Uttar Pradesh: Students of St. Anthony school stopped from wearing Tilak, Rakhi and Kalawa; Probe initiated

Ahead of Raksha Bandhan, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights issued a circular to schools around the country asking them to refrain from punishing students for wearing Rakhi, mehendi, and Tilak after the festival. However, within a week of this circular, a case was reported from Bareilly and a similar video emerged on social media from the Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh.

In Hapur, students of St Anthony School were forced to remove Tilak, Rakhis and Kalawa by the administration. A video from the school is getting viral where a female student can be seen sharing how the school authorities have stopped them from entering the school with kalawa, tilak or rakhi. They had to remove it before entering the classrooms, she added.

The act by the school witnessed widespread protest as the video of children crying went viral. It has been alleged that the school authorities not only removed the rakhis and kalawas but also threw them in the dustbin. They removed the tilak and also bad-mouthed about Hindu Dharma.

When the matter reached the DM’s office, she formed an investigation committee. The SDM and CO included in the investigation committee reached the school on September 14 and recorded the statements of both parties.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have warned of agitation if strict action is not taken in this case. DM Prerna Sharma said that action will be taken on the basis of the committee report.

Notably, in the Hapur Dehat police station area, a student complained to their parents about the abuse and punishments they faced for expressing their identity and wearing kalwa, tilak etc. The parents of the students reached school and protested on September 13, when the school authorities repeated the same, they protested on September 14 after which the Hindu activists were also involved in the matter.

In the viral video, a student is seen crying. In the video, she is seen saying that her brother had come to school wearing Rakhi. Due to this, the teacher became so angry that she punished him and asked him to stand out. Due to the sunlight, his brother’s health deteriorated. In the second video, students are alleging that the teacher makes fun of their religion and also makes indecent comments. They threatened to expel students from school if protested.

Similar case reported in Bareilly

On August 31, Organiser reported a similar incident from Holy Family Convent School, a private school in Bareilly. Which first stopped students from celebrating Raksha Bandhan in school and the next day, when the students attended the class wearing Rakhis, the administration chopped them off.

While doing so, the school administration said,  ‘Hinduism shall not be preached here’.

Later, the parents of the students and members of various Hindu organisations visited the school and protested this act by the school after which the school furnished a written apology.

Upon getting information about the incident, the parents of the children and members of Hindu organisations including Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and ABVP reached the school and held a protest. When informed about the situation, the police arrived at the school, and subsequently, the school management extended an apology to the Hindu parents.

NCPCR’s circular on Raksha Bandhan 

It is noteworthy that on August 30, the NCPCR issued a circular addressing the Principal Secretaries of School Education Departments in all states and union territories, the NCPCR pointed out that students face corporal punishment for wearing Rakhi, mehendi, and Tilak following Raksha Bandhan.

The letter stated that, the commission receives a lot of reports and complaints where students have shared how they face punishments for wearing all of this after the Hindu festival.

Cases where schools have barred students from wearing Kalawa, Tilak and others

In the last week of August, a class 10 student was thrashed by his teacher Farooq Ahmed for writing Jai Shri Ram on the blackboard in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kathua. We at Organiser have compiled a list of 15 such cases reported across the country where students have faced punishments, suspensions and threats for wearing Tilak, Kalawa or Bindi in school. In some instances, the students have even died.

• In Jammu & Kashmir, a minor Hindu boy was thrashed for writing Jai Shri Ram slogan on the blackboard. Later, the local Hindus protested and then the teacher identified as Farooq Ahmed was arrested by the police.
• In Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district, a minor Hindu girl identified as Usha Kumari committed suicide after the teachers at St Xavier’s school beat her up for wearing Bindi in school.
• In Jharkhan’s Bokaro district a minor Hindu boy, studying in the Carmel Convent school was thrashed for wearing Kalawa in the school. It was only after the local Hindus protested that the incident came to light.
• In Jharkhand’s Bokaro district principal of a school Alisha Manjuni suspended whole class for chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans in the school.
• A  Hindu student was beaten up by Muslim classmates for putting Tilak on his forehead in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. The incident occurred in a government-run school.
• A  school teacher from Tamil Nadu named Udaya Lakshmi shared a Facebook post (now deleted) wherein she boasted about forcefully removing the sacred thread (Kalawas) from the wrists of Hindu students.
• Two instructors physically attacked a Hindu student on August 26 at the Ujra Government School in the Chhatarpur region of Madhya Pradesh because the student was sporting a kada (sacred bracelet).
• A Hindu student was harassed by his class teacher for writing the sacred chant of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the blackboard at a community school in the Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh.
• In the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh, a government teacher removed Kalawa from the hands of Hindu students, saying they must not visit the temple and should not offer prayers. He justified this act by saying that he promotes equal education without any religious bias.

There are so many cases like these mentioned above, read the compilation in this report by Organiser here.