A private school in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, found itself in the midst of controversy when a question in its 9th-grade half-yearly exam linked Islam and Indian Muslims with terrorism.
The incident took place at Guru Kripa Divine Grace Public School, sparking outrage and demands for an explanation.
During the examination, students were presented with a question regarding global terrorism, which erroneously attributed terrorism to Ideological Islamic politics.
“Terrorism is a global problem which poses a significant challenge to humanity. The main reason for this is political selfishness, greed for power and religious fanaticism, which give rise to terrorists. It is a system of thought that includes Indian Muslim terrorism, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Al Qaeda, Taliban Taliban and various organizations of Islamic politics.The right solution to the problem of terrorism can be to try to remove the reasons due to which it is increasing. To solve the problem of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian government will have to take strict steps and stop Pakistani infiltration and strengthen its administrative hold on this state and if necessary, apart from bilateral talks with Pakistan, it will also have to be prepared for war,” the school question paper read.
This question raised concerns among parents, students, and community members, who expressed their shock and dismay over the inappropriate content.
In response to the backlash, the school administration issued an apology.
“The school management has apologized in writing to the students, parents and the entire community, the teacher concerned has tendered a written apology yet she has been removed. The examination held on 22 September has been cancelled. The new examination will be conducted on 3 October,” the director of the school said in a a statement.
“We respect all religions and promote communal harmony. We work in accordance with the spirit of our Constitution and respect all religions equally. Whatever happened was due to the teacher’s fault yet she has been removed. We are deeply hurt by this act of injustice. We apologize to the police and administration,” the statement said.
“We once again apologize to the entire Muslim community and also apologize to the entire nation which prides itself on unity in diversity,” it said.
