MP: School disallows student entry for 'tilak'
education dept asks institution to maintain religious harmony
Indore, Jul 9: A private school in Indore in Madhya Pradesh has been asked by the education department to maintain "all religion harmony" after it allegedly disallowed a student from sporting a tilak (religious mark on forehead with vermilion), an official said on Sunday.
A video of the student standing outside Shree Bal Vigyan Shishu Vihar Higher Secondary School claiming he was not allowed inside as he was sporting a tilak was widely circulated on social media.
The student also claimed school authorities had said they would give him his transfer certificate in case he repeated the act.
Another video showed some people arguing with school authorities on how they could stop someone from coming to an educational institution simply because he sported a tilak.
In the video, a woman teacher can be heard saying the school was run on the basis of "sarva dharma sambhaav" (equality and harmony among all religions).
District Education Officer (DEO) Manglesh Kumar Vyas told reporters on Sunday that he had discussed the issue with the principal of the school.
"The school principal told me some people are giving this matter undue importance. However, he has expressed regret and said he would hold a meeting with parents of students to sort it out," Vyas said.
"The school management has been asked to maintain harmony among all religions in the institution. To maintain discipline in schools, students can be asked to wear the same uniform. However, if a student comes to school with tilak on his birthday, after worshipping or on any special occasion, he cannot be asked to remove it," Vyas added.
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Air India flight from Mumbai makes 'priority' landing in Bhopal after snag; return leg cancelled
Bhopal (PTI): A Bhopal-bound Air India flight from Mumbai carrying 175 persons on board made a “priority” landing here on Sunday due to a snag, an airport official said.
The aircraft landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, he said.
Consequently, the return leg of the flight from Bhopal to Mumbai, with 178 passengers booked, was cancelled, the official said.
AAI-run Bhopal airport said in a statement that Air India flight AI 633 “reported a technical issue to Air Traffic Control (ATC) during the flight from Mumbai to Bhopal”.
Immediately, all prescribed safety protocols were activated, and seamless coordination was ensured between ATC, airline ground operations, CISF and airpiort fire and rescue team of Bhopal airport, it said in a statement.
The flight, carrying 175 persons, including 166 passengers and nine crew members, landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, the airport operator said.
All necessary assistance and support were extended by the airport and airline teams as per the requirements of the flight crew, it said.
“Due to the technical issue, the aircraft was declared unserviceable, and as a precautionary measure, the return flight AI-634 (Bhopal to Mumbai) was cancelled by the airline to facilitate detailed inspection and rectification,” the statement said.
