Students, alumni write petition in support of St Xavier's principal

The students of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai have come out in defence of their principal Father Mascarenhas who had written a letter to them on 23 April, slamming the Gujarat model and asking students to choose wisely while voting. Mascarenhas had written in his letter, "All the Human Development Index indicators and the cultural polarisation of the population show that Gujarat has had a terrible experience in the last 10 years." He had also praised the UPA’s schemes such as Rojgar Yogna and said, “The country is grateful that committed activists like Aruna Roy and Shailesh Gandhi have worked with the Government to initiate and sustain the Right to Information Act which makes accountability possible.” The BJP had alleged that the principal’s letter was a violation of the model code of conduct. Party spokersperson Nirmala Sitharaman had said, “While we have no issues about any individual exercising his democratic rights, however, here is someone writing as the head of an educational institution. This is an attempt to influence the minds of students.” [caption id=“attachment_1493575” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Xavier’s students have defended their principal’s letter in an online petition. Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The students and alumni of the college have asked the media to ‘speak with them and not for them,’ in  the letter. The petition reads, "While we as alumni and students might not agree unanimously with Fr. Mascarenhas’ statement, or the method he chose to disseminate it, we strongly oppose the biased media reports and falsehoods propagated on social media, which are twisting this case beyond merit." The petition also says that the charges that Mascarenhas tried to misuse his position to coerce the students was wrong. It notes, “He only attempts to present his perspective on what is at stake in this election and cautions his students to ‘choose wisely’. He does not advise them to choose ‘X party’ or ‘Y party’.” The students’ petition also points out that given the over blown propaganda from most parties, it is, “far-fetched to believe that Fr. Mascarenhas’s email would have an overbearing effect on the ability of young voters to distinguish between political options”. The petition also criticises the way the media covered the incident and says that some reports only showed quotes from those who disagreed with the letter. It reads, "The reports carried by prominent dailies like the Mumbai Mirror and DNA feed into an increasingly polarized rhetoric. As some students have stated on public forums, the Mumbai Mirror article quoted only those students who had an overly critical view of the institution and of Fr. Mascarenhas. The DNA article cites an unnamed professor stating that Milind Deora had donated Rs 10 crore to the college, something that Deora’s office categorically refuted when contacted." It also goes on to refute any Christian agenda and points out that the principal’s ‘decision, far from “coercing” anyone, should foster debate and discussion, but definitely not censorship, and certainly not a media trial’. As far as student reactions are concerned, many have come out in support of their principal. Anasuya Menon, a 2009 batch student who was taught Anthropology by Father Frazer, had told Firstpost , “The purpose of his open letter to me is to share perspective and is a request for us to consider. It can obviously never be an order. Also, I do not think that an educator/leader should withhold his opinions on issues for fear of affecting people’s opinion.” Another former St Xavier’s student   Blaine Rodrigues had told Firstpost,  “I do not see what the hue and cry is all about. He teaches developmental studies and as developmental anthropologist he has simply written on a pertinent subject, sensitising first-time voters.”