West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said police have been directed to register an FIR against a teacher at a missionary school in Kolkata over allegations that the teacher repeatedly removed a student’s chandan tilak. The teacher has also been suspended by the school following the allegations, which surfaced after the student reportedly shared details of the incident on social media.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Adhikari said the student had allegedly faced repeated humiliation over wearing the sandalwood mark on his forehead.
“A teacher of a missionary school regularly harassed the student for putting chandan tilak on forehead. The student was humiliated everyday for this and was told to remove the tilak and wash face,” the Chief Minister said. The matter subsequently drew attention after the student’s account appeared on social media and a video related to the allegation went viral, triggering a wider debate over religious freedom in educational institutions.
Adhikari said the administration took cognisance of the allegation after it came to his notice and action was initiated against the teacher. “These things will not happen in West Bengal,” he said, while announcing the police action. The incident has since become a politically sensitive issue, with the allegations raising questions about the extent to which students should be allowed to observe personal religious practices within educational institutions.
The Chief Minister also announced action against a woman government employee posted at Bikash Bhavan, the headquarters of the state Education Department, over what he described as “objectionable” social media content concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “A government employee posted at Bikash Bhavan wrote something bad on social media against the Prime Minister.
These things will not happen in Bengal. No government employee can do this. She has been suspended,” Adhikari said.
The developments come after the BJP government in West Bengal directed government employees to abide by service rules, including restrictions on unauthorised public communication. Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal had earlier issued a directive prohibiting employees from publicly criticising the policies or actions of the state or Central governments. The two cases are likely to add to the ongoing debate over religious expression in schools, the conduct of teachers and the limits on social media activity by government employees.
