Green uniforms for Muslims, saffron for Hindus, In Ahmedabad schools

[Devil Soul]

In Ahmedabad schools, green uniforms for Muslims, saffron for Hindus
By Web Desk
Published: April 15, 2015

PHOTOS: JAVED RAJA

AHMEDABAD: The irony hasn’t escaped two Indian schools in Ahmedabad district, where Muslim and Hindu students are distinguished by their ‘uniforms’.

Muslim students are made to wear green uniforms while their Hindu classmates adorn saffron uniforms.

PHOTO: JAVED RAJA

Shahpur Public School and Dani Limda Public School are also unique for being the only English medium schools in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

The uniforms at the Shahpur School, where most of the students are Hindu, are saffron-coloured, while the uniforms the Dani Limda school, where almost all the students are Muslim, are green.

The other 454 schools run by AMC, all non-English-medium, have the same blue-and-white uniform.

PHOTO: JAVED RAJA

School administration, however, has said the decision to use the two colours was taken without any prejudice. “The selection of green was a random decision and has nothing to do with any community. We had other options, of pink and blue, too but, keeping in mind the suitability to children, green was finalised,” AMC School Board Chairman Jagdish Bhavsar said.

He termed the selection of saffron for the Shahpur school as a “non-partisan decision” too, taken without any “prejudice or preference” towards a community or organisation.

More than 98% of the students at Dani Limda Public School, located in the middle of the Muslim-majority Kanubhai slum in Dani Limda village, are Muslim.

At Shahpur Public School, more than 95% students are Hindu.

Many took to Twitter to express grief over the discrimination faced by the students and how they were being divided by religion.

 

[Devil Soul]

Divided colours of Ahmedabad: Saffron uniform for Hindu kids, green for Muslim

• 
  Students from Shahpur Public School. (Source: IE photo by Javed Raja)
  Written by Ritu Sharma | Ahmedabad | Updated: April 14, 2015 3:36 am
  Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s Shahpur Public School and Dani Limda Public School are unique for being its only English-medium schools. They also have another distinction.
  
  While the uniform at Shahpur school where most of the students are Hindus is saffron-coloured, the Dani Limda school where almost all the students are Muslims has a green uniform.
  
  The other 454 schools run by AMC, all non-English-medium, have the same blue-and-white uniform.
  
  “The selection of green (as uniform for the Dani Limda school) was a random decision and has nothing to do with any community. We had other options, of pink and blue, too but, keeping in mind the suitability to children, green was finalised,” AMC School Board Chairman Jagdish Bhavsar said.
  
  He termed the selection of saffron for the Shahpur school as a “non-partisan decision” too, taken without any “prejudice or preference” towards a community or organisation.
  
  Dani Limda Public School in Ahmedabad. (Source: IE photo by Javed Raja)
  Asked if the colour choices had anything to do with the religion of the students, Bhavsar said, “There is no such thing about communities and colours associated with them.”
  
  More than 98 per cent of the students at Dani Limda Public School, located in the middle of the Muslim-majority Kanubhai ni chali slum in Dani Limda village, are Muslims. At Shahpur Public School, more than 95 per cent students are Hindus.
  
  AMC introduced the English-medium schools with the hope of containing declining enrolment in municipal schools. Both the Shahpur school, opened in June 2013, and Dani Limda, opened last year, were till Class I initially, with classes added every subsequent year. Beginning this academic year, the Dani Limda school is till Class II and the Shahpur one till Class III.
  
  The Shahpur school uniform, comprising a saffron shirt and shorts, incidentally is sponsored by a “social organistation” called the Shahpur Seva Sangh, of which Bhavsar himself is a member. Its president is a former BJP corporator of Shahpur ward, Atul Bhavsar.
  
  “This sangh works for education and social causes. Rotary Club and Sharda Trust have also donated uniforms for schools and this time we have requested the Swaminarayan sect to do so too,” said Jagdish Bhavsar.
  
  In case of Dani Limda Public School, money for uniforms has been collected from local donors. It had no uniform till six months after its start, and the decision to have a green uniform was taken in December 2014.
  
  On Republic Day this year, the AMC School Board started distributing the new uniforms, comprising a green T-shirt and black shorts. Recently, the final lot of uniforms was distributed, barring one student of Class I who is expected to receive it soon.
  
  “A factory owner in Narol area, a businessman known to us and involved in charity work, and a few parents sponsored 10 uniforms each. Two Muslim teachers of a Gujarati-medium school running in the morning shift on the same premises gave Rs 2,000 each,” said Principal Kalpana Jadav.
  
  A school teacher and administrator Vaishali Parmar at the Dani Limda school said they were dependent on donations for uniforms as the school does not have a District Information System for Education (DISE) code that is mandatory to get scholarships or grants.
  
  Shah Bano Javed Pathan, both of whose children are enrolled in Dani Limda Public School, says she has no problem with the colour of the uniform. “As the school is different from the remaining municipal schools, the uniform stands out,” she said.
  
  Shahpur Public School, inaugurated by Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama on June 6, 2013, has had a saffron uniform since the beginning. The school building is called ‘Prahlad Patel Shikshan Sankool’ after the BJP leader who fought elections from Shahpur in 1980 and who taught at Ahmedabad’s M N Shukla College of Education.
  
  Said Shahpur Public School Principal Rekha Desai, “At present, the school strength is 233. Out of this, more than 95 per cent are Hindus from lower middle class while less than 5 per cent are from other communities such as Muslims, Jains and Marwaris.”
  
  First Published on: April 14, 201512:17 am
• Divided colours of Ahmedabad: Saffron uniform for Hindu kids, green for Muslim | The Indian Express

People commenting are saying these are 2 diff schools......

 

[ArsalanKhan21]

Reminds of Nazis forcing all Jews to wear Yellow Star. The Hindutva lunatics mob in Gujarat had government printout that indicated Muslim homes and businesses that were target and destroyed. Now Muslim children are being singled out. What about Sikh and Christan children ?

 

[Georgeclark]

Surely some actions needs to be taken

 

[Erhabi]

Modi k aane k baad se India din ba din chootiya hota ja raha hai.....Good

 

[Kompromat]

Welcome to the Hindutva Reich!

 

[Areesh]

Modi k aane k baad se India din ba din chootiya hota ja raha hai.....Good

Nahi yaar pehlai bhi ch**tye thai. Isi liye to Modi ko PM banaya hai.

 

[Cheetah786]

 

[Indus Falcon]

Wow fascism taking over, how disgusting!!!

 

[Donatello]

Start them young.

 

[livingdead]

wtf... is this really happening.

 

[Indus Falcon]

wtf... is this really happening.

Well we did predict that the Hindutva's would go nuts once Modi came into power. Here is your evidence!!

 

[livingdead]

Well we did predict that the Hindutva's would go nuts once Modi came into power. Here is your evidence!!

he got another 4 years to fulfil his promise.. otherwise he will be kicked out just like the bjp govt 10 years ago.

 

[The Sultan Erdogan]

Wtf?!

Muslims in India must arm themselves to teeth. Fascism of hindus is going viral.

 

[Kompromat]

Wtf?!

Muslims in India must arm themselves to teeth. Fascism of hindus is going viral.

They thought Nehru wasn't lying, they thought Secularism will save them, they thought Hindus were their friend. It