After the ‘roti-namak’ mid-day meal controversy in Mirzapur, it has come to light that children refuse to have their mid-day meals with their Dalit classmates in Ballia.
After the Mirzapur incident was reported last week, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had taken cognisance of the issue and issued a notice to UP government. In the aftermath of the incident, three teachers of Mirzapur primary school were suspended,
In Rampur Primary School of Ballia, some students reportedly bring their own plates to the school and express resentment at the presence of Dalit classmates eating mid-day meals with them.
One of the students claimed that since anyone could eat from the plates provided by school, upper caste children had started bringing their own utensils. Some reports said that students have also opted to sit in separate groups for having meals.
After a video purportedly showing Dalit students eating mid-day meals separately from other students went viral, an inquiry was ordered into the incident.
Taking note of the video, District Magistrate of Ballia, Dr Bhawani Singh Khangaraut, visited the school to take stock of the situation on Thursday morning.
“Prima facie there is no basis to reports of discrimination with Dalit students in the school. However, a detailed inquiry by a joint magistrate has been ordered to probe the matter threadbare,” Khangaraut said.
When quizzed on the issue, principal of Rampur primary school (Ballia), Purshottam Gupta, admitted that some children were bringing their own plates despite being asked not to do so several times.
“All students are asked to sit together and eat in plates provided by the school. But some from the upper caste are adamant on bringing their plates and prefer not to sit and eat with backward caste students,” Gupta told the media on Thursday.
The incident has been condemned by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who called the act ‘heartbreaking’.
“The news from a government school in Ballia about Dalit students sitting separately for meal is heartbreaking and highly condemnable. BSP demands that people practising untouchability should be dealt with strictness so that others learn a lesson and it is not repeated,” she tweeted.