The principal, Alexander Coates Reid (left) and the CCTV camera's installed inside the girls washroom (Image: OpIndia)
A video of a man being thrashed and walking away in torn clothes is getting viral on social media. The man has been identified as Alexander Coates Reid, the principal of DY Patil High School, in the Ambi locality of Pune. The man with some of his employees is accused of forcing students to recite Christian religious prayers and had badmouthed the Hindu religion. (Watch the video here)
Shockingly Reid was thrashed by Hindu activists after they found that CCTV cameras were installed inside the washroom for girls, without any notice to the school management. Following the rage on social media and protests organised by the Hindus, the principal with other teachers were all suspended.
Irrespective of the facts associated with the protests the left liberals and so-called intellectuals have called this incident a deliberate attempt of targeting the minority community in this country. The video of Hindu activists with saffron scarves was shared widely by these activists and Islamists saying, Christians are the next target for Hindus after them. Some of the posts can be seen here and here.
What was missing from all these posts and videos in circulation was the reason behind the principal being thrashed. As per a report published in OpIndia, the principal was caught harassing a female parent and he also installed CCTV cameras in the washroom of the girls studying in standard 8th and above, without management’s notice. The principal was thrashed on July 4.
The parents were protesting with the claims that the school forces their children to recite Christian prayers, their children are not allowed to follow Hindu religious customs and they are asked to follow Church and its saying.
As per the complaint letter submitted by one of the parents, Deepti Karmale, at the MIDC police station, the principal has no respect for the national anthem or any event associated with the nation’s achievements. For instance, he keeps walking during National Anthem in the corridors. He has a problem with Hindi and Marathi and does not allow students to speak in any other language than English. She also added that the students are kept away from the Hindu culture and traditions and are forced to follow only the Christian prayers. (The complaint letter can be accessed here)
Karmale requested the police to seize the copies of clippings in the CCTV installed inside the girl’s washroom. The police are yet to institute an FIR against the perpetrators in this case, this is just the complaint letter.
Some other parents while speaking with media said, “During an event, some of the students happened to play the famous Hindu prayer ‘Aee Giri Nandini’ but the teachers called it nonsense and said that no such ‘songs’ would be played at the school. The students are not given holidays at the Hindu festivals and are asked to pray to Jesus. We are not against it, but why such hatred towards the Hindu culture?” the parent asked.
She narrated an incident, that happened at the school when the students were given a project to visit a religious place and write a note but were asked specifically to avoid visiting a temple. “The school wanted the students to either visit a Gurudwara, Church or a Mosque. Why no temple? This is not why we sent our children to school. This shows their disrespect to the Hindu culture,” the parent was quoted as saying.
Following the protests, the school management conducted a meeting on July 6 and stated that it had no idea that CCTV cameras were installed in the washroom of the girls studying in standard 8 and above. The management has assured that the accused school teachers and the Principal will be terminated and strict action will be taken against them.
Notably, the school administration has refused to comment on the said matter as of now.
As per the Hindu activists protesting against the school management and the principal, one of the Muslim teachers at the school told students that Muslims always remain pure and it is the Hindu community that keeps targeting them.
Telling about the teacher Samina Patel, Santosh Dabhade said, Patel told students that, “Nehru was not capable of being a PM. Mohammed Ali Jinnah should have become the PM of the country. The country would have been more developed if he would have become the PM,”
She told the students that, ‘Muslims have always been pure, it is Hindus who keep on defaming and attacking the minority community’.
Dabhade said they get to know about the incident after one of the parents contacted them claiming that their daughter was harassed in the school. The harassment involved pinching and touching of different parts of her body.
“We went to the school to check on the case and then discovered that the school had installed CCTV cameras in the washrooms of the grown-up girl students. The parents were already furious and later it was also discovered that the school furthered the Christian way of life. The students there are forced to read prayers from the Bible during the assembly. The Hindu festivals are demeaned and insulted,” said Dabhade.
The activist said the school does not give students leave on Hindu festivals such as Ashadhi Ekadashi and Gudi Padwa, also known as the Hindu Nav Varsh.
“The students wanted to organize a Palkhi (procession) on the occasion of Ekadashi but the permission to it was also denied saying that it was a stupid tradition,” he said.
Dable questioned, We honestly don’t have a problem with Christian prayers. But why demean Hindu culture? Why call it stupid? Why no Hindu prayers are performed at the school when more than 90 per cent of the students studying there belong to the Hindu community?
He added, “The parents have so many complaints about the school and its management. That day one of the female parents approached the Principal directly asking why were the children at the school forced to read prayers from Bible and why the girls at the school were harassed. The Principal at that time attempted to disrespect her and molest her by touching her. The people around then started thrashing him,”
The principal with other teachers are suspended from their posts but the FIR is yet to be registered in this case, Organiser will update this report once the FIR is registered.
This is not the only incident where Hindu students were forced to follow the Church practices at the school, there have been a number of incidents. Organiser has been reporting such cases in the past as well.
The most recent case was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur where a Missionary school Epifani organised a medical camp to distribute medicines and medicinal oil to people. However, they were luring innocent Hindus and Teibals to conversion in exchange for money and other perks.
Organiser reported a similar case from Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district where students were forced to offer Missionary prayers at the shelter home. On May 29, teams of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) raided a child home in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district suspecting religious conversion. During the surprise inspection drive the team found that minors were forced to offer Christian religious prayers, barred from visiting temples and follow Hindu religious customs.
Organiser reported a similar case from Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district where children were forced to child labour apart from following Church practices and reciting Bible. During the inspection drive the MP-SCPCR found, the religion of a 19-year-old Hindu girl was changed. Her fathers’ name is Ramesh Singh Thakur (name changed, surname retained) who is a Hindu but his daughter’s name suggests she has become a Christian. Her name is Mary Linet now, as per her mark sheets.
Organiser reported a similar case from Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district where authorities at St Peter’s school, forced Hindu students to recite religious prayers and had several loopholes with the documentation. One of the MP-SCPCR members Nivedita told, at the basement of the school there were hundreds and hundreds of books relating to Missionary activities, these books are often used for religious propagation and conversion. The commission suspects that the school was also conducting illegal conversion activities apart from just providing education to the students.
Organiser reported a similar case from Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district where students at Saint Mary were forced to recite religious prayers and the inspection teams recovered liquor bottles and contraceptives from the principal’s cabin.
Before this Organiser did a ground report on a case from Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district where students were not only forced to follow Christian religious practices, and visit Church but were also molested by the father. The boys’ students told the investigators about the physical assault and the vulnerable hostel conditions.
After the visit, Kanoongo told Organiser, “The visit opened a pandora box as the school was receiving government aid for four hostels whereas in reality they only had two. They were charging money from students, abusing them sexually, were converting them to Christianity, the condition of the hostels were vulnerable, and students were forced to have low-quality food and whatnot”.
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