Author: Manoj Nair
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: June 22, 2004
URL: http://web.mid-day.com/news/city/2004/june/86133.htm
Mohammad Anis Ahmed (15), a Muslim
student of Bharda New High School, an English language school in
Fort, wants to be allowed to grow a beard in deference to his religion.
But his school has made it clear
that the beard is a violation of its strict dress code and has told him
he can attend classes only after he has shaved off the beard.
Ahmed, a Standard X student, was
sent back from the school yesterday for flouting the dress code.
But he insists that growing a beard
is a basic principle of his religion. "I learn religion at home and the
Hadith (the book containing the sayings of Prophet Mohammed) prohibits
shaving off a beard," he says.
The school is run by a Parsi trust,
but 80 per cent of its students are Muslims. The 115-year-old boys' school
takes pride in the fact that 40 former city mayors figure on its alumni
list.
The school's principal Pooja Kumar
says if they give in to Ahmed's demand, it would set a precedent. "It is
likely there will be other demands that students should be allowed to wear
caps on religious days. We have a dress code and will not permit its violation,"
she stresses.
A teacher, P Fernando, says that
apart from Ahmed, a Hindu boy has also been asked to shave his beard. "This
school has cosmopolitan traditions. Students who want to wear overt religious
symbols can go elsewhere.
There are schools in the vicinity
that are run by Muslim trusts," she notes.
However, Ahmed's father, Anis Ahmed
Sheikh, who owns a shop in Crawford Market, says he will seek his solicitor's
advice on whether he can take legal recourse against the school. "The beard
is not very prominent," he insists.
Lawyer and former corporator Yusuf
Abrahani, who is supporting Ahmed, says: "Barring the boy for growing a
beard is a violation of his fundamental right. We have sent them (the school)
a legal notice."
He adds that there are judgements
from the Bombay High Court that support Ahmed's stand.
Raza Academy, a Muslim socio-cultural
organisation, has written to the school asking it to allow Ahmed to keep
his beard.
But the school says the student
needs help with his studies. "If he is to do well in his SSC exams, his
parents should not worry him with religion," says Kumar.
