Members of several right-wing organisations, including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Bajrang Dal descended outside the school and staged protests on the school premises. These groups vehemently protested against the activity and demanded that such incidents be prohibited within educational institutions.  Several of these protestors even physically assaulted a teacher who was merely playing a musical instrument when the students were asked to practise prayers from different faiths, according to NDTV.

The incident occurred in Ghatlodia, a region situated within Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s Assembly constituency. Activists from Hindu right-wing groups swiftly mobilised, staging protests in response to the school’s actions. The protest escalated into this incident of violence which was captured on video.

The initial reaction from the school management was a swift apology followed by a clarification. The school principal Nirali Dagli went on to explain that the exercise was not meant to force students into performing religious practices but rather, it was thought of as a two-minute exercise to educate the children about the diversity of religious customs and traditions in India. “In view of Eid, we had organised this activity for the students of standard II to give them information about the festival. We carry out such activities ahead of festivals of all religions, including Samvatsari (Jain festival) and Ganesh Chaturthi. No student was forced to perform namaz. It was just a two-minute activity, and the students who participated had taken consent from their parents,” said School principal Nirali Dagli.

But despite these clarifications right wing groups protested against the school. Their actions were further supplemented by the government resolving to step in and the Minister of State for Primary, Secondary, and Education Praful Pansheriya stated, “It seems that some people want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the state by organising such programmes in schools. Students who took part in that program may not even be aware of what exactly they were doing. This is not at all acceptable.” Pansheriya subsequently ordered an official investigation into the matter, suggesting that disciplinary actions might follow depending on the conclusion of the initial investigation.

The school management has thus far not refrained from lodging a formal complaint against the protesters and instead the school has proceeded to issue an apology along with an explanation that gives an assurance that such exercises would not be repeated in the future.

“…we wholeheartedly celebrate all Indian festivals including Ganeshotsav, Janmashtami, Navratri, Eid, Christmas, Navroz, Guru Purab, Paryushan, etc. and encourage our students to participate in them. During the school assembly on the occasion of Eid, one of our students depicted how namaz is performed while three other children stood by the depiction. The sole objective of the act was to educate children about the diverse customs of India. It was never our intention to hurt the sentiments of the followers of any religion,” the statement issued by the School management said.

How Mohit Yadav Killed himself – Part 2

1) Stopped bus to allow 2 passengers from #Gujarat to offer Namaz

2) He was removed from job for doing so and respecting all religion

3) He Killed himself by coming in front of running train

#MohitYadav #JusticeForMohitYadav… pic.twitter.com/nwrhiotVXG

— INDIA Alliance (@2024_For_INDIA) August 29, 2023

A similar incident took place in a school in July 2023 in Mumbai, after a teacher played the Muslim call to prayer, Azaan, at a school assembly in order to teach students about diversity and tolerance. The teacher was similarly suspended and the authorities promised a robust investigation. Another similar incident of attempts at social harmony facing social censure is of where a bus conductor employed by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) was noted to have committed suicide after he was terminated from his for reportedly pausing a bus to permit two Muslim passengers for performing Namaz. Similarly, a Catholic school in Madhya Pradesh also witnessed such protests for allegedly not prospecting a Hindu deity last week. The school’s principal was harassed by the mob to the point where the staff had to call the police for action. However, the mob only left once the police had promised action against the school.

In all three incidents, individuals have faced either loss of life, loss of employment, and injury to self as each of them tried to give attention and honour the diverse and pluralistic heritage of India. In all three cases, mob rule and outrage over social media which led to authorities and politicians siding with the mobs worsened the situation.  These incidents further serve to show us that mob rule is increasingly becoming the norm, and in several cases, authorities prefer to or are even seemingly compelled to bow in to the demands of the mob, which bodes ill for the law and order situation of the country.

Related:

Shocking violence against Dalits reported from Gujarat

The slow but sure marginalisation of Nuh’s Meo Muslims: a report

Principal of Pune school assaulted by extremist Hindu mob, police allege accusation raised to be false

Decimating schools to accommodate Shakhas

The post Hindutva mob beats up teacher inside school for teaching diversity appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In yet another deplorable example on the state of the education sector in Uttar Pradesh, aspirant teachers have engaged in state-wide protests to condemn recruitment irregularities and the brutal lathi-charge on individuals observing a candle march on December 5, 2021.

