PIILBHIT: The suspension of Uttar Pradesh primary school headmaster over an Allama Muhammad Iqbal song has been temporarily revoked.
According to The Indian Express reports, the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) or Basic Education Officer of Pilibhit district on Saturday revoked the suspension of 45-year-old Mohammad Furqan Ali on ‘humanitarian grounds.’
Ali Got Transferred
Ali got transferred to a different school, which is about 10km from his old school and will discharge duty as a teacher which means he would no longer be a headmaster.
“I have received a WhatsApp message from the (education) department asking me to report for duty as headmaster at the Bakhtawar Lal Primary School in Bisalpur. It said I was being reinstated with a strict warning,” Ali told The Telegraph.
“I want to ask the government whether it’s serious about running the Gayaspur school, which is on the verge of closure because of the students’ absence. I’m not happy with this decision. Can they bring the students back to my previous school without me?”
He added: “I’m sad about my students and am thinking of not joining the new school. If the students of Gayaspur refuse to study without me, I’m not ready to join another school, either.”
Ali Got Punished
Ali was punished after being accused by the local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang leaders for making students recite the song “Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua Banke Tamanna Meri” at the morning assembly that is a regular in many schools.
The VHP complaint led to an inquiry that revealed that the children in the school usually sang the poem during the morning assembly.
Ali- A Popular Man
Ali, who joined the school in 2011 is popular among students, parents and even some members of the local administration.
According to the Indian Express, around 30 students at the Gayaspur Primary School protested on campus and raised slogans saying, “Desh ki Raksha Kaun Karega? Hum Karenge (Who will protect the country? We will)” and “Kaise Karenge? Tann Se Karenge, Mann Se Karenge, Dhan Se Karenge (We will do it with our mind, our body and our wealth).”
They also told the newspaper that the song they had, in fact, sung the patriotic ‘Saare Jahan Se Aahcha’, penned by the poet Mohammad Iqbal in 1904.