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Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)

Mangaluru, Jul 30: Activists of Sri Rama Sene (SRS) on Saturday July 30 raided St Thomas Aided Higher Primary School at Padu Bandanthila here, alleging that Urdu and Arabic were being 'forcibly' taught to students.

It is said that based on a complaint by locals, about 50 to 60 activists raided the school. The activists said that every Saturday between 9.15 to 10 am, students of 6th and 7th standards were 'forced' to learn Urdu and Arabic.

The activists on Saturday raided the school and questioned the management on this, and also confronted the teacher who was taking up Urdu and Arabic classes.

Speaking to reporters, zonal president of Sri Rama Sene Anand Shetty said, "There is a certain policy in the school. Students of all religions come here to obtain education. They are forcibly taught Urdu and Arabic and we strongly oppose this, as it is against the tenets of the Indian Constitution. Even though Urdu and Arabic are not part of the curriculum, these languages are being taught here for the last four months.

"Hence, today we raided the school and caught the teacher red-handed teaching these languages," he said, adding, "If the school management wants to teach Urdu and Arabic, let it also teach other scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita and the Vedas."

It is said that the activists spoke to the headmaster of the school, who reportedly assured that the Urdu and Arabic classes would be stopped with immediate effect.

Teaching Arabic only to interested students: Headmaster

Speaking to daijiworld, Melwyn Braggs, headmaster of St Thomas Aided Higher Primary School said that only Arabic and not Urdu was being taught to students, and that too only to students who are interested in learning it.

"We are teaching only Arabic and not Urdu as alleged, and we are teaching only interested students before class hours. We do not teach Arabic or Urdu during school hours. The decision to teach Arabic was taken after putting forward the proposal in the PTA meeting. Apart from Arabic we also teach French, German and Karate," he said.

Asked if the classes would be discontinued henceforth, he said, "We will discontinue all extra-curricular classes including Karate. If the people do not want them, there is no point in having them."

On whether the management would file a complaint against SRS activists, he said, "No, they did not vandalise the place or cause much trouble. We will not file any complaint. However, after the police came to know about this raid, they visited us to take stock of the situation."