Harun Nasrullah
A school in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, India, expelled a seven-year-old student on September 5, allegedly for bringing non-vegetarian biryani in his lunchbox, reports The Times of India.
A widely shared video online shows the student’s mother in a heated discussion with the school Principal. In the video, the principal, Avneesh Kumar Sharma, is heard stating that he refuses to teach students who bring non-vegetarian food and that they “will destroy temples when they grow up.”
The principal alleged that the boy had talked about feeding non-vegetarian food to others and “converting them to Islam.”
He further claimed that the boy had admitted to bringing non-vegetarian food to school. However, the boy’s mother can be heard denying the allegations, stating that her son does not “know this kind of language.”
She also confronted the principal for allegedly “locking her child in a room” and for “verbal abuse.” After returning home from school, the boy recounted being mistreated and “punished for his meal,” she said.
The video showed the principal instructing the woman to “send a man” to discuss the issue, stating that he “does not speak with women.” He then threatened to call the police if she did not leave the school grounds.
Amid widespread outrage, Sudhir Kumar, the sub-divisional magistrate of Amroha, confirmed that the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), the official responsible for overseeing elementary education in the district, along with the district inspector of schools, had been instructed to investigate the incident.
“A committee has been set up to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations,” Kumar said, adding that appropriate action would be taken based on the findings.
Monika, the district’s Basic Shiksha Adhikari, stated that a three-member panel is currently investigating the matter. “Once the investigation is concluded, necessary measures will be implemented,” she assured.
The Amroha Muslim Committee condemned the student’s expulsion, sending a memorandum to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, calling for strict action against the principal.
There have been several troubling incidents in Uttar Pradesh recently involving the mistreatment of Muslim schoolchildren. One notable case occurred in Muzaffarnagar on August 24, 2023, when a teacher at Neha public school, Tripta Tyagi, was filmed instructing her students to slap a seven-year-old Muslim boy. In the viral video, Tyagi made communal remarks, telling students to hit the boy because “Muslim children should be disciplined in this way.”
The video led to widespread outrage and condemnation across India.Following the incident, on August 26, 2023, an FIR was filed against Tyagi under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to provoking communal enmity.
The Uttar Pradesh police initiated an investigation, but the probe was criticised for being insufficient. The boy’s family revealed that the incident deeply traumatized him, and he was unwilling to return to school.
On September 1, 2023, the Supreme Court of India intervened, criticising the Uttar Pradesh government’s handling of the case.
The Court described the investigation as “shoddy” and demanded a more thorough inquiry into the communal aspect of the incident.
