Govt. school teacher Nisar Ahmed has been suspended for physically assaulting a minor girl student in Rajouri, J&K. The family of the minor said that the thrashing was in relation to the student turning up at school with a tilak on her forehead, put after pooja at home amid the ongoing Navratri festival. 

The family has alleged that their ward was beaten mercilessly by the school teacher. It is also reported that Ahmed used derogatory language toward the pupil and objected to the practice by Hindus. 

Following an FIR registered against the school teacher, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Rajouri Sachin Dev Singh ordered the suspension of the teacher until a probe is concluded. 

Talking to Republic TV, the girl’s father Angrez Singh said, “If this kind of incident inside Government Middle School, Khadurian continues in the name of religion, we will all end up breaking each other’s heads.”

The school is situated in Draman Panchayat of the Kontranka subdivision and the action against the teacher was taken only after the father held a press conference to narrate his daughter’s ordeal. 

According to the Kashmirwallah.com, Nisar Ahmed is charged with beating two school girls, although the report makes no mention of the reason behind either beating.

It is pertinent to note that last year, a Muslim teacher Nishat Begum in Raisen, MP was charged with getting a minor boy student beaten up for sporting a Tilak. In 2017, it was reported that teachers were forcing Hindu boys to offer namaz in a government-run residential school in Muslim-dominated Mewat region of Haryana. Several missionary schools have also come under the scanner for inflicting physical and other forms of punishment on Hindu students for sporting any sort of Hindu religious/cultural symbol.

It is high time that the government passed orders providing for special protection to Hindu and other Dharmik students, to be allowed to sport tilak, vibhuti, mehandi, shikha etc. to school. These are not just symbols, but integral parts of our indigenous religious-cultural tradition. They do not demean any other community, and have a profound deeper meaning that should be taught to all kids, instead of instilling shame and fear over sporting them. As the home of Dharma, the Bharatiya state should be duty-bound to preserve and promote these symbols and the traditions they arise from.