Everyone should read Kalma: Case against teacher over homework for Hindu student

Hyderabad police filed a case after a private school allegedly asked a Hindu child to read Kalma as homework. The incident sparked political outrage and raised questions over religious instruction in schools.

In Short

• School terminated the teacher after the complaint escalated into controversy
• Police invoked BNS Section 299 and Juvenile Justice Act provisions
• The class had 25 children, with only one Hindu student

An FIR has been registered against a teacher and others linked to a private school in Hyderabad for allegedly assigning ‘Islamic religious practices’ as homework to a Hindu student, police said. The case was filed after a complaint by the student’s aunt, and the school has since terminated the teacher’s services.

The incident triggered a political row, with Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the BJP and the VHP demanding action against the school. Police said the case was registered under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, related to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which deals with cruelty to a child.

DCP (Charminar Zone) Khare Kiran Prabhakar said on Thursday that a female teacher had, on July 15, assigned homework to Grade II students, telling them that everyone should read ‘Kalma’. He said there were 25 students in the class and only one of them was a Hindu student. He further said the direction was a complete violation of both the education policy and the school’s own policy.

The aunt of the six-year-old student confronted teachers at the school, alleging that she found instructions in the boy’s school diary asking him to read content linked to core Muslim beliefs as homework.

She claimed the school principal told her it was a religious topic that was mandatory for all students to follow. Objecting to both the homework and the school’s response, she said such religion-related homework should be given only to those who opt for it.

Taking strong exception to the incident, Sanjay Kumar demanded action against the school management. “Why are the so-called secular outfits tight-lipped on the incident?” he asked.

He also said that if the BJP came to power in Telangana after the 2028 Assembly elections, it would be made “mandatory for all Hindu students to apply tilak”. VHP leader Ravinuthala Shashidhar also sought action against the institution and said its government recognition should be revoked.

Police said the complaint led to a case against the teacher and others, while the controversy also resulted in the school removing the teacher from service. The matter has drawn political attention even as the allegations centre on homework given to a six-year-old student.

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