<p>A Catholic nun was barred from taking the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) here since she refused to remove her veil and Holy Cross in accordance with fresh CBSE guidelines. <br /><br />The incident happened at Jawahar Central School at Kanjiramkulam, about 30 km from here. Sister Seba, a member of the Bethany Convent in Thiruvananthapuram, was at the school at about 8 am to take the test. She was advised by the school principal to remove her veil and cross, as stipulated in CBSE guidelines issued for the test. <br /><br />The nun sought permission from the officials to wear the veil and cross after a check was conducted but the request was turned down. “I also requested for a separate room where I could take the test without the veil and the cross on. That request was turned down as well on grounds that there was no provision for a separate test venue,” she told reporters.</p>.<p>Fr Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary-general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), called the incident “painful” and said it was against the spirit of a secular state. <br /><br />“This is not a head-scarf; the nuns wear the veil as part of a dress code that has been adopted for a spiritual way of life. Imposing such restrictions in the name of rules is unfortunate and extremely disturbing,” Fr Alathara told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />The Supreme Court on Friday maintained that faith was not connected to clothes one wears, while hearing pleas by Muslim girl applicants in connection with CBSE’s ban on head-scarves and full-sleeved clothes during Saturday’s AIPMT re-test.</p>
<p>A Catholic nun was barred from taking the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) here since she refused to remove her veil and Holy Cross in accordance with fresh CBSE guidelines. <br /><br />The incident happened at Jawahar Central School at Kanjiramkulam, about 30 km from here. Sister Seba, a member of the Bethany Convent in Thiruvananthapuram, was at the school at about 8 am to take the test. She was advised by the school principal to remove her veil and cross, as stipulated in CBSE guidelines issued for the test. <br /><br />The nun sought permission from the officials to wear the veil and cross after a check was conducted but the request was turned down. “I also requested for a separate room where I could take the test without the veil and the cross on. That request was turned down as well on grounds that there was no provision for a separate test venue,” she told reporters.</p>.<p>Fr Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary-general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), called the incident “painful” and said it was against the spirit of a secular state. <br /><br />“This is not a head-scarf; the nuns wear the veil as part of a dress code that has been adopted for a spiritual way of life. Imposing such restrictions in the name of rules is unfortunate and extremely disturbing,” Fr Alathara told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />The Supreme Court on Friday maintained that faith was not connected to clothes one wears, while hearing pleas by Muslim girl applicants in connection with CBSE’s ban on head-scarves and full-sleeved clothes during Saturday’s AIPMT re-test.</p>
