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Football
Did CK Vineeth end up setting a trend by leaving son's religion blank?
They say you got to practise what you preach and that charity ought to begin at home. Turns out it can have a pretty noticeable effect if it is done right. For Indian football fans, they only need to look at Kerala Blasters footballer CK Vineeth to find a good example. CK Vineeth has been making the news for all the right reasons recently and has his fan following multiplying every day. About a month ago, Vineeth, the highest Indian goals-scorer in the 2012-2013 I-League season refused to fill in the "religion" spot on his son's form. According to him, what religion his son chooses or does not choose to adhere to was not something he could decide and would let his son choose when he was mature enough to decide that for himself. India Times On Wednesday, State education minister C Ravindranath informed the legislative assembly, "This year at the time of admission a record number of 1.24 lakh students have left religion and caste columns blank while seeking admission. This shows secular credentials of our society." This is a trend that has been noticed to be growing in Kerala recently. It is probably the example set by Vineeth only a little while ago that caused the sudden surge in the number of students and parents opting to not be recognised by their caste or religion. A week ago when the KCA had decided to tear down the JLN Stadium in Kochi and football fans in Kerala resorted to Twitter to #SaveKochiTurf. One of the first to side with the fans and one of the loudest voices among celebrities was that of CK Vineeth. https://twitter.com/TheBridge_IN/status/974974890657787904 While several intellectuals and sporting icons eventually lent support to the cause, a lot of them raised their voices only after the movement had gained considerable momentum. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly or even Sunil Chhetri produced their two cents much later while CK Vineeth took a stand almost immediately. Whether the steady trend to negate religion and caste (on forms at least) was something CK Vineeth caught on to or whether 1.2 lakh students and parents caught on to a trend Vineeth was unknowingly setting is probably not going to be clear but an effect it has had and is reason enough to be appreciated.
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