By LAKSHMI PATEL / The Quint
When Arnazbanu arrived at a function organised by her school in Gujarat to honour Class 10 and 12 students on India’s 77th Independence Day, she expected to be the first to be called on stage. After all, with a score of 87 percent in Class 10, she was the topper.
But that was not to be. In what appears to be a case of alleged deliberate discrimination based on religion, KT Patel Smriti Vidyalaya, a school located in the Lunava village of the state’s Mehsana district, allegedly refused to honour its star student.
Arnazbanu is reported to have returned home in tears. Her father, Sanwar Khan, a resident of Lunava village, expressed distress over the incident.
“She told us that the award which should have been her’s was bestowed upon a student who secured the second position. I engaged with school authorities and teachers seeking an explanation, but their responses were vague at best. While they assured us that the reward will be given on 26 January, my question remains – why was it not granted on 15 August? As a farmer deeply rooted in this land, our family has lived here for generations without encountering any form of discrimination. But now my daughter has deliberately been overlooked for an award she deserved.”
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