London school accused of religious discrimination after pupil challenged over tilak
London (PTI): A highly rated primary school in north-west London has been accused of religious discrimination after a diaspora advocacy group claimed an eight-year-old pupil was challenged for wearing a tilak on his forehead.
INSIGHT UK claimed in a statement on Monday that the child and his family suffered “significant distress” over the issue at Vicar’s Green Primary School in Wembley, leaving Hindu parents with no option but to remove at least four pupils from the school.
However, the school denied any form of discrimination at its "diverse and inclusive” institution, which has pupils from more than 50 language backgrounds, including a significant number of Hindus.
“The Tilak-Chandlo is not a cosmetic or cultural accessory, it is an integral religious observance for many Hindus,” said an INSIGHT UK spokesperson.
“Preventing a child from practising their faith, or making them feel ashamed or intimidated for doing so, is wholly unacceptable in a modern, multicultural Britain.
“For over 1 billion Hindus worldwide, sacred markings such as the Tilak-Chandlo, Bindi, Tikka, Tripundra etc are integral expressions of faith. To trivialise or mislabel such practices in an educational setting reflects a troubling lack of religious literacy,” the spokesperson said.
Among the reports collated by the group, the school headteacher and governors are said to have displayed a lack of “cultural and religious sensitivity” during attempts at dialogue.
“This was not a good-faith dialogue — it was an imbalance of power, where Hindu religious practices were scrutinised, minimised, and ultimately rejected,” INSIGHT UK claimed.
It has called on the school to review its policies and staff training to ensure compliance with equality and safeguarding laws.
Ealing Council, the local authority in charge of the school rated “outstanding” by the independent Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), responded to PTI’s inquiry with a statement from a spokesperson for Vicar’s Green Primary School.
“Our longstanding school policy asks pupils not to wear visible skin markings including religious ones. We met with the parents of a pupil who was wearing a Tilak-Chandlo on their forehead to discuss the matter sensitively and sought to understand the reason for it," the school spokesperson stated.
“We fully recognised the family’s religious beliefs and, in a spirit of conciliation, we offered a reasonable compromise by making an exception to our policy so the symbol could be worn on a less prominent part of the body. This was, unfortunately, rejected by the pupil’s parents," the spokesperson said.
The school went on to reference its recent OFSTED inspections as recognising its inclusive environment where children "thrive".
The spokesperson added: “The school’s governing body also thoroughly reviewed the case and wrote to the parents explaining the school's decision in detail and also offered the reasonable adjustments the school had offered, as well as special religious occasions. Unfortunately, the parents did not accept either of these adjustments.
“We have always approached these discussions respectfully, sensitively and thoroughly, which has taken up a considerable amount of time and stress for the school, and its community. As a school, our priority is always the wellbeing of all our children.”
Vicar’s Green Primary School stressed that it values and respects the diverse cultural and religious backgrounds in its community, with its policy designed to “promote cohesion, fairness, equality and a shared sense of belonging while preventing division or disruption within the school community”.
The official UK government classification describes it as a mixed (co-ed) "community school", or a secular state school, that caters to pupils aged between three and eleven.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
