Vellappally Natesan, a leader of the Hindu Ezhava community in Kerala, said on Sunday that girls and boys sitting together in classrooms were “against Indian culture” and “bringing anarchy”, PTI reported.
“We have our own culture,” he said. “We don’t live in America or England. Our culture does not accept boys and girls hugging and sitting together. You don’t see this happening in the educational institutions of Christians and Muslims.
He added that children sitting together or hugging each other are dangerous and for these reasons colleges run by Hindu organizations do not get good grades and funds from the University Grants Commission.
Natesan, the general secretary of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam which manages the educational institutions, made the comments while answering journalists’ questions about gender neutral school uniforms in Kerala.
He said the ruling Left Democratic Front was sending the wrong message by backing away from its one-size-fits-all gender-neutral policy.
On August 24, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government had no plans to impose gender neutral school uniforms, The Hindu reported. The development came after some Muslim organizations said gender-neutral uniforms interfered with religious conventions.
The organization was also against girls and boys sitting together in classrooms.
On Sunday, Natesan also said it was unfortunate that the Kerala government was succumbing to religious pressure despite calling itself secular, PTI reported.
