Delhi Public School in Vadodara’s Kalali had planned a field trip to a mosque for kindergarten children. However, the same has now been cancelled after protests. Bajrang Dal activists had protested against the field trip after parents of students objected to the same.
The Indian Express report claims that the students were earlier taken to a temple and also cites an unnamed parent who ‘did not see anything wrong with the mosque trip’. The report further claims that the unnamed parent claimed all parents had consented to sending their children to mosque.
The unnamed parent referred to Bajrang Dal activists as ‘fringe group’ and claimed that they were disheartened that their child was not going to mosque as they had earlier gone to a church and learnt about place of worship. Another unnamed parent reportedly told the Indian Express that her daughter was excited to visit the mosque as they had been telling the child about the mosque and had never been there before. It is pertinent to note that not all mosques allow women to enter to pray. It is not clear whether the mosque the kindergarten students were being taken to and where the girl child was very excited to go even allowed women.
Speaking to OpIndia, Ketan Trivedi, Vishwa Hindu Parishad coordinator said that the school chose 5th August, Friday for the visit to mosque and suspected that they wanted the children to be part of the Jumma namaz. He said, ‘If the school wanted to inspire they could have taken children to hospitals, army camps, so that they get inspired to become doctors, soldiers. Why take them to mosque?”. He said that the VHP will hold a vigil for Friday to see if the children are taken to mosque.
Trivedi further said that the VHP told the school authorities that these kind of field trips have potential to hurt someone’s religious sentiments and this appears more like a stunt than educational trip. He said that the school should focus on education and not religion. “Children are future of the country and take them to place where their minds are developed. Taking them to such religious places you start making them think on religion likes like what Muslims do, what Christians do. Why not take them to police stations or army camps instead?” he said.
After the parents raised objections, Bajrang Dal activists started chanting Ram Dhun outside the school. Later, school cancelled all field trips for the month of August.