On Sunday, a large group of hopeful teachers gathered in Lucknow to condemn the infamous irregularities in the 2019 Uttar Pradesh exam that was to recruit 69,000 assistant teachers across UP. The recruitment drive initiated prior to the global pandemic was much anticipated by the youth but proved to be disappointing when the process was accused of bias and irregularities, including issues in the allocation of quotas in the merit list of selected candidates, reported NewsClick.

As the second wave of the pandemic subsided, the aspirants resolved to step out on the streets and demand their dues from the BJP-led UP government. However, the peaceful protesters ended up facing heavy police lathi-charge. The incident has sparked huge outrage among Opposition party leaders and the masses.

यूपी में 69 हजार शिक्षक भर्ती के पुराने व लम्बित मामले को लेकर लखनऊ में कल रात शान्तिपूर्ण कैंडल मार्च निकालने वाले सैकड़ों युवाओं पर पुलिस लाठीचार्ज करके घायल करना निन्दनीय व अत्यंत दुःखद!

रोज़गार माँगने वालों को #UP सरकार ने लाठियाँ दीं-
जब भाजपा वोट माँगने आए तो याद रखना! pic.twitter.com/urnmQ9QWTC

— SANYUKT VIKAS Party (Official Profile) (@SanyuktVikas) December 5, 2021

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati tweeted in Hindi on the same day, “It is very sad and condemnable to injure hundreds of youths, who took out a peaceful candle march in the capital Lucknow last night by lathi-charge, regarding the old and pending case of recruitment of 69 thousand teachers in UP. The government should immediately consider their legitimate demands sympathetically, this demand of BSP.”

यूपी में 69 हजार शिक्षक भर्ती के पुराने व लम्बित मामले को लेकर राजधानी लखनऊ में कल रात शान्तिपूर्ण कैंडल मार्च निकालने वाले सैकड़ों युवाओं का पुलिस लाठीचार्ज करके घायल करना अति-दुःखद व निन्दनीय। सरकार इनकी जायज़ माँगों पर तुरन्त सहानुभूतिपूर्वक विचार करे, बीएसपी की यह माँग।

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) December 5, 2021

Similarly, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the incident on twitter by writing in Hindi, “The UP government served lathi-charge to those seeking employment – Remember when BJP comes to ask for votes!”

Moreover, even BJP’s own members like Varun Gandhi spoke out against the attack on unarmed dissenters.

ये बच्चे भी मां भारती के लाल हैं, इनकी बात मानना तो दूर, कोई सुनने को तैयार नहीं है। इस पर भी इनके ऊपर ये बर्बर लाठीचार्ज।

अपने दिल पर हाथ रखकर सोचिए क्या ये आपके बच्चे होते तो इनके साथ यही व्यवहार होता??

आपके पास रिक्तियां भी हैं और योग्य अभ्यर्थी भी, तो भर्तियां क्यों नहीं?? pic.twitter.com/6F67ZDJgzW

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) December 5, 2021

“These children are also of Mother India. Far from accepting their demands, no one is ready to listen. On top of that, this barbaric lathi charge! You have vacancies as well as qualified candidates, so why not recruits??” he asked in a tweet.

Regarding this persisting issue of vacancies, Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes (OBC) folk have been protesting for the last two years. Protesters have demanded that the 22,000 teaching posts of 69,000 vacancies for assistant teachers should be opened for recruitment once again.

As per the reservation policy, OBC candidates should account for 27 percent of the total vacancies when in reality only 4 percent were filled at the time. Similarly, SC candidates accounted for 16 percent of the vacancies instead of the mandated 22 percent.

Keeping up with their promise, the injured protesters headed towards the Eco Garden while more dharnas cropped up in other parts.

Earlier this year, the education sector already suffered a heavy blow when over 1,600 teachers and sector-related workers died while carrying out gram panchayat election duties. Primary school teachers across the state have complained about the heavy strain on public school teachers who are in some regions left in-charge of entire schools.

The impact of such delay in recruitment can now be seen in horrifying stories like the Muzaffarnagar incident where 17 girls were drugged and molested by a private school principal and another public school principal whose institution does not have the credentials to be called a high school.

Similarly, members of the UP Mahila Shikshak Sangh and UP Primary Teachers Association have informed that some teachers continue to hold multi-grade classes in a single classroom because rural schools suffer a severe shortage of sufficient teachers and staff.

“It is important to ensure one teacher per class of 30 students. UP has a longstanding ritual of multiple classes in one room,” said UP activist Chaturanan Ojha in earlier talks with Sabrang India

Related:

Direct funds to guardians solves nothing: UP activists on gov’t education

Increase in gov’t school enrolment meaningless if facilities not improved: UP teachers on ASER data

Families of deceased UP teachers still waiting for ex-gratia payment

UP: Mahila Shikshak Sangh demands monthly 3-day period leave

UP: 1,621 people on polling duty dead, but gov’t recognises only 3!

