By Debraj Deb
A group of Bajrang Dal activists on Tuesday staged a protest after a teacher of a private Christian missionary-run school in Tripura allegedly prohibited a student from wearing a wristband adorned with a Hindu symbol and confiscated it. The activists said the act hurt religious sentiments.
A statement issued by the school later said, “The student reported the matter to his father. The parent concerned informed the principal about the incident by phone the same evening, and the school principal assured the parent of prompt action as soon as possible. The principal told the parent to meet the vice-principal at 11 am on February 20 as he was out of the station.”
The statement added, “The child’s father and a group of people met the vice principal (on the same day). The vice-principal agreed to the child’s father’s demand that the wristband be put back on the child’s wrist by the same teacher who removed it. The teacher put the wristband back on the child’s hand.”
Speaking to the media, a Bajrang Dal leader said, “Religious inhibitions are being created in the lives of adolescent children in these missionary-run schools. Such acts later go on to pose troubles in the natural growth of children.”
He added, “A lady teacher of the Holy Cross School at the Durjoynagar area of Agartala prohibited a student from wearing a wristband adorned with the Hindu symbol of Om. We believe this is not an attack on the religious belief of that boy alone, it’s an attack on the Hindu religion. It is against the culture, tradition, religious sentiments and Constitutional rights of this country. We will not tolerate such acts.”
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.