West Bengal: Students demand wearing of saffron scarves during exams; situation turns tense in school

A video of the incident has been doing the rounds on social media. It happened on Tuesday, November 22, at a Howrah-based school
Here are the details | (Pic: EdexLive)
Here are the details | (Pic: EdexLive)

A scuffle between two groups of students ensued in a state-run school situated in the Howrah district of West Bengal. One of the groups wanted to don namabalis (saffron scarves) during the exams and another group opposed them. A video of the incident has been doing rounds on social media.

The video shows a group of students, along with some other people donning namabalis outside the school gate, trying to enter, while the other group of students stood inside the school campus, stopping them. Meanwhile, the co-educational school authorities and police present at the spot tried to prevent any scuffle between the two sides, as described in a PTI report.

Though the authenticity of the video could not be verified, a spokesperson of the school informed that around five students wanted to enter the school compound donning namabalis. The incident occurred on Tuesday, November 22, at the Dhulagor Adarsha Vidyalaya.

The spokesperson stated that the students demanded to be allowed to don the scarves while writing papers for the pre-Board exams of Class XII, claiming that some of their batchmates had already turned up in the previous day's exams wearing hijabs. He added that the school authorities asked every student to follow the dress code to prevent any flare-up.

"On being informed by the school authorities about the tense situation, a police contingent soon arrived at the spot and persuaded the students standing outside the gate and those inside to leave the spot. And the day's exams were postponed," the spokesperson informed, as per PTI.

He also said that a meeting was held on Wednesday, November 23, in which guardians, the school managing committee, the headmaster and the teachers-in-charge were present. "Everyone agreed to restore normalcy and ensure peace and amity on the campus," he added and said that a decision would soon be taken about holding the postponed exams on a later date.

A police officer said that there was some commotion before the school gate on Tuesday morning but it did not spin out of control and the situation returned to normal then. However, Trinamool Congress MLA and State Minister Arup Roy informed that it was an attempt to foment trouble on the campus by outsiders but it was foiled. He added police were investigating the incident. Meanwhile, BJP leader Agnimitra Paul stated that every student should follow the dress code of an educational institution.

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