In Garhwa, Jharkhand, a case of arbitrariness in educational institutions in the name of religion has come to the fore. Here the prayer that has been going on for years by the people of the Muslim community is also being given the color of communalism. 

Muslim Community

Here the villagers put pressure on the headmaster of the middle school and said that the population of Muslim society is 75 percent at the local level, so the rules will also have to be made according to us. The school prayer will also be according to us. The people of Muslim society forced the headmaster to change the prayer that had been going on in the school for years.

The school administration also succumbed to the pressure and changed the prayer.

They have stopped the earlier prayer of "अब दया कर दान" and started "तू ही राम, तू ही रहीम है" prayer. The report further states that the Muslim community also objected to folding hands during prayer and got the same to stop. Hindus fold their hands while offering prayer, greeting in ‘namaste’, and bowing down their head as a mark of respect. The school administration said that in the past few months the people from the Muslim community have been coming and creating a ruckus demanding a change of prayer.

According to the news of Dainik Jagran, in front of the insistence of the villagers, the constrained headmaster is now compelled in getting these prayers done in a changed style. He has given this information to the head of the Korwadih Panchayat and the officials of the Education Department. Headmaster Yugesh Ram says that for the last four months, Muslim people have forcibly changed the prayer in the school. Many times the youths of the Muslim community have come to the school and created a ruckus on this issue.

The report further states that on request of the school principal Yugesh Ram, the head of village Sharif Ansari asked the Muslim youth to not create a ruckus on school premises. But the people from the Muslim community did not agree. Subsequently, the head of the village, Ansari, passed on the instructions of local residents with regard to the prayer.

The government administration has reportedly been made aware of the local Muslim residents of the village forcefully getting the school prayer changed. The administration has said an investigation regarding the same will be carried out.

Explained not to interfere in school operations but villagers did not agree

On being informed by the headmaster, Mukhiya Sharif Ansari explained the ruckus creating youths of the Muslim community to not interfere in the school operation, but when the villagers did not agree, the headmaster advised the headmaster to run the school according to the villagers. In-charge District Education Officer Kumar Mayank Bhushan says that information has been received about forcing the teachers of the school to conduct the prayer meeting in the school according to their own accord. It will be investigated. No one will be allowed to disobey the government order. Here Mukhiya Sharif Ansari said on Monday that I have got information about this only today. I will try to solve this by holding a meeting of the school management committee and the villagers on Tuesday. The Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb will be upheld at any cost.