A private school in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has landed itself in a controversy after news started floating on social media that it has been making students of all religions recite ‘Kalma’ during morning assembly. The school in question here is a privately owned school in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh named Florets International School. The incident came to light after a video of the same went viral on Sunday.
After the news went viral, many parents and members of various Hindu outfits reached the school and staged demonstrations. They raised complaints against the school authorities for forcing their children to recite the Kalma during morning prayers. The same was conveyed to the Kanpur police, who along with senior officials reached the school premises on Monday morning and filed a complaint against the private school for allegedly forcing Hindu students and other non-Muslim children to recite ‘Kalma’ every day.
Republic TV quoted Ankit Gupta, the parent of a child as saying, “One day my daughter said that she is unable to learn this (Kalma). We filed the complaint in school. They asked us to give a written complaint. In another branch, they sing Muslim prayers on speakers. We will put our child in a different school if this is the case.”
Many other parents also raised concerns about their children being forced to recite the Islamic prayer. “My son studies here. For the last few days, my son was reciting the Kalma at home. My wife raised concern about it. When we spoke to our son, he said that every day after prayer the school teaches it to them. My concern is why should my son read this. What if he disapproves of his own religion after some days,” exclaimed the enraged parent of another student studying at Kanpur’s Florets International School.
Taking cognizance of the incident, Nishank Sharma, ACP said that they came to know about Kalma being taught to students at the Florets International school through a tweet. He said that as soon as they learned about it, the local police and the District Magistrate were notified and a police team visited the school to investigate the matter.
थाना सीसामऊ क्षेत्र में स्कूल प्रबंधन द्वारा बच्चों को सुबह की प्रार्थना के बाद जबरन कलमा पढ़ाये जाने के आरोप के सम्बन्ध में सहायक पुलिस आयुक्त सीसामऊ द्वारा दी गयी बाइट। @Uppolice @CMOfficeUP pic.twitter.com/REbUtyU2Sm
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE KANPUR NAGAR (@kanpurnagarpol) August 1, 2022
He added that when the police reached the school they learned that this was a practice being carried out over the last 12/13 years. He said that the school diary also has prayers from all four religions, namely Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian. He added that the school authorities said that until now, no one has ever objected to this practice. An objection was raised about this from a parent’s side only four days ago.
He further informed that the school authorities reportedly told the police in its defense that prayers of all four religions were recited at the school during the morning assembly to boost the “Sarva Dharma Samman” ideology.
“The school authorities after the objection decided that only the national anthem will be recited during the assembly. They have stopped all the other prayers,” added the ACP.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Geeta Nigam raised serious objections to the controversy and alleged that the prayers were being taught to students from the playgroup.
“Why this is being taught to students? What does this prayer mean and why have you not written the meaning? The meaning of that statement is – ‘Only Allah is there’. We are not saying anything to any religion, but if you want to teach this, kindly teach it in a madarsa.” She added that the Principal and teachers had permitted the reciting of Kalma and only took action when the matter was leaked outside. “This should not happen otherwise strict action will be taken,” she warned.
Amidst the controversy, a video has gone viral wherein councilor Mahendra Shukla was seen sprinkling Gangajal in and around the school premises.
➡️कानपुर में स्कूली बच्चों को पढ़ाया जा रहा था कलमा
— TV9 Uttar Pradesh (@TV9UttarPradesh) August 1, 2022
➡️कानपुर हिंदू बच्चों को कलमा पढ़ाने का वीडियो वायरल
➡️फ्लोरेट्स इंटरनेशनल प्राइवेट स्कूल का मामला।#Kanpur @KanpurPolice @CommissionerKnp pic.twitter.com/ntWKSLuTYc
Strongly condemning the school’s arbitrary decision to teach the Islamic prayer to students of all religions, Shukla told the media, “Jana Gana Mana is not being recited here, instead, students are being encouraged to recite the Kalma. They surely have links with PFI. We will get the matter investigated. Gangajal has been sprinkled all over the school for purification.”
Islamification of Govt school’s in Jharkhand and Bihar
OpIndia earlier reported how several government schools in Jharkhand and Bihar 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.
On July 26, OpIndia reported how for years, more than 500 government schools in Bihar’s Seemanchal area, which has a sizable Muslim population, have been observing Friday as their weekly off instead of Sunday, despite no official mandate to that effect. This practice has been followed by the schools located in the eastern part of Bihar which include districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar, and Purnia.
On July 22, it was reported how 19 state-run schools in the Kishanganj district of Bihar have been taking Friday off instead of Sunday. As per the Education Department, because the region is predominantly Muslim, government schools have been shut on Fridays for a long time. This action is not mandated by any specific order by the government.
Friday is designated as a holiday in many schools due to the considerable proportion of Muslim students. Instead, students and teachers attend classes on Sundays. These schools include the city’s Line Urdu School, Upgraded Middle School Line Karbala, Upgraded Middle School Maheshbathna, Upgraded Middle School Halamala, Primary School Motihara West, and many others.
Prior to this, 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 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, had their weekly offs changed from Sunday to Friday.
