A controversy erupted at the Little Flower Missionary School (LFS), Pathakheda under the Sarani police station in Betul, after the school principal allegedly wiped off the Navratri tilak of a Hindu student on September 25. The issue snowballed into a major row with Hindu organisations accusing the missionary-run institution of showing disrespect towards Hindu practices and attempting to suppress religious identity.
On September 26, tensions escalated when students reported that the principal had instructed them to remove tilaks and kalava, branding them as impermissible. Outraged over what they called an “anti-Hindu bias” by a missionary institution, members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, NSUI, and local Hindu groups staged protests, surrounded the school, and raised slogans against the administration.
NSUI leader Rohan Singh Thakur alleged that students had repeatedly complained about “anti-religious activities” inside the school, including restrictions on wearing tilaks and religious threads. “This is a deliberate attempt to humiliate Hindu traditions and impose missionary influence on children,” Thakur charged.
Facing pressure, Principal Vinshi publicly apologised, applied a tilak to a student, and assured that no student would be barred from wearing tilaks or sacred symbols in the future. This move pacified the crowd temporarily.
During the protest, another controversy emerged after a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was found hidden behind a television in the principal’s office. Protesters deemed this disrespectful, after which Thakur placed the statue respectfully on the principal’s table.
Police teams from Sarani and Pathakheda stations rushed to the spot to control the crowd. TI Jaipal Ivnati clarified that the matter stemmed from a “misunderstanding” but confirmed that both sides were counselled.
Police warned the school that strict action would follow if such incidents recur.
Bajrang Dal leaders warned the management that they would “lock down the missionary school” if it continues to restrict Hindu identity symbols.
This is not the first time Little Flower Missionary School has faced such allegations. In a previous incident, a student’s kalava was allegedly cut by school authorities, sparking anger in the community. Police in-charge, Vanshaj Shrivastava, confirmed that authorities had intervened earlier and warned the school against repeating such actions.
Hindu organisations allege that such repeated incidents are not isolated mistakes but part of a pattern in missionary-run institutions where Hindu traditions are sidelined in favour of enforcing a Christianised discipline model. They argue that such actions are deliberate attempts to undermine Sanatan practices within educational spaces.
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