A Jesuit school in Karnataka’s Udupi apologised after coming under fire for allegedly playing ‘Azan’ (Islamic call to public prayer) and making students offer namaz at a cultural event, reported news agency PTI.
The incident happened when the Mother Teresa Memorial School at Shankaranarayana town in Kundapur Taluk organised a sports meet, ahead of which a cultural programme was held on Monday.
The students were allegedly asked to perform namaz and Azan was played on the loudspeaker. The purported video went viral on social media.
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In another purported video, the school teacher can be heard saying that the prayer was organised to show harmony and equality in the society, however, it was a mistake to play the ‘Azan’.
Later, pro-Hindutva outfits staged a protest in front of the school. Mohan Gowda, spokesperson of the ‘Hindu Janajagruthi Samithi’, said that the school was “forcing Hindu students to perform namaz”. He further alleged in a statement that the Mother Teresa school had earlier banned Hindu students from wearing Bindi on the forehead, bangles and anklets, which was against the Karnataka Education Act.
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Gowda said he would lodge a complaint with the National Child Rights Commission and the state education department.