There has been a dispute going on between the Muslims and the Hindus for hundreds of years over some property. There is a Mosque built there now, but archaeological digs have shown that there was previously a Hindu temple on the property. The Hindus believe that it is the birthplace of Lord Ram, one of their main Gods.
Anyway...the Indian government was supposed to rule on the property giving it either to the Muslims or the Hindus. The people here are very nervous as if it is given to the Hindus the Muslims will react, and if it is given to the Muslims, the Hindus will react. The decision was to be made on Friday the 24th. The Karnataka State declared that all schools were to be cancelled on that day as they were worried about violence. Indus announced that school had been canceled. On Thursday evening at around 5:00 we started receiving emails saying that school is again scheduled on Friday and that it is mandatory that all students attend. The kids argued with me for probably an hour over whether they had to go to school or not. Ethan said that his teacher specifically told the class that if they come on Friday, no one will be there. Finally I pulled out the email and showed them that it was indeed a school day. They were still not convinced as they walked out to the bus stop.
The Indian government postponed the decision until Tuesday the 28th. I'm not holding my breath though. Apparently they haven't been able to make a decision in over a hundred years.
No comments:
Post a Comment