Row over Eid skit, principal of Gujarat school suspended

RAJKOT: Principal of a private school in Kutch's Mundra town has been suspended after a controversy erupted over a skit performed by students to send out a message of brotherhood on the occasion of Eid-al-Adha. Parents and right-wing organisations registered a strong protest after a video of the performance, which showed some of the students sporting skull caps, went viral.

The district development officer, S K Prajapati, on Friday suspended Priti Vasvani, the principal of Pearl School of Excellence, following a preliminary investigation by a special team formed by the district education officer. "We will consider further action after getting the detailed investigation report," Prajapati told TOI.

The district education officer, Sanjay Parmar, said: "We came to know from the video on social media that students of mixed faith, many of them Hindus, were asked to participate in the Eid celebration in this school. It's an insult to the Hindu religion and condemnable."

The school had posted the video on its Facebook page, but later removed it.

Sources said most of the students who participated in the skit were from the majority community and their parents took an objection to the children being made to wear skull caps and celebrate Eid.

A crowd of around 250 people, including parents and right-wing activists, gathered at the school on Friday and created a ruckus. However, police reached the spot and managed to pacify them.

The school tendered a public apology after a meeting between the management and parents. Principal Vaswani could not be contacted for comments, but she posted a video on the school's Facebook page, apologising for organising the skit.

" I assure you that no such activity, which may hurt the sentiments of parents, will be organised in future," she said.

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.