In a shocking incident, Father Edmund Mascarenhas, a school principal, reportedly assaulted several students for chanting slogans such as “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Jai Hind” at an English school in the Union Territory of Diu. Hindu organisations have brought the issue to light, and a formal complaint has been lodged against the principal.
On Teachers’ Day, a school principal reportedly assaulted students for chanting patriotic slogans like “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” after the national anthem. Principal Edmund Mascarenhas became enraged upon hearing the slogans and forced three students to stand in a line before violently thrashing them. This shocking behaviour is exacerbated by the fact that he did not know which students had raised the slogans and randomly targeted these three victims. The incident occurred on September 5 during the celebration. While Mascarenhas was beating the victims, their fellow students remained silent out of fear of being attacked themselves. Parents who were present did not intervene, worried that doing so could negatively impact their children’s futures.
Several Hindu rights organisations, including Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, learned about the incident through social media. Taking the matter seriously, these activists submitted a complaint against the school principal to the District Collector.
Bharatbhai Solanki, the district coordinator of Vishva Hindu Parishad said, “As soon as the national anthem ended, a child shouted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, then the principal took three children to the shed and beat them brutally. The children kept saying that they did not do anything, but they were still beaten. After the incident, two other children were also beaten,” Solanki said.
Solanki explained that the Hindu rights groups learned about the incident through social media. Upon investigation, it became clear that local residents are afraid of Edmund Mascarenhas. He noted that many locals are poor and uneducated, and they fear that if they speak out against Mascarenhas, their children could be expelled from the school. Solanki also stated that even the school staff is hesitant to address Mascarenhas’s misconduct.
As Hindu organisations took action, the Diu police registered a case against the accused principal, Edmund Mascarenhas. A non-cognisable (NC) complaint has been filed against him under Section 115(2) of the BNS and Section 82(1) of the Juvenile Justice Act.
