A missionary school in Tripura has approached the administration seeking protection from a group of people who identified themselves as members of the Hindu Jagran Manch and Sanatani Dharma and sought to conduct Saraswati Puja at the institution on February 14 “by hook or crook”.

Tessy Joseph, the principal of Don Bosco School in Dhajanagar on the outskirts of Udaipur, has in her two-page application to the Gomati district magistrate requested steps to “prevent such illegal act and to protect the institution, its property and its right guaranteed under the Constitution of India”.

Similar puja “requests” have also been placed before three schools in Assam, prompting representatives of missionary schools in the Northeast to hold a stock-taking meeting here on Sunday.

A Gomati district Hindu Jagran Manch leader said a “group of people belonging to the Hindu Samaj and some parents met the principal of Don Bosco School with a request to celebrate Saraswati Puja there, just like Christmas is celebrated by all, because the majority of the school students are Hindus”.

He said they would meet the district administration, seeking its “support” to hold the puja if they were denied permission by the school.

Efforts to get a reaction from the district magistrate proved futile, while a Gomati police officer said they would take appropriate steps once they verified what had happened.

In her application for protection, Joseph narrated the three visits to the school on February 8 and 9 by people wanting to celebrate Saraswati Puja.

The school, established in 1999, enjoys rights guaranteed under Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution.

The principal’s letter states: “Though our institution is purely Christian minority institution primarily meant for Christian Students, our school caters to students from all section/religion of the state and we stress on making better human being and Citizen of India.”

According to the letter, the first group of “people identifying themselves as member of Hindu Jagran Manch visited my office and in my absence met vice-principal of the School, demanding to conduct Saraswati Puja in the School. The vice-principal politely informed them that, we are Christian Minority Institution and we cannot allow them to do so within the school premises as The Constitution of India granted the minorities of India, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice and we cannot be compelled to act beyond the guaranteed right under The Constitution of India”.

The group went back “by threatening us that they will compel the Institution to conduct Saraswati Puja in the School premises”, she wrote.

On Friday, another group came under the “leadership of one Pratim Datta identifying as members of Sanatani Dharma” with the same demand but the school iterated its earlier stand. Datta threatened to gather locals and bring “Swamijis” to the campus and conduct the puja “by hook or crook”, she said.

Another group visited the school on Friday and threatened Jospeh with consequences if she didn’t allow them to conduct the puja, she added.

“We again iterated that we have full respect towards Saraswati puja and other religious rituals of any religion but we reserve our Peligious right and to run our Institution as per Article 30 of The Constitution of India. But they were adamant,” the letter said.

“This being the situation we now apprehend that the person above named and group may try to do what they want illegally and may cause harm to the properties and person and (the) said illegal act will certainly infringe the right guaranteed to a religious minority institution under Article 30 of The Constitution of India”, the letter stated while praying for protection.