New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Telangana government over allegations that a school in Hyderabad discriminated against students on religious grounds by allegedly asking Hindu students to recite the Kalma and assigning Islamic prayers as homework.

Speaking to ANI, NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo said the Commission took cognisance of a complaint filed by the Seva Nyaya Utthan Foundation.
"We received a complaint from an organisation called Seva Nyaya Utthan Foundation alleging that a school in Hyderabad is discriminating against children on religious grounds. The complaint also claims that Hindu students are being compelled to recite the Kalma and are given Islamic prayers as homework. This appears to be a serious violation of Article 28(3) of the Constitution. We have issued a notice to the Telangana Government regarding the matter," Kanoongo said.

Reacting to the controversy, senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao condemned the alleged incident and said religious practices should not be imposed in educational institutions.
"There is a Muslim teacher who is forcing children to recite the Kalma. This is a religious matter, and forcing children like this is not correct. The government must take this issue very seriously. This is a secular country. Everyone has the right to practise their religion in their own homes, but not inside an educational institution," Rao told ANI.

He welcomed the suspension of the teacher and urged the Telangana government to ensure strict action in similar cases.
"I congratulate the Home Department and the police for immediately taking action and suspending the teacher. I request Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and the Home Minister to ensure such incidents are not tolerated in any school, as they could create law-and-order problems," he added.

Meanwhile, Advocate and BJP leader Karuna Sagar alleged that police initially attempted to suppress the matter and registered an FIR only after the NHRC intervened. He questioned whether assigning Kalma and Surah Al-Fatihah as homework to a six-year-old child was appropriate and sought an explanation from the police over their handling of the case.
"When a group of us went to question the police regarding their attempt to close the case, which we viewed as a conspiracy and to ask why an FIR had not been registered, the police department refused to answer. Instead, acting high-handedly, they arrested many of us and detained us at various police stations. When I learned that the child's family was considering withdrawing their complaint due to police pressure, I personally filed a complaint against the school. I want to ask just one question: Is it right or wrong for a school to assign homework or activities requiring a 6-year-old child to learn the Kalma and Surah Al-Fatihah? Does the Quran feature in the SSC syllabus according to police department guidelines? Regarding yesterday's events, the protest and the entire matter that came to light, it was only after the National Human Rights Commission issued notices to the District Magistrate, Police Commissioner, and District Education Officer seeking a report on the incident and the action taken that the police finally registered an FIR last night...why were the police shielding the school instead of exposing the conspiracy? The police need to answer this," the BJP leader said.

This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.