Non-Muslim kids ‘asked’ to offer namaz in Mewat school

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Mewat, July 9

Tension gripped the district’s Tauru village, as a private school was accused of making non-Muslim children offer namaz during Eid celebrations on Thursday.

This led to protest by parents today; they demonstrated outside the school and moved a resolution in the panchayat, demanding imposition of Rs5.5 lakh fine on the school and a ban on skirts for girl students.

As per parents’ complaint to the panchayat and local administration, Green Dales Public School had organised Eid Milan celebrations on the premises.

“Rather than organising cultural programmes, the school invited a teacher from Delhi. He made children gather in a courtyard, asked them to put white handkerchiefs on their heads and offered namaz. This was done at the behest of an NGO that conspired to not only hurt religious sentiments of students and their parents, but also create communal unrest in the area,” read the complaint.

The panchayat found the school guilty and imposed a fine of Rs5.5 lakh, besides barring it from increasing fee for two years, a member of the panchayat said. It also barred girl students from wearing skirts and instructed the school to introduce “salwar-kameez”.

“A compromise has been reached between the panchayat and the school authorities. The school has agreed to go by the panchayat’s decisions,” said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mani Ram Sharma. He discounted any report of communal tension or law and order problem.

“The panchayat respects all religions and festivals, but involving students in prayers or rituals without their parents’ consent in unacceptable. So, the parents approached the panchayat,” said the panchayat member.

The school authorities refrained from issuing any statement.