NEW DELHI: It may have seemed like just another controversy over admissions, but the St. Stephen's saga is opening up a whole new Pandora's box. If the resignation of College Principal Anil Wilson brought up the pressures that minority institutions have to often work under, the whole episode has left the Christian community "pained" and "embarrassed'' at the way some religious leaders have been accused of misusing their office. Even as the student and teaching community of the college root for the Principal, Dr. Wilson has come in for sharp criticism with a section of the Christian leadership accusing him of trying to discredit the community.

"Having watched silently the unfortunate turn of events in St. Stephen's College, I feel urged, in extreme pain and embarrassment, to condemn the attempt of the Principal of the college to discredit the Christian community and its leaders," said the Rev. Valson Thampu, Member of the National Council for Minority Educational Institutions, in a hard-hitting statement issued in the Capital on Monday. "It is regrettable in the extreme that an internal issue in college has been turned into an unseemly public fight and a pretext for attacking and vilifying the community as a whole. It was because of the goodwill of the Church leaders who he now vilifies that Dr. Wilson became Principal in the first instance.''

Vilification

Dr. Wilson's charge of pressure for out-of-turn admissions has clearly upset many, with leaders pointing out that an individual's attempt to turn the college into a personal fiefdom is understandable but the community as a whole should not be made to pay a price for it.

"The vilification of Church leaders undertaken in this context is... directed at the community all over the country. I would therefore request Dr. Wilson to withdraw his defamatory statements and apologise to the community,'' the Rev. Valson Thampu added.

Although Dr. Wilson's resignation letter only points to pressures from the Governing Body of the college, senior college officials say "the problem is much larger''. Dr. Wilson's decision to resign was only a last resort, say people close to him. Although recommendations for admission were a regular feature that did not fluster Dr. Wilson, it was apparently attempts to use "arm-twisting'' methods to get him to make admissions that reportedly made him decide on his resignation.

Although Dr. Wilson has refused to comment on the matter till the Supreme Council takes a decision on the matter at its next meeting on September 14, he had in a statement said that "on August 18, 2005, following a series of events flowing out of my attempt to maintain the integrity of our admissions process, I wrote to the College Supreme Council, through its Chairman, to allow me to relinquish my position as Principal of St. Stephen's College. The matter is now before the College Supreme Council and therefore it is not appropriate for me to comment on the same''.

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