Humanity now an option in religion category

Kolkata: The Bethune College has taken a noticeable step in its undergraduate admission process that has kicked off from May 27.

The online application form that has been made available in the college website has a category called 'Humanities' mentioned in the religion section of the form.

The religion category mention Hinduism, Islam, Christian, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and others and interestingly 'Humanities'.

Presently, the category erroneously reads as 'Humanities' but the college actually meant 'Humanity' and this will be rectified soon.

"We have realised that some students are reluctant to mentioning their religion in the admission form. We appreciate their views as we feel that 'Humanity' is the true religion of mankind. So we have deliberately kept this category in the religion section . It was an unanimous decision on the part of our admission committee," said Mamata Ray, principal of Bethune College.

The college authorities, however, made it clear that stating the religion as Humanity will not be a problem for any student for availing scholarship if she meets the necessary guidelines for the same.

"The Indian cultural history has always tried to preach that India is a place where people of all religion live amicably. However, the country has been witnessing incidents of religious intolerance at

present which has emerged as a concern. The time has

come to deliver the message strongly that Humanity is the true religion. We appreciate this step taken by our college," said a second year student

of English Honours in the college.

Established in 1879 , Bethune is the first women's College in Asia accredited by NAAC-Grade A and is known for its maintaining high standards in academics.