The father of a Class 2 student in Dehradun lodged a complaint with the District Magistrate’s office after his son started calling him and his wife ‘Abbu’ and ‘Ammi’, respectively. The District Magistrate has taken cognisance of the complaint and directed the education officer to investigate the matter and take appropriate action.
The parents alleged that their son started addressing them ‘Ammi’ and ‘Abbu’ after reading a chapter in his school textbook.
As per the complaint, Manish Mittal, the father of the Class 2 student, wrote “Today, all of a sudden, my son started calling me Abbu and my wife, i.e. his mother, Ammi… which was very shocking for us. When we asked him why, he showed us his English textbook, Gul Mohar 2 published by Orient Black Swan, Hyderabad. In the first chapter, ‘Ammi’ and ‘Abbu’ have been used for mother and father, respectively, and the words have been explained as ‘Ammi: Mother’ and ‘Abbu: Father’.”
“English is part of schools’ curriculum and such misguided practices must be stopped. This is a serious matter and a severe attack on our faith and religious beliefs,” he wrote in the letter.
Find the complaint letter below:
Complaint letter 🤪
DM has also asked his clerk to submit report to him within a week. pic.twitter.com/Z6nXYg1uIX— زماں (@Delhiite_) April 5, 2023
By the end of the poem, there is written meaning of these words as Ammi means mother and Abbu means father.
Mittal says, “‘Mata’, ‘Pita’ should be used in Hindi books and ‘Ammi’ and ‘Abbu’ should be used in Urdu books. But the use of ‘Ammi’ and ‘Abbu’ to refer to parents in an English book is always inappropriate. The said Gul Mohar 2 book is not just studied in Dehradun but is prescribed in all ICSE schools across the country”.
Mittal is a farmer by profession and has urged the District Magistrate to take prompt action to prevent “such anti-religious activities”. He requested the authorities to impose a ban on the book in the district.
After receiving the complaint, District Magistrate Sonika handed over the investigation to the Chief Education Officer.
Chief Education Officer Pradeep Kumar, citing facts found in the preliminary investigation, said that he had read the text of the book. In this, the character Aamir is speaking to his Ammi-Abbu.
Kumar added, “As soon as I came to know about the matter, I read the controversial text. The people of Hindu Vahini also arrived with a complaint. The ‘words’ of the book will also be discussed with the ICSC board. We will also call the principals of some schools and hold a meeting”.
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