Action taken against Kerala teachers for distributing a pamphlet with the image of Shri Saraswatidevi

If an Iftar party is organised in a Kerala temple, it becomes communal harmony. However, if images of Deity Saraswatidevi are distributed in a school that has majority of Muslim students, it becomes religious fanaticism !

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) – Distributing a pamphlet with a ‘Maths Prayer’ and images of Shri Saraswatidevi and ‘Om’ by two teachers of a Government school in Kerala has landed them in trouble after their action sparked protests and they were asked to go on leave. The pamphlet was distributed on 7^th February in the Azhikode Government UP school in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram, where 80 per cent of students are from the Muslim community, educational department sources said.

The parents and leaders of some political parties took out a march to the school on 10^th February and demanded that the two teachers not be allowed to continue in the institution. The Parent- Teachers Association also came up with a similar demand, following which the Headmaster directed the teachers to go on leave, they said.

The pamphlet was distributed to students of Standards 5 to 7 as part of activities of the ‘Mathematics club’, with the instruction to chant the prayer daily, which would help them in learning mathematics. The 12 lines’ ‘Maths Prayer’ (Ganitha Prarthana) was written by Rajalakshmi, one of the two teachers, who has been asked to go on leave.