By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
Dalit rights activist and writer Kancha Ilaiah has come upfront countering the allegation against him that he has “a Christian agenda” behind his writings.
In a press note released yesterday, Ilaiah said, “This is absolutely false. I have some academic association with an organization called the Good Shepherd Society that established an English medium school in my village Papaiahpet, Chennaraopet Mandal, Waragal (rural dist) in 2002.”
”This school provides English medium education from LKG to 10th class in that remote village. All most all it its students are SC/ST/OBCs,” said Ilaiah in the statement.
Describing his association with the organisation Ilaiah said, “I requested this organization to establish such schools in late the 1990s where, the poor can study English medium within in the village across the nation. I interact with my village students, parents and see that they are taught reasonably good English, mathematics and also Dignity of Labour.”
He further explained, “For this purpose I wrote - ‘Dignity of Labour in Our Times’ around their own parental tasks. This academic year 376 kids are studying. This organization runs 107 such schools with an intake about 27,000 kids from SC/ST/OBC and minority background in very remote villages in the country.”
”From my village school four kids got into medicine, few got into NITs, and many are in good engineering colleges.
But for that school they would not have dreamt of such course and study with a confidence. The society charges a fee ranging from Rs 3,220 per year for LKG and Rs 5,260 for class 10th per year. The SC students of the village pay only Rs 1000 per year. Hence they need help from outside. They mobilize such financial help. I have nothing to do with it or its management. I only give academic advice,” said Ilaiah.
Further, Ilaiah explained the difficulties and problems in the operations of organisation, “One Mr.Albert Lael, who worked with this organization got established one such schools in his own village, Kaukuntla, Devarkandra Mandal Mahabub Nagar (dist) and managed to put his own mother as principle. It appears that he wanted take over the school for himself and developed problems within the organisation.”
”Anyone can compare both Papaiahpet and Kaukuntla schools. Lael and Jerusalem Mattiah who mediated the vote for note (Revanth Reddy case) started a campaign in association with Paripurnanada, who attacked St. Mother Theresa as a person of women’s trafficking character, and who is also anti-Dalitbahujan and anti-English education for the SC/ST/OBCs in the villages. This is a dangerous trend. The English education for the SC/ST/OBCs is my long term commitment.”
Kancha Ilaiah attacked those alleging him saying, “
These forces which educate their children in urban Christian schools in English medium have no right to accuse me. Any harm for these village children’s English medium education is nothing but crime against humanity.”