Students told to remove 'kara' in Jalandhar, principal, 2 teachers sacked

Jalandhar, August 8

Tension prevailed at a private school here on Monday morning after schoolteachers allegedly asked some students to remove their ‘karas’ (a Sikh religious symbol). Some Sikh activists reached the school and sought an apology from the teacher and the principal. The police were also called after the situation turned tense.

Harpreet Singh Neetu, a member of the Sikh Talmel Committee, said one of their members had gone to the school this morning to drop off his granddaughter. While he was standing outside the school, his granddaughter came out with the ‘kara’ in her hands, saying her class teacher asked her to remove it. Following which, he called other committee members and went inside the class.

“We saw the teacher holding around 8-10 karas in her hand. The teacher said she was simply following the principal’s instructions,” Neetu claimed, adding the committee submitted a complaint against the school with the police.

Meanwhile, Manbir Singh, managing director of the CT Group, which runs the school, said: “A fight had recently broken out between pupils of higher classes in which one of them injured the other by hitting him with a heavy ‘kara’. In the wake of the incident, a staff member on duty today recommended students to wear a lighter ‘kara’ for safety reasons. The move was never intended to offend religious sentiments.”

The MD further said the management had terminated the service of the principal and two teachers, who were involved in the incident. Besides, instructions have been issued to the staff to be more careful and sensitive in such situations in future.

Never intended to hurt sentiments

Pupils of higher classes were recently involved in a fight in which one of them injured the other by hitting him with a heavy ‘kara’. In the wake of the incident, a staff member on duty on Monday recommended students to wear a lighter ‘kara’ for safety reasons.

We never intended to offend religious sentiments. However, the staff have been told to be moresensitive in such cases in future. — Manbir Singh, CT group MD