UP school children made to take oath to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra'

Sonbhadra: A video of school children in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district taking oath to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra' has gone viral on social media, creating a fresh controversy.

The children, dressed in their school uniforms, had gathered in the park after school hours. Some kids visiting the park with their parents, were also part of the oath-taking event.

The students were made to repeat the pledge to make India a Hindu nation. The oath stated to "fight, die and if required kill" to turn India into a Hindu Rashtra.

A police officer from Sonbhadra said on Thursday that an inquiry had been conducted into Tuesday's administration of the "fight, die and kill" oath to children, but no case had been registered in the absence of a complaint.

"We have traced the schoolchildren; we have also traced the Twitter handle from which a video of the event was posted. But we can move forward only when someone comes to have a case registered," the officer said, requesting anonymity.

However, the management of the private school has told The Telegraph that the video was filmed through subterfuge by people who "meant mischief."

Jitendra Singh, manager of Vimla Inter College at Robertganj in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district, said a crew that introduced themselves as from Sudarshan News had asked to take boys from the school to a nearby park for a debate they said they wanted to film.

"Even I am a Hindu but I don't approve of fanaticism. I condemn it and will support any inquiry against such elements," he told.

The pledge stated: "We promise to work towards making and keeping India a Hindu Rashtra. We will fight for this, die for this, and if required, kill for this. But we will not back down even for a moment, no matter the sacrifice. May our ancestors, teachers, Mother India give us enough strength so that we can fulfil our pledge. May they give us victory."

The controversial video of the incident was shared by a news channel on its Twitter handle.