Token hunger strike by Jharkhand parents' body against ‘humiliation’ of schoolgirls

Dhanbad: Members of an organisation of parents and guardians on Tuesday held a token hunger strike demanding action against the principal of a Dhanbad school, who had allegedly ordered 80 class 10 girls to remove their shirts for writing messages on them last week.

The organisation, Jharkhand Abhivawak Mahasangh (JAM), claimed that the district administration has given a clean chit to the principal whose instruction forced the students to return home in their blazers without shirts beneath on January 10.

The district authorities that conducted an inquiry on Monday were, however, tight-lipped about the alleged “clean chit” given to the reputed private school’s principal who is a woman.

Eleven office-bearers of JAM staged the hunger strike from 10 am to 4 pm at Randhir Verma Chowk in the heart of the city, demanding action against the principal.

However, none of the hunger strikers is the guardian or parent of the 80 schoolgirls.

JAM secretary Manoj Mishra said that the inquiry team, which included the sub-divisional officer and the sub-divisional police officer concerned, was set up by Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Madhvi Mishra following a complaint lodged by parents.

"After the humiliation of the children, the DC directed the SDO to probe into the incident. But he gave a clean chit to the principal and called for a compromise between the school management and the parents on the issue," Mishra claimed.

Despite repeated efforts, neither the DC nor the SDO could be reached for their comments.

The JAM secretary said they now pin hope only on the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and Child Welfare Committee (CWC), representatives of which were also part of the probe team.

DLSA Secretary Rakesh Roshan said they would submit their report to the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority.

CWC Chairman Uttam Mukherjee said that he sent its report to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, the school management asked the Principal to stay away from all administrative responsibilities of the school till the inquiry is completed.

The parents complained to the DC that class 10 students, after completing their examination on January 10, were celebrating ‘pen day’ by writing messages on each others’ shirts.

The principal objected to the celebration and asked the students to remove their shirts, even though they sought an apology. All students were sent back home in their blazers without the shirts, the parents had told the DC.