Kerala Judge’s Comment on Religion-Free Education Is a Subtle Wake-Up Call for Our Polarized Times

In an era when labels tend to precede empathy, a low-key yet pungent observation by Kerala High Court judge V G Arun is a moment of pause: “Children studying in schools bereft of religious identity are the hope of the future.”

Justice Arun was addressing an event hosted by Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham, a group of rationalists, to commemorate veteran author Vaisakhan. It wasn’t a court, nor political soapbox — simply a meeting of minds that celebrated intellect, reasoning, and belief. Yet what he said cut through the din of ordinary headlines.

His statement is both simple and radical: children, if allowed to grow free from pre-imposed religious labels, may become the ones who question the injustices we’ve normalised. “When others stand perplexed, these children will raise questions pointing fingers at society,” he said. In that one line, he reminded us that the future belongs not to the obedient, but to the curious — to those who ask “why” when silence is expected.

This isn’t a request to reject faith. It’s a call to allow identity to emerge through experience rather than inheritance. The judge wasn’t criticising religion — he was upholding the right to develop without religion’s burden being predestined. It’s a welcome position in an era where even a school application can silently impose an ideology on a child who is not yet able to read it.

Justice Arun also bemoaned the decreasing space for conviction in public life. With trolls using social media as a weapon against thinkers and writers, he had this to say, “They pounce like vultures.” As a judge, he witnesses the collateral damage — FIRs issued over tweets, voices muzzled not with argument but with outrage.

In honoring parents who select schools devoid of religious identity, he isn’t merely complimenting a trend. He’s cautioning us that the tapestry of free thinking is praying. And perhaps, just perhaps, the threads that sustain it will be discovered in classrooms where children are nurtured unburdened — and unafraid to question.