How the chant of “Jai Shri Ram” can be misused to transform it into a “war cry” that can infect even schoolchildren and unleash a chain of disharmonious events has been demonstrated in a high school in Murshidabad in Bengal.

Some Class XII students of Srikantabati High School Raghunathganj chanted “Jai Shri Ram” during a period when the teacher was absent on Tuesday afternoon, headmaster Utpal Mondal said on Thursday.

“At one point, the students asked everyone in the class to join the chanting. A Muslim student protested and he was supported by some Hindu students who asked why such things were being dragged into a classroom. This led to a scuffle and we came to know about it,” the headmaster said.

Mondal and other teachers rushed to the classroom, calmed the students down and asked them not to do it again.

After about half-an-hour, around 3pm, a group of youths entered the school and started looking for the boy who had initially protested the chanting of “Jai Shri Ram”. The youths punched the boy a few times and fled within five minutes.

“We did not know that the student was beaten up. We rushed to the spot when some students informed us and took the student to Jangipur subdivisional hospital where he was admitted,” headmaster Mondal added.

The headmaster declared the school over at 3.30pm, half an hour before the regular closing time. The headmaster said he had also asked the students of Classes XI and XII to skip school for the rest of the week.

“I asked the Class XI and Class XII students not to come to school to avoid any repetition of Tuesday’s incident. I discussed with the teachers and we thought that the absence would defuse the tension,” the headmaster said.

On Wednesday, nearly 300 guardians of some of the Muslim students, along with other villagers of Srikantabati, arrived at the school at 11am. One of them had brought the national flag with him.

“They demonstrated outside the school, protesting against the assault on the student on Tuesday. We got scared and informed the police. Soon, a police team arrived and it was decided that seven representatives of the guardians would meet the headmaster,” a teacher said.

After the gate was opened, around 40 people forced their way in to the classroom where the headmaster and other teachers and some policemen were waiting.

Around the same time, Prakash Haldar, a teacher who was on vacation and did not know about the incident, tried to enter the school but was stopped by the guardians. When he tried to force his way in, he was beaten up with sticks, causing a head injury.

The headmaster lodged a complaint against unknown persons and the police have started an investigation.

“We are investigating the complaint lodged by the headmaster. The police are patrolling the area,” said Mukesh, Murshidabad superintendent of police.

At the meeting inside the school, the headmaster assured the guardians that he and the other teachers would keep a close eye on the students and prevent the entry of outsiders.“I spoke to the guardians and I assured them that such incidents would not be repeated and no religious slogans will be allowed in the school. Outsiders will also be prevented from entering the school,” the headmaster said.

Masood Karim, a parent, said: “We told the headmaster that no religious slogans should be raised in the school. We also demanded that no outsider should enter the school. The headmaster has assured us in this regard.”