Sikh students asked to remove 'kara' in Jalandhar school; principal, 2 teachers sacked

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 8

Tension prevailed at CT Public School here on Monday morning after a teacher allegedly asked some Sikh students to remove their ‘karas’ before entering the class.

Taking note of the incident, Sikh Talmel Committee members reached the school and sought an apology from the teacher and the principal. Police were also called.

Speaking to The Tribune, Harpreet Singh, a member of the Sikh Talmel Committee, said one of their members had come to drop off his granddaughter to school on Monday morning. He said that after some time he saw his granddaughter returning with her ‘kara’ in her hands.

When asked about the reason behind this, she replied that her class teacher had asked her to remove it.

Following this, he called the members of the committee. On reaching the classroom, the teacher was found holding around 10 ‘karas’ in her hand.

He said when the members confronted the teacher, she said she was merely carrying out the principal’s instructions.

“Asking a Sikh to remove the kara is a violation of his religious freedom,” Harpreet said, adding that the members had submitted a complaint against the school.

Meanwhile, CT Group Managing Director Manbir Singh said that recently a fight broke out between two pupils of higher classes, following which one of them hit the other with a ‘kara’, injuring him.

“Following this, a staff member recommended the student to wear a regular ‘kara’ instead of a heavier one for safety reasons. He was unaware that it could offend religious sentiments,” he added.

He said the management had terminated the services of the school principal and the two teachers involved in the incident.

“We respect everyone and never intend to offend anyone's feelings,” he said.

On reports of the school imposing fine on students for conversing in Punjabi, Manbir Singh said the allegation was baseless.

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