Dalit Students Segregated at PM’s ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ Telecast

Dalit students in Kullu’s govt high school were segregated while watching PM Modi’s ‘Pariksha Par Charcha’.

Students watching live telecast of PM Modi’s ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’.

(Photo: PTI)

Video Editor: Vishal Kumar

Dalit students studying in a government high school in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, were reportedly asked to sit outside class for watching Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s telecast of ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ on Friday.

The students were allegedly made to sit in a ‘place meant for horses’. Taking cognizance of social media reports, the Himachal Pradesh government on Monday ordered an inquiry into an incident.

The 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' event, which was held in New Delhi on Friday, was telecast across the country.

I have taken cognisance of reports on social media and ordered a magisterial inquiry. This morning, a team comprising officials of police, Education Department, and Social Welfare Department was set up and asked to visit the school.

Yunus Khan, Kullu Deputy Commissioner

Khan said since the school is located in the interiors of the district, the team was likely to return to district headquarters Kullu on Tuesday, 20 February, and would summit the report. The school headmaster Rajan Bhardwaj has been relieved from duty, he added.

Disciplinary action has already been initiated against the headmaster, and, if required, criminal liability will be fixed against him.

Yunus Khan

A handwritten anonymous complaint, purportedly written by students and circulated on social media, says the gram panchayat of Chestha made arrangements for students to watch Modi's programme at the school management committee president's house.

The students said a teacher forced them to sit at a place outside the room used for keeping horses. A television was placed there. In their complaint, they also alleged that they faced "caste discrimination" during midday meals in the school.

The Deputy Commissioner said he has not received any complaint either from a student or parent.

(With inputs from IANS)