SCHOOL SUSPENDS BOY FOR USING MEHANDI

A disciplinary action by a school here against a Class III student threatens to snowball into a religious controversy. The student’s father, Ganesh Ram, a lawyer by profession, has approached the State Human Rights Commission alleging discrimination against his son on religious grounds.

On November 19, Doveton Matric Higher Secondary School here suspended Ram’s son for 10 days and sent him home for coming to the school after applying mehndi (henna). His father says it is a violation of his son’s human rights and has called for revoking the suspension.

“Why should my innocent child be penalised? The mehndi was used because I am going to Sabarimala and on the day of the pooja on the first of the Karthigai month (in the Tamil calender), it is a custom to use ‘mardhani’ (mehndi). My sister put it on him,” an agitated Ram told this website's newspaper.

Confirming the suspension, the school authorities said the boy had been sent home and asked to come back only after the “mehndi has faded out and that principal Ms Petal Theodore had only been doing her duty”.

“There should be discipline at any cost. We have our rules and the principal is being paid to run the school and school means discipline,” they said.

To justify their action, they cited the school handbook which states that boys should not wear long hair and girls should not wear gold ear-rings, nail polish, flowers or mehendi. And the last applied to boys as well.

Ram, on the other hand, says the action is too harsh particularly when the half-yearly exams are scheduled to begin from November 30. He has termed this as “a religious discrimination by a Christian school”. He has also charged that when he pleaded with the principal to revoke the suspension he was abused by her in front of his son.

A month back, about 100 girl students of a primary school in Pune were sent back to their homes when they came to school after applying henna, inviting angry reactions from their parents. Ram, meanwhile, has got his son admitted to another school.

SACHIN-PROFILE

Full Name:	Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Date of Birth:	April 24, 1973
Place of Birth:	Mumbai
Major Teams:	India, Mumbai
Batting Style:	Right -Hand Batsman
Bowling Style:	Right Arm Medium, Leg Break, Right Arm Off Break
ODI Debut :	India v Pakistan at Gujranwala, 2nd ODI, 1989/90
Test Debut :	India v Pakistan at Karachi, 1st Test, 1989/90
Height :	5'5
The first batsman to score 10,000 runs in one-day cricket, making the record in the third game of a five-match series against Australia on the 31st of March 2001. He reached the landmark when he scored 34 runs in his 266th match and 259th innings. Tendulkar, 27, in his amazing 12-year career, has scored a world record 28 hundreds and 50 half-centuries in his 10,000 runs. A genius without a doubt, this little master made his International debut in ODI’s and Tests at the age of 16 against Pakistan against the fiery pace of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He then went to England as a part of the national side, and has not looked back ever since. The name itself strikes terror in the hearts of bowlers all around the world. Hailed as the next master-blaster following the legacy of the great West Indian Vivian Richards, this man has every shot in the book, and can kill any attack in the world when in full swing. There is nothing this man cannot do.