“Secular” Kerala Story of Madrasa Students Atmika and Aishika

Kerala is once again becoming a glowing example of “secularism.” The story reported by Asianet News revolves around Atmika, a 6th-standard student, and her younger sister, who is in the first standard.

What makes them “unique”? They both study at a nearby madrasa. Every morning, they wake up early and attend “secular” classes on the Quran and Arabic. Afterward, they proceed to their regular school.

These sisters are the children of “secular parents,” Babu and Kavitha. I believe these two parents deserve “an award” for their approach. Babu and Kavitha probably understood that the culture their children were born into, had “nothing positive to offer.” After all, “what good” are scriptures like Vedas, Upanishads, Gita etc.

I’m glad they decided to send them to the madrasa in the morning instead of choosing to enroll them in yoga or something similar. Yoga would have made them healthier and more peaceful physically, mentally, emotionally, and energetically. Yoga would have transformed their lives in ways unimaginable. But I’m sure they realized that madrasa education would make them more “peaceful” which is most important. These parents must have realized that the above-mentioned scriptures of the “primitive religion” with quotes like “Vasudeva Kutumbakam” are anyway “outdated”. And Yoga has Surya Namaskar which is “antiminority” and “highly communal”.

But studying in a madrasa is “highly secular”, as Asianet News implies in their report when they proudly declared in the title (translated from Malayalam) — “A Kerala story in the sunrise of Kayanni” (Kayanni is the name of the place). In any case, in another few years these sisters will most probably get married to grooms who are also “educated” and well versed in madrasa education. Parents across the country especially those outside Kerala, must look at these two parents. Please learn something from them. Understand what to do and what not to do to your kids.