On Saturday (24th February), the Education Department official said a government school teacher, posted in Rajasthan’s Baran district, has been suspended for disrespecting Goddess Saraswati and hurting religious feelings. The officials added that the primary school teacher named Hemlata Bairwa was suspended on Friday following an order by Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar.
Addressing a public gathering in the Kishanganj area in the Baran district on Thursday, Dilawar said, “Some people give weightage to themselves so much, their ‘chaal’ (working style) is not yet gone and they ask what is the contribution of Goddess Saraswati in school, whoever has said so in this area, I suspend him/her.”
Following the Education Minister’s public announcement, a day later, the district education (elementary) officer of Baran issued an order to suspend Prabodhak level 1 teacher, Hemlata Bairwa. Till her suspension, she was posted at the government primary school at Lakdai village in the Kishanganj area in the Baran district. It is pertinent to note that a disciplinary action was under consideration against her and the suspension comes because of the same.
The official at the Baran district education department stated that the suspension order was issued after an initial inquiry into hurting and provoking religious sentiments against the said teacher Bairwa was over.
Notably, a dispute erupted between the primary teacher and villagers during the Republic Day function in the school on 26 January, this year. An inquiry probed the controversy where Bairwa didn’t allow the placement of a picture of Goddess Saraswati on stage during the Republic Day function at the school. The initial probe found that the teacher was responsible for hurting and provoking the religious sentiments of local people. Consequently, a suspension was issued on Friday, Baran district education (elementary) officer Piyush Kumar Sharma told PTI on Saturday morning.
According to Sharma, during this period, the teacher was also ordered to register her attendance at the directorate, of elementary education, Bikaner.
The officer said that the teacher could have averted the controversy and allowed the Republic Day function to go on smoothly, simply by agreeing with the locals and placing Goddess Saraswati’s picture, but instead, she hurt the sentiments and provoked the locals.
According to reports, Bairwa declined to put the picture of Goddess Saraswati on stage at the function alongside the pictures of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhim Rao Ambedkar despite insistence from the locals who wanted the placement of Goddess Saraswati’s photo on the stage. The teacher further provoked the locals reportedly saying Goddess Saraswati contributed nothing to school and education.
Meanwhile, earlier on Thursday, two other government teachers were suspended and an inquiry was initiated against a third female teacher. All the teachers had been associated with the government senior secondary school Khajuri in the Sangod area of Kota district for their alleged involvement in Love Jihad, Islamic Jihad, and ties with banned Islamic outfits.
