Officials in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, have closed down a private school, Neha Public School, following an incident in which a teacher instructed students to physically harm their Muslim classmate. The school was shut down due to its failure to meet educational standards set by the education department. The students from the closed school will be relocated to a government school or other nearby institutions, BBC reports.
The teacher responsible for the incident, Tripta Tyagi, named in media reports, defended her actions in an interview with NDTV news channel, indicating she felt no shame for what had occurred. The incident in question involved a video that went viral on social media. In the video, Tyagi is heard instructing her students to slap a seven-year-old Muslim boy, while criticizing the force of the slaps.
The boy's family asserted that he had been physically assaulted for making mistakes in his multiplication tables. The incident was reported to the police by the victim's father, leading to the boy's withdrawal from the school. While charges were not pressed, the video caused widespread outrage online, with many calling for action to be taken against Tyagi.
The teacher has not directly commented on the school's closure, but she defended her actions in the media, claiming they were necessary for maintaining control over and disciplining the students. Authorities have registered a case against Tyagi, but she has not been arrested, as the charges against her are bailable.
The incident has drawn national attention and sparked outrage, with several opposition politicians labeling it a "hate crime." Uttar Pradesh has been under the governance of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2017. This event has led to renewed discussions about religious tensions in India, with critics pointing to it as an example of divisive attitudes being propagated even in educational settings.
Indian opposition Congress party MP Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP, suggesting that the party's actions contribute to growing religious tensions within the country. This incident is seen as contradicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's earlier statements in June, during a visit to the US, where he emphasized that discrimination had no place in India.
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