Students of a government school in Dakshina Kannada district were made to chant “Veer Savarkar ki jai” during an Independence Day event on the campus, sparking a protest by parents that prompted the school to apologise.
A short video clip of the event shows female students of Manchi Government School in Vittala pumping their fists in the air as they chant “Sarojini Naidu ki jai” and “Bipin Chandra Pal ki jai”, followed by “Veer Savarkar ki jai”.
Parents seated in the audience, many of them from the minority community, protested and raised the issue with headmistress Vimala, who immediately apologised.
With the parents insisting on a proper explanation on why their wards were made to chant the name of the controversial Hindutva icon, the school’s development committee on Friday organised a meeting with the guardians where they formally apologised.
The matter came to light two days after Independence Day when the video clip of the incident began circulating on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
While the headmistress lodged a police complaint against unnamed persons for circulating the video clip online, no FIR was registered since the matter has been amicably resolved.
Senior BJP leader and former education minister B.C. Nagesh said: “It is surprising how people are opposing the chanting of the name of a great freedom fighter.”
Nagesh was present when then home minister Araga Jnanendra had unveiled a portrait of V.D. Savarkar in the cell in Hindalga Jail in Belgaum in north Karnataka where he had been imprisoned.
