Make sure to give him all your support and love to go forward. Everyone should strive to live a Christian family life with a good testimony. Don’t let the challenges of the times drown out your testimony. We will be leaving the very next day after the general body meeting of our congregation. I am very thankful to Rev. Sam Mathew Roy and Rev. Bino Jacob who worked with me here. There were two committees during this period. Thanks to everyone. Our love and gratitude goes out to all the organizations and area prayer group conveners. If you remember us and have time, pray for us too. Farewell with love.

Yours loving,

Rev. P. K. Chacko                         
Vicar