Why was a class 3 student suspended for bringing non-veg food to school?

A class 3 student in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha has found himself at the centre of a heated controversy for allegedly bringing non-vegetarian food to school as his tiffin. What could have been a simple lunchtime choice has now escalated into a full-blown conflict involving religious tensions, accusations, and a viral video.

How did a tiffin box become such a contentious issue?

The incident unfolded at Hilton Convent School on 5 September, where a seven-year-old boy, identified only as a student from the Muslim community, was suspended for allegedly carrying non-vegetarian food in his lunchbox.

According to police officials, the issue surfaced when school principal Avnish Kumar Sharma accused the boy of "regularly" bringing non-vegetarian food. This claim was reportedly corroborated by a video that has since gone viral on social media.

The situation escalated further when a video surfaced showing a heated exchange between the principal and the student's mother. In the nearly 4.30-minute clip, the principal can be purportedly heard making derogatory remarks about the student's Muslim background, according to the Times of India.

As per an Economic Times report, Sharma can also be heard saying, "I won’t teach children who will demolish temples after growing up..." He also accused the family of "converting others through such food dishes", the report added.

In 2018, anthropologist Dr Balamurali Natarajan and political economist Dr Suraj Jacob published a study titled 'Provincialising' Vegetarianism Putting Indian Food Habits in Their Place', updating it with another study in 2020. Both studies were published in the Economic and Political Weekly, and used data, mainly from NSSO, the National Family Health Survey, and the India Human Development Survey.

Tellingly, both found that nearly 80 per cent of the Indian population eats meat and other 'non-vegetarian' food on a regular basis, and the authors told Rediff that vegetarians in India "typically have privileged positions in caste and power hierarchies with greater voice from the perspective of class and governance".

Nonetheless in the present case, the principal also said that the boy's name was struck off the rolls as the parents of some of his classmates complained about him.

The mother, who appears distressed in the video, denies these allegations and claims her son was not permitted to attend his classes, as per NDTV. She also confronts the principal for allegedly verbally abusing her son and locking him up in a room as punishment for his lunch, an Outlook report said.

ToI also reported that the mother of the seven-year-old can also be heard in the video saying that her child "doesn't know this kind of language and he is innocent". She further explained that after her son returned home, he recounted how he was mistreated and "punished for his meal".

The principal's claims, combined with the viral video, have sparked outrage across social media platforms. The Amroha Muslim Committee has demanded immediate action, calling for the principal’s arrest and suspension of the school's affiliation, the Economic Times reported.

Though no formal police complaint has been lodged, district inspector of schools Vishnu Pratap Singh has formed a three-member committee to look into the matter. "The committee comprises principals of two inter colleges and a headmaster of a government high school of the district. It has been asked to submit its report within three days after hearing both sides," Singh told reporters.

With inputs from PTI.