How a School Principal’s ‘Speak in English’ Directive Led to an FIR in MP’s Guna
Prateek Goyal | 23 July 2024 | Newslaundry
Most wouldn’t call it a crime to ask a student at an English-medium school to speak in English. But a school principal’s usual directive to “speak in English” in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna led to a mob of ABVP activists to protest and barge into the school premises, force its principal to “apologise”, and file an FIR against her for “hurting religious sentiments” on Monday.
The incident at Vandana Convent School – one of the oldest English medium schools at BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia’s bastion – occurred two days after local daily Patrika claimed that its principal Sister Catherine Vatolly “got angry and snatched the mic from a student for reciting a Sanskrit shloka or verse from Gita”. The ABVP demanded that the school be shut, or the students raise the “Jai Shri Ram” slogan in the school assembly every day. And the Guna District Education Officer CS Sisodia issued a show cause notice against the educational institute threatening “action”…