Insta
UP: Muslim Cleric Asks Students Not To Eat Anything At Government Schools, Made To Eat His Own Words
Indian school children read in a classroom at a government school in Bagpath district in Uttar Pradesh. (Representative Image/SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images)
A Muslim cleric in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, who asked students from his community attending a state government school not to eat anything offered to them by the authorities there, was made to eat his own words.
According to a report in the Times of India, the cleric had made the announcement on Friday from a local mosque. The announcement was made after some students at a primary school in the area allegedly fell ill after consuming “deworming” tablets. However, the report does not mention that the illness was a result of the deworming exercise at the primary school.
A day after the announcement, only 81 of the 171 students came to school. Of these, only 20 had their mid-day meal. On asking why the students did not want to have the meal, the headmaster of the school found out about the cleric’s announcement and informed the village Pradhan, Devendra Singh about it.
“On Saturday, the cook told me that students were not ready to eat anything and when I asked him the reason, I was shocked to know that about the cleric’s announcement from the mosque,” he was quoted as saying.
The cleric apologised for the announcement after Singh contacted police.
The cleric, the daily’s report says, faced lot of criticism from parents and other members of the community for the announcement.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
