Students punished for singing Vande Mataram in college

Lucknow: A probe has been ordered against a school in Ballia district for punishing students for singing Vande Mataram and chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.

A complaint in this regard had been filed by a social organisation Manas Mandir, whose members visited the GMAM Inter College and were told that students were being punished for singing ‘Vande Mataram’ or chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ after the school prayers.

The manager of the organisation, Shiv Kumar Jaiswal, said that not only the students, but the teachers also complained about this. He said that studenst who chanted ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ were made to sit under the sun for hours as punishment. He said that he had sent video recordings of the statements made by students and teachers to the district magistrate. District magistrate Bhawani Singh Khangaraut said the matter was serious and that the District Inspector of School (DIOS) Narendra Dev Pandey had been asked to probe the matter.

The district magistrate said that stern action would be taken against those found responsible for this. The principal of the college, Majid Nasir, however, claimed that the complaint was a conspiracy to defame the institution and denied all allegations.