Skip to main content

Solidarity swells for Ahmedabad school amidst book row: 350 voices defend Malala, Anne Frank in Gujarat

By A Representative 
A controversy over two celebrated books has plunged a private school in Ahmedabad into a political firestorm, drawing in right-wing groups and the state education department. The incident has now sparked a widespread solidarity campaign, with hundreds of citizens defending the school’s academic freedom.
The row at Anand Niketan School in Shilaj began on August 11, when parents protested after a student allegedly found a piece of glass in a snack served at the school canteen. However, the protests quickly escalated into a religious and political confrontation. Parents, joined by activists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, alleged that the school was forcing students to read "books from other religions". 
The objectionable texts were identified as "I Am Malala" by Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank, the Jewish Holocaust victim. Protesters also accused the school of discontinuing morning prayers and of discriminating against students from a particular religion.
Facing intense pressure, the school management has moved to distance itself from the controversy. In a letter to the Gujarat Education Minister, school chairman Kamal Mangal stated that the books were never part of the compulsory curriculum but were part of an optional Book Club intended to encourage reading. Despite this, the school has now made the two texts "optional". 
Furthermore, the school terminated its association with Munazza Shums, an alumna and education consultant who had been working as a "curriculum designer and teacher trainer". Chairman Mangal confirmed the decision, stating, "Moving forward, we will not be inviting Ms Munazza Shums for further consultations". He also refuted allegations that Shums was functioning as the head of the school or that she had made the books mandatory. 
The District Education Officer (DEO), Rohit Chaudhary, issued a show-cause notice to the school and ordered an inquiry. The school was fined Rs 10,000, directed to refund food service fees, and ordered to shut its canteen operations. The canteen supervisor was also dismissed.
The incident has raised alarm among educators and civil society, who see it as an attack on academic freedom. 
The Student and Youth Collective, Ahmedabad (SYCA), a volunteer-led group of students, writers, activists, and lawyers, has issued a solidarity statement in support of the school's teachers and leadership. In a statement shared with Counterview, the collective condemned the interference and called the events an "extremely worrying symptom of education in Gujarat and India at large." 
The statement argues that schools should be spaces for "critical reading, discussion, and healthy debate" and that the two books are "valuable resources for learning". It also pointedly notes that members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal have been "threatening and pressurizing the school to not take in Muslim students and teachers," condemning the "majoritarian and Islamophobic turn these events have taken." 
The collective has called on the government to give the school the "autonomy that is necessary to carry on with its educational initiatives." The statement has garnered over 350 endorsements from students, teachers, principals, activists, lawyers, and professors across India within just three days.
The school, which was closed for in-person classes following the protests, is set to resume operations with added security and food safety measures in place.

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Kutch water crisis deepens: Bhuj lost 54 of its 82 lakes; pastoralists migrate first time since 2018

By Rajiv Shah   A comprehensive new report by Homes In The City (HIC), a Bhuj-based civil society programme, has revealed that despite late monsoon rains easing Kutch's immediate drought conditions, the region faces a deepening water security crisis — with Bhuj having lost more than half of its historic lakes and pastoral communities forced to migrate for the first time since 2018.
Post a Comment
»

From a cowshed to a home: How Mangaltai's Palawi gives HIV-positive children a second life

By Dr A.V. Yadappanavar *  In a small village called Takli, not far from the temple town of Pandharpur in Maharashtra, there is a home where children who were once abandoned because of their HIV status now find food, medicine, education, and something even rarer — love without fear. The home is called Palawi, and it was founded in 2001 by Mangal Shah, affectionately known as Mangaltai, a social worker who could not look away from children rejected by their own families.
Post a Comment
»

Tribal rights under siege: Roundtable Seeks strong legal defence of land, jobs and PESA

By A Representative  Tribal rights activists, legal experts, tribal leaders, former officials and civil society representatives from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have called  for urgent action on tribal land rights, employment and PESA safeguards. They were participating in  roundtable on Constitutional Safeguards for Scheduled Tribes in the Telugu States at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad. Former Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao chaired the deliberations.
Post a Comment
»