VHP workers protesting outside the school in Hyderabad were detained by the police
A controversy erupted in Hyderabad after a private school assigned second-grade students to recite the ‘Kalma’ as homework, prompting protests by Hindu organisations and the dismissal of the teacher involved.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Khare Kiran Prabhakar said on Thursday that the assignment violated both the school’s policy and education guidelines.
According to police, the teacher asked all 25 students in the Class 2 section to memorise and recite the ‘Kalma’, although only one student in the class was Hindu. The student’s family objected to the assignment.
The school management subsequently removed the teacher from her position. However, police said no criminal complaint has been registered in the case.
The child’s school diary in which the homework was given
Family accepts teacher’s apology
The Hindu student’s family submitted a letter to the school principal on Thursday stating that the teacher had apologised and that they had accepted the apology. The family also said they intended to withdraw their complaint with the school.
Police said the parents were satisfied with the action taken by the school and considered the matter resolved. It remains unclear whether the school will revoke the teacher’s dismissal.
Hindu groups protest outside school
The incident sparked protests outside the school by members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), while Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar also criticised the assignment and demanded action against the institution.
Police detained more than 30 protesters as a preventive measure during the demonstration.
Earlier, the six-year-old student’s aunt visited the school and questioned the staff, alleging that the instruction to recite the ‘Kalma’ had been written in the child’s homework diary.
She also claimed that the school principal had described it as part of a religious subject and mandatory for all students.
The teacher later acknowledged that the instruction had been entered in the diary by mistake, saying religion-related assignments should only be given to students who have opted for the subject.
She also called for an inquiry by the education department into the incident. A video of her exchange with the school administration has since circulated widely on social media.
