Delhi Govt school teacher booked for making derogatory remarks against Kaaba, Quran in class

New Delhi: A week after a teacher in Uttar Pradesh was booked for encouraging fellow students to slap a Muslim boy, another incident has come to light in Delhi after police booked a government school teacher who allegedly directed religious slurs at some Muslim students.

The teacher, whose identity has been withheld, has been charged under IPC Sections 153 A, 295 A, and 298, which pertain to promoting enmity between different religious groups, insulting religious beliefs, and intentionally wounding religious sentiments.

Delhi Police have registered a case against Hema Gulati, a teacher at Government Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Gandhi Nagar, following complaints by the families of the Class 9 students. Police said they are investigating the allegations.

According to the Delhi Police, the teacher targeted students from the Muslim community within her class, using derogatory language that outraged religious feelings.

DCP Shahdara, Rohit Meena, stated, "We received a complaint about a school teacher using some religious words before students. We have taken cognizance of the matter. Our Juvenile Welfare Officer, along with counsellors, is counselling the affected students. There are 2-3 such students, so we are counselling them all… It is a government school."

The NDTV reported that based on the statement provided by one of the students, Hema Gulati purportedly made communal statements on a Wednesday. The complaint alleges that she directed derogatory comments towards the Kaaba – the revered stone edifice in Mecca – as well as the Quran. The teacher was reported as saying, "During the Partition, you chose to remain in India instead of going to Pakistan. Your contribution to India's freedom struggle is negligible." The complaint, which was formally lodged on a Friday evening, has been documented.

The families of the students are emphasizing that such utterances possess the potential to disrupt harmony within the school environment, and they are insisting on the teacher's dismissal.

A parent, whose two children are enrolled in the same school, conveyed to the news agency ANI, "If this teacher is not penalized, it might embolden others. Teachers should focus solely on teaching and refrain from commenting on subjects about which they lack knowledge. Having a teacher who fosters division among students is counterproductive. Our demand is straightforward – remove the teacher from the school; she should not be allowed to teach in any institution."

Local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Anil Kumar Bajpai, strongly criticized the teacher's behaviour. "This is entirely unacceptable. A teacher's foremost duty is to provide quality education to children. Derogatory remarks regarding any religion or sacred place should never come from a teacher. Individuals of this nature should face legal consequences," he stated, as reported by news agency PTI.

This incident comes on the heels of another controversy that emerged last week when a video surfaced from a private school in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar. In the video, a teacher was seen instructing students to take turns hitting another student while making derogatory references to his Muslim faith.

The teacher's comments were laced with pejorative language directed towards "Mohammedan children," seemingly because the student had made a mistake in his multiplication tables.

These incidents have reignited discussions about the role of educators in shaping young minds and fostering an environment of respect, tolerance, and diversity within schools. They have also raised concerns about the need for proper training and awareness programs for teachers to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.