A convent school in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen found itself at the centre of a raging controversy after an alphabet chart containing Islamic references was allegedly distributed to children.
The flashpoint? Hindi alphabet charts reportedly handed out by the principal of Baby Convent School, IA Qureshi, which listed religious terms like 'Ka' for Kaba, 'Ma' for Masjid, and 'Na' for Namaz.
According to PTI, the incident triggered protests and a formal inquiry by the education department, officials said on Saturday. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad staged a protest on Friday and gheraoed Qureshi after the incident.
The material, said to resemble charts used in madrasas, was flagged by parents and quickly drew the attention of local Hindu groups.
Police were called to the scene to prevent escalation. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Pratibha Sharma said police personnel controlled the situation.
"The matter is related to the education department and referred to the district education officer (DEO)," Sharma said.
DEO DD Rajak confirmed that an inquiry is underway. "As per the Education department's guidelines, study material containing religious symbols of any particular faith cannot be taught in schools," he added.
School principal's stance
In her defence, Principal Qureshi admitted the mistake but insisted it was unintentional.
{{/usCountry}}In her defence, Principal Qureshi admitted the mistake but insisted it was unintentional.
{{/usCountry}}Principal Qureshi admitted her "inadvertent" mistake, stating that one or two such books with mixed Urdu-Hindi multiplication tables had reached students.
She claimed the charts of alphabets were sourced from Bhopal and, due to the seller's error, three to four such items, generally used in madrasas, were included.
Meanwhile, in another separate incident, two teachers at a madrassa in this Uttar Pradesh district have been booked for allegedly assaulting and threatening a 12-year-old student for two consecutive days, police said on Friday.
According to the police, the boy, who hails from Jalhoopur village in Varanasi's Chaubepur area, was staying in the hostel of Madrassa Imdadul Uloom in Khamaria along with his elder brother for studies.
On August 5, a theft reportedly took place inside the madrassa.
Following the incident, the boy's father alleged that on August 6, teacher Numan Saeed beat his son with a stick, and on August 7, another teacher, Rizwanuddin, assaulted him in a similar manner, accusing him in connection with the theft.
The repeated beatings left the boy's back, arms, and legs badly bruised and discoloured. He was also threatened, police said.