Mangaluru: A teacher was suspended from St Gerosa English Higher Primary School in Jeppu here on Monday, February 12, after a few parents and students instigated by Hindutva outfits accused her of hurting the sentiments of Hindus by calling Ramayana an imaginary story and “failing to respect” PM Narendra Modi during a Moral Science lesson.
The agitators, supported by elected representatives of BJP, alleged that a teacher from St Gerosa English HR Primary School in the coastal town taught students that the Mahabharat and the Ramayan were "imaginary".
Sr Anitha, the headmistress, said the teacher in question, Sr Prabha, in her late-40s and who had been teaching at the school for about 10 years, will soon be replaced.
The current incident came to light after an audio clip reportedly made by a parent and addressed to a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader went viral on Saturday, leading to protests by parents in front of the school.
The parent claimed that a class seven teacher had made derogatory remarks during a Moral Science lesson titled 'Work is Worship', hurting religious sentiments. He claimed that the teacher reportedly made derogatory remarks about the consecration of Ram Lalla idol and the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and made certain observations about the Godhra incident and the subsequent Gujarat riots of 2002.
“We will abide by the final decision of the inquiry team. Such an unfortunate incident had never happened in this 60-year-old school. It has created a temporary mistrust. We abide by the constitutional values and treat all faith and communities equally,” the headmistress said, as protests continued on Monday. At one point, the public tried to barge into the school compound, but were thwarted by the police.
The decision to suspend the teacher was taken after a meeting between deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP, city police commissioner Anupam Agrawal, DDPI DR Naik and representatives of the school staff and management, following protests by a section of the parents and two MLAs, demanding action against the accused teacher.
The DC said an inquiry into the incident will be completed at the earliest.
Earlier in the day, BJP MLAs D Vedavyas Kamath and Dr Bharath Shetty, VHP leader Sharan Pumpwell, and others met the DDPI and submitted a memorandum, demanding suspension of the teacher.
While the school took its time to announce the suspension of the teacher, many students backed by Hindutva forces, too, joined the protests, even as slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram,” “Bharat Ka Baccha Jai Shree Ram Bolega,” “Bharat Mata ki jai, “Vande Mataram” rent the air.
Though the initial demand was to suspend Sr Prabha, later, irate parents and a section of the students also made allegations against another teacher who had allegedly made derogatory remarks against ‘Koragajja.’
Once the DC and police commissioner arrived at the spot, they tried to pacify the MLAs who claimed they had been waiting for nearly four hours without an appropriate response from the school management.
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