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In Mangalore School, Hindu Outfit 'Raid' Arabic Class To Stop 'Islamic Fundamentalism'

Are we safe?
Schoolgirls and schoolboys walking in the street, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
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Schoolgirls and schoolboys walking in the street, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

You know you are not safe when schools begin to get threats too.

On Saturday, a group of about 40 persons, reportedly of the Hindu outfit Sri Ram Sene 'raided' a government-aided higher primary school in Mangaluru, questioning why Arabic was being taught.

The school that is run by a religious minority institution was alleged to be indoctrinating the mostly Hindu pupils in "Islamic fundamentalism".

However, the school denied the allegation.

Melwyn Braggs, headmaster of the St Thomas Aided Higher Primary School, said the school was holding Arabic classes for its Class VI and VII students only because some of the parents had requested to improve their future job prospects in the Gulf.

"I'm a Christian, why should I encourage the teaching of Islamic fundamentalism in my school?" the headmaster told The Telegraph.

Braggs told The Hindu that the group barged into the classroom on Saturday morning and snatched notebooks from the students.

The school had reportedly been teaching German, French and Arabic to students for the last four years. The headmaster said that the class was completely optional.

"Only 40 of the 59 students in the two classes (VI and VII) have opted to learn Arabic," he said.

Three of the intruders were reportedly arrested on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Mangalore police commissioner has said that efforts were on to arrest the leaders of the plot.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.