In a dreadful incident, two Dalit students were not given admission in a Government primary school in UP’s Panchali Patti village. Jagjeevan Ram has claimed that his 2 sons named Kautuk (6 years) and Gaurav (7 years) were permitted to take admission in the school when his wife Poonam Sheeshpal went to the school for the admission purpose.
On the contrary, the response was an unexpected one. The authorities asked her to get out of the office. “My wife met the Principal Raheesuddin for the admissions of our two sons in Class 1. But the Principal showed her the doors after getting to know her caste. The Principal said that they don’t give admissions to low castes as they may spoil the school atmosphere,” charged Jagjeevan Ram.
The incident became public when a video went viral on social showing the Principal holding arguments with Dalit’s wife Poonam while denying admission to Jagjeevan’s sons and asking her to get out of his office.
Dalits of the village were upset and they disagreed with the Principal and immediately demanded an explanation and apology.
“Dalits are our brethren and part of the Hindu society. It is not a case of caste discrimination but discrimination based on religion. The kids were denied admission since they were not Muslims,” charged Jai Singh Saini, General Secretary Bajrang Dal, Meerut.
The story took a new twist as Principal Raheesuddin, however, denied charges of discrimination and misbehaviour with the Dalit lady. “I had only asked her to show Aadhar card for address proof and date of birth certificates to complete admission formalities. The lady could not produce any documents. Her sons will be given admission once she brings the relevant documents,” clarified the Principal, defending his decision to deny admissions to Dalit students.
The SSP Meerut Rajesh Kumar Pandey stressed the fact that no complaint has been filed by the parents regarding this connection. Dhyan Chandra, the Additional Basic Shiksha Adhikari, said that “we will probe the incident and initiate action if parents submitted any written complaint about denial of admission on caste basis.”
