Two teachers of a government residential school in Mewat district of Haryana, who were accused of forcing 2 Hindu students to offer Namaz, were suspended on 28th July. According to a report published by the Times of India, another teacher who was involved in this coercion has been transferred.
The Mewat Model School in Madhi village has about 207 students and is run by the Mewat Development Agency. The parents of the two Hindu students who study in the VII and IX standard respectively had complained to the school authorities on 22nd July, which led to the constitution of a three member panel led by the district education officer.
According to Shamim Ahmed, who is the project officer of the Mewat Development Agency and the member of the constituted committee, the matter had come to light on 22nd July when the two students asked for a school leaving certificate. The parents had earlier withdrawn the kids from the hostel before complaining against the teachers.
This panel as a result suspended the Computer Science and Urdu teachers. The Social Science teacher, who was also incidentally the hostel warden, was transferred to another school.
Media reports further suggest the concerned teachers had also pressurised the students to convert to Islam. This reportedly happened in the hostel where the boys stayed. The students had also complained to the principle of the school, but he allegedly refused to act in the matter. The report put out the names of the three teachers as Moinuddin, Mubarak Ali and Mohammed Arif.
However, the disciplinary action against the teachers have reportedly caused further problems in the area. Some teachers now allege that on Saturday, the villagers of the Muslim dominated area barged into the school premises blaming them for the action against the Muslim teachers. The villagers implied that the matter should have instead been hushed up. The report claimed that the warden, who was transferred to another school as ‘punishment’, too joined in the protest and blocked the entry of the teachers into the hostel.
Santaram, who teaches arts in the school has claimed that the district administration has imposed a gag order on them and asked them not to interact with the media.
