In yet another incident of missionary schools and their staffers hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus, a case has been registered in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. On May 2, a complaint was filed against the teacher and principal of St. Mary’s School, a missionary institution. The complaint was made by the parents of a Hindu student who faced objections from the school for wearing a tilak and maintaining a Shikha, both practices that are part of the Hindu religion.
The principal of the school, Sister Mercy Das, and the student’s class teacher were specifically named in the complaint. The parents raised suspicions of religious conversion attempts within the school, prompting the police to register an FIR and commence an investigation.
The incident occurred in the Rasra police station area of Ballia. The school, believed to be operated by Christian missionaries, is located in the Mariampur Raghopur area. The student in question is a class 4 student who adheres to the Sanatan tradition by keeping a Shikha. His mother applies a tilak on his forehead before he goes to school every day.
On May 2, the class teacher noticed the minor boy’s tilak and Shikha and expressed anger over his attire. The teacher allegedly scolded him for keeping a Shikha and stated that it was strictly prohibited to come to school with shikha and a tilak. It is claimed that the teacher then used scissors to cut minor’s braid.
Hindu student at St. Mary’s School in Ballia accuses his teacher of cutting his “shikha” and instructing him not to apply “tilak” in school campus
The student’s father has filed a complaint against the school’s principal and the teacher involved, leading to the registration of… pic.twitter.com/UaMq6hZUgZ
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) May 8, 2024
When Prabhakar’s mother learned about the incident, she went to the school to complain, only to be met with mistreatment from both the class teacher and the principal. The school staff reportedly told her to do whatever she wanted and even threatened the child over the issue.
In his complaint, the victim’s father, Vivekananda, accused St. Mary’s School of insulting the Hindu religion and expressed concerns about forced religious conversion.
He said, “It is strictly prohibited to come here with extended hair and tilak.”
The police have taken action against the principal and class teacher under sections 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The Ballia Police have begun their investigation into the case.
Organiser reported a similar case from Kanpur in October 2023, where the father of a minor Hindu boy, accompanied by hundreds of Hindu activists, took to the streets alleging that a 35-year-old teacher at Saint Aloysius School had engaged in a prolonged romantic relationship with his 15-year-old son on various social media platforms, the father claimed that the teacher went to extremes by accompanying the boy to church and even cutting his Shikha, a culturally significant practice for Brahmins. The teacher was accused of ensnaring the boy in a deceptive web of false affection and other troubling behaviours.
Following the revelation of this incident, the entire school applied pressure on the family to retract their protest, resorting to brless allegations against both the minor and his father regarding their characters. Despite the police acknowledging the situation and initiating investigations, no official complaint was lodged.
Consequently, the minor was compelled to stay home after his identity was openly disclosed by the school in the media. He was also withdrawn from school, as his father refused to abandon the protest and the complaint against the implicated teacher.