The post UP: Aspiring teachers call for mass protests following brutal lathi-charge appeared first on SabrangIndia.

(Anti-clockwise) Zeenat Khatoon, Kanchan Das, Uday Pandey who died and Shivlal Soren, who is missing

What’s the Para-teacher movement all about?
Between December 15 and 17, three Para-Teachers have died in Jharkhand. However, the state has witnessed a total of nine deaths (para-teacher) in last one month. The death list also includes two female para-teachers—Zeenat Khatoon (Ramgarh) and Priyanka Kumari (Chatra).
Significantly, since the lathi-charge incident, one para-teacher Shivlal Soren is also missing.

The para-teacher movement began a month back on November 15, Statehood Day in Ranchi. As the celebratory function was on, a large number of para-teachers had gathered at Morabadi Ground, demanding their jobs to be secured like their counterparts in Chhatisgarh had been. Jharkhand has over 70000 para-teachers (contractual). Their hope of getting a permanent job as assistant teachers were raised when six secretaries of Jharkhand Government had jointly approved it and left it upon Chief Minister Raghubar Das to take a call.

“To press our demand, thousands of para-teachers had planned to reach Ranchi from across the state, on the Foundation Day function on November 15. However, several para-teachers stopped mid-way by the police. And those that reached the ground faced the brutal lathi-charge at Morabadi Ground,” informed Narayan Mahto, a member of Para-Teachers’ Sangharsh Morcha to eNewsroom.

Next day, following the brutal assault, para-teachers went on an indefinite strike.

Para-Teachers stage-in at the residence of BJP’s Sindri MLA Phoolchand Mandal on Tuesday

Government silent over protest
According to Mahto, on November 15, 297 para-teachers were arrested, and thereafter deaths are continue. But even after a month, Raghubar Das government has refused to take note of the situation.

The other para-teachers who died are—Rajkumar Paswan (Hazaribad), Uday Shankar Pandey (Garhwa), Jagdev Yadav (Chatra) and Raghunath Hemburm (Bokaro).

What Para-Teachers want?
The mainstreaming, and hike in their salaries are main demand of the para-teachers. At present, an untrained para-teacher (primary) gets a salary of Rs 7800 only, while a trained one gets Rs 8200. In middle school, its Rs 8800 for a trained ones and for a TET qualified Science stream para-teachers it is Rs 9200.

The experience of teachers sadly enough doesn’t lead to much salary hike. For instance, Mahto itself, a para-teacher for 15 years now, earns a paltry sum.

“Most of us among the 70000 protesting teachers have over 10 years of experience. We have given our prime to the education department of Jharkhand. And sadly enough, till date, we don’t have a permanent job and in the name of salary, we get peanuts. In case, one of us dies, there is no provision that a kin get compensation job,” said Mahto.

Despite several MPs and MLAs from the government including BJP state President Laxman Giluwa publicly accepted that the demands of para-teachers are genuine, they couldn’t facilitate a mutual agreement between the state and the protesting teachers.

Opposition stands with Para-Teachers
Jharkhand’s opposition parties have supported the agitation of para-teachers.

Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Hemant Soren tweeted on December 17 that there is no morality left now in Raghubar Das government as even after deaths of three para-teachers, it is still sleeping.

CPI-ML has organized several protest march against government’s policy towards Para-Teacher, its leader Vinod Singh said, “All the trained para-teachers should immediately get permanent jobs as educators. As for the non-trained teachers, they should be given permanent position for non-teaching works.”

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which brought a drastic change in the education sector and especially in government schools of Delhi believes that Jharkhand’s BJP government has no intention of improving education, as it has no policy to improve the deteriorating education situation and respecting teachers. In fact it does not work like a welfare state.

“Raghubar Das government wants to hand over the education sector to the private sector. Several government schools across the state have been closed, even after the opposition of local MLAs and MP,” told Jai Shankar Choudhary, Jharkhand State Convener, AAP to eNewsroom.
Choudhary also cited how Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi government had recently, made several teachers permanent and increased their salaries substantially. “In Delhi, teachers’ are being respected and not getting beaten or left to die,” said the AAP leader.

First published on https://enewsroom.in/

The post Raghubar Das led BJP government at war with Para-Teachers of Jharkhand, 70k on indefinite strike since a month appeared first on SabrangIndia.