A school in Gujarat’s Mehsana district was forced to come up with an apology for celebrating the Muslim festival Eid al Adha on the school premises for allegedly ‘hurting sentiments of the Hindu community’.
School management in a written apology mentioned the move as ‘a mistake’ and stated that they won’t hold such an event in the future.
The apology from the school Principal came after Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a right-wing organization and some parents protested against the celebrations of Eid in the middle school, Kids Kingdom: A Great Place to Grow, in Mehsana district on Friday, June 30. The video of the protests surfaced on social media sites substantiate the protests.
The director of the school, Rashi Gautam said in a written apology letter, “We had organized Bakrid celebrations in the school which has hurt the sentiments of Hindu society. It was not our intention to hurt the sentiments of any religion. We are also Hindus and believe in each Hindu gods and goddesses. Consider it our first and last mistake as a Hindu and forgive us.”
The letter further stated, “We apologize to all Hindu organizations, Hindu society, and to all those who are working for the betterment of the Hindu religion.”
The apology letter also mentioned that ‘the mistake’ won’t repeat in the future and the school management is giving an undertaking for the same.
Repeated calls made by Maktoob to the school director went unattended.
However, the local administration said that the matter was resolved since the school administration apologized to the parents and the Hindutva organizations who opposed the celebrations soon after the controversy erupted.
Achal Tyagi, Superintendent of Police, Mehsana told Maktoob, “It was parents who protested against the Bakra Eid celebrations and the matter is settled now as the school administration produced a written apology to the parents as they were not informed about the celebrations taking place.”
Reportedly, the controversy around it started on the eve of Eid, Thursday when a group of people belonging to VHP, along with the police entered the school premises and forced the administration to apologize.
The VHP groups also held saraswati pooja and bhajans in the school and installed saffron flags at the school’s main gate calling it a ‘dargah’
In another video that surfaced on a social media site, the school director can be heard saying that the school has been organizing such cultural events on the campus for many years and “If I had any knowledge that it would hurt anyone’s sentiments, I would have never organized it.”
She also said, “I have been running school peacefully to impart quality education and provide them better education and nothing more than that.”
