A government school teacher in Shivamogga district, Karnataka, has been transferred, and an inquiry has been initiated against her following allegations that she told two Class 5 Muslim students to “go to Pakistan.”
The incident has sparked outrage and drawn attention to communal tensions within the region, reported Muslim Mirror.
Block Education Officer B. Nagaraj, responsible for investigating the matter, confirmed that the complaint had been corroborated by other students in the class. A complaint was filed with the education department by A Nazrullah, the president of the district unit of the Janata Dal Secular’s minority wing.
According to the complaint, the incident occurred when Manjula Devi, the teacher in question, was instructing a Class 5 class, and two students of the Muslim community got into an argument. Devi allegedly scolded the boys and made the inflammatory remarks, saying, “this is not your country.”
“We were shocked after the children told us about the incident. We filed a complaint with Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI), and the department took action against the teacher,” Nazrullah said.
B. Nagaraj, who conducted the investigation, revealed that the teacher purportedly said to the students, “This is not your country; this is the country of Hindus. You should go to Pakistan. You are our slaves forever.”
A report on the incident has been submitted by the block education officer, and further actions will be determined based on directives from senior officials.
This incident follows another recent case in Uttar Pradesh, where a private school teacher faced charges for making communal comments and encouraging students to harm their Muslim classmate.
The incident came to light when a video of the teacher went viral, depicting her instructing students to slap their fellow Muslim classmate after he was unable to recite a multiplication table.
The incident led to widespread condemnation, and a case was registered against the teacher under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.