UP: Catholic school forces students to throw away rakhis, rub off tilak from forehead

A Catholic school in Uttar Pradesh’s Tatarpur, St. Anthony’s Senior Secondary School in Hapur has been accused of insulting the Hindu religion and culture by forcing the students to remove tilak and Rakhis at the school. The teachers at the school are also said to have insulted the Hindu deities after which the parents of the students registered an official complaint to the police and also wrote to the CM’s office.

According to reports, the teachers at the school located in Tatarpur, Ghaziabad forced the students to remove the rakhis that they had adorned on their wrists. The rakhis were then thrown into the dustbin. The students informed this at their respective homes after which the parents reached the school on Wednesday, September 13, and protested against the teachers and the school.

The teachers have also been accused of threatening students with expulsion from the school if they failed to follow the orders. The parents then filed a police complaint and also registered their complaint on the state government’s portal.

Several Hindu organizations in the city also took cognizance of the event and demanded strict action against the school. They opined that the school was trying to influence the students against Hinduism by forcing them to throw their Rakhis and rub off the tilak on their foreheads.

The parents of the students alleged that the school had also insulted the Hindu Gods and Goddesses recently and the teachers there had influenced the students against Hinduism. The teachers forced the students to remove the tilak and on refusal threatened them to be removed from the school.

The parents reached the school on Wednesday, September 13, and protested against the insult. They said that their religious sentiments had been hurt and demanded strict action against the teachers. The school management then issued an apology to the parents and assured them that such incidents would not happen again.

However, the parents of the students at the school have registered an official complaint and also have sent copies of the same to CM’s office and to the Child Welfare Association.

Team OpIndia tried to call the school for its official statement but no response could be obtained. The report will be updated once we hear from the school.

Source: OpIndia