UP slap video: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind calls for stringent legal action against teacher

PTI, Aug 26, 2023, 7:45 PM IST

Representative image

New Delhi: Prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Saturday called for stringent legal action against the teacher accused of making communal comments and ordering her students at a school in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar to slap a Muslim classmate for not doing his homework.

Jamiat chief Maulana Mahmood Madani wrote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the National Human Rights Commission, and the UN Special Rapporteur over the incident.

”I urge you to address the aforementioned incident and initiate legal proceedings against the perpetrator under the Child Rights, Human Rights, Educational Rights, and Prevention of Bias Acts. Furthermore, I request you to promptly instruct the concerned district administration to refrain from attempting to downplay this grave matter,” Madani said in his letter.

Madani said this “school of hate” is unequivocally unacceptable. ”It is very sad to observe that our country has descended into a breeding ground for hate speech,” Madani said.

Such reprehensible actions not only contravene the core principles of education but also perpetuate bias and hatred that have no place in a just and inclusive society, he said.

He reiterated that every child is entitled to a secure and all-encompassing educational milieu, enabling his personal and academic growth.

The actions of the implicated teacher starkly violate these foundational principles and the standards of professionalism expected from educators, Madani said.

”We urgently call upon the relevant authorities to take immediate, resolute measures to address this painful incident. A thorough and transparent investigation must be conducted to uncover the complete details of the incident. This is essential to prevent the recurrence of such deplorable incidents,” he said.

A Jamiat statement said its delegation later visited the affected family to offer ”both humanitarian and moral support on behalf of the organisation”.

As outrage poured in from all quarters including political parties, Muzaffarnagar Police on Saturday booked the teacher accused of making communal comments and ordering her students to slap a Muslim classmate for not doing his homework.

The school was also served a notice by the state education department in connection with the matter.

The teacher, Tripta Tyagi, was booked a day after a video showed her asking her students to slap the Class 2 boy at Neha Public School in Khubbapur village and also making a communal remark.

In her defence, Tyagi, has said that the video has been tampered with in order to stoke tensions. She claimed the video was shot by an uncle of the boy.

The incident has elicited strong words from several political leaders with NCPCR, the apex child rights body, demanding action against the accused teacher.