A school in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district has suspended its Muslim principal after people associated with Hindutva groups created a ruckus over the recitation of some Quranic verses in the school.
Videos on social media show that a large number of people gathered at the BLS International School and started reciting ‘Hanuman Chalisa.’ They also demanded action against the teacher who reportedly asked the students to recite the Quranic verses.
Talking to reporters, Hindutva supporters said that they will continue protesting against the school unless it is shut down and a bulldozer razes it. Hin-dutva leader Deepak Sharma even stopped a school bus carrying teachers and some staff. The bus was allowed to proceed only after the intervention of the police.
A ruckus was created on the basis of some pho-tos of the function that were made viral on social media. The photos are said to be from a school func-tion on the occasion of World Heritage Day.
Through its Facebook page, the school informed that the management has suspended the principal following the row over the viral video.
“Chairman of BLS School Banwari Lal Sharma temporarily suspended the principal. The action was taken because the unsavoury photo of the principal went viral,” said the school on its Facebook page.
Kamal Sharma, the administrator of the school, told media that on the occasion of World Heritage Day, a prayer assembly was held. Since it was the month of Ramadan, prayers were conducted. The allegation of removing Kalava and reciting Fatiha (Quranic verse) is baseless. The school authorities express regret over the incident.
The school management has suspended Principal Sonia, and two teachers — Irfan Ilahi and Akbar Rizwan. Even district officials have also constituted a committee to probe the matter. The committee has to submit a report within five days.—KMS
