On July 9, a minor student of a state-run school in Giridih, Jharkhand was brutally assaulted for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the classroom’s blackboard. The incident was reported from the Palmo village, located in the Giridih district of Jharkhand.
#Jharkhand: In Giridih, a minor of class 4 was brutally assaulted by school’s headmaster #MohammadAbulKalam for writing #JaiShriRam on the blackboard.
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) July 14, 2022
According to a local media report, the headmaster of Upgraded Govt Middle School Palmo (UGMSP), Mohammad Abul Kalam, on July 9, thrashed the class four student, after he learned that the boy had written ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the blackboard the previous day. Upgraded Govt Middle School is a state-run school for Grades 1 to 8.
The incident came to the fore after the traumatised child narrated his ordeal to the parents. At first, the child refrained from telling his family what transpired, out of the fear of possible further assault. The parents, however, could gauge that something was off with the child due to his mental state. After much prodding and pestering, the child finally shared his ordeal.
The parents, in turn, narrated the horrifying incident to some other parents in their neighbourhood. After the news spread, local villagers called for a meeting in the school on July 13. Dozens of people, including numerous notable members of the panchayat, headmaster Abul Kalam, and the school administration committee, attended the meeting.
During the meeting, many other parents also accused headmaster Mohammad Abul Kalam of forcing their children to clean the school toilets. Many irate villagers castigated the headmaster for torturing the young children studying in his school. Seeing the atmosphere heating up, the members of the panchayat informed the local Mufassil police station in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. When the police arrived, they first pacified the enraged locals before dispersing the crowd.
Information about the incident was also given to the District Education Officer Pushpa Kujur, who ordered a probe in the case and assured strict action against the headmaster if found guilty.
Condemning the incident, Avinesh Kumar, the state spokesperson for the BJP in Jharkhand said that the Taliban-style tyranny would likely be witnessed in Jharkhand in the near future given the way the current ruling dispensation has been endorsing radical Islamism and pandering to fundamentalists in the entire state.
Islamification of state-run schools in Jharkhand
Notably, the government schools in Jharkhand have recently been in the headlines for their steady Islamification. Several state-run schools have reportedly been making modifications in response to the whims of the local Muslim population.
Recently it was reported how Sharia and Islamic practices were being imposed on the students of a state-run school in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district, with children being forbidden from praying with their hands folded. Then reports emerged on how state-run schools in areas like Jamtara and Dumka, which is the hometown of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, were being converted into Urdu schools, and the weekly offs changed from Sunday to Friday (Jumma).
In April, a ruckus ensued in the Government Jagannathpur Polytechnic college in Jharkhand after students chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogans while celebrating ‘Nav Samvatsar’, the first day of Hindu New Year. OpIndia reported that on Saturday, April 2, 2022, a group of students gathered on the terrace of Jagannathpur Polytechnic College’s residential hostel building to celebrate the first day of Hindu New Year. Students celebrated and chanted ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans, which infuriated some ‘secular’ students and those from a ‘particular community.’ These students complained to the college principal, who rusticated one of the students and suspended two others who led the celebration. Along with this, almost 500 Hindu students were denied food on that day.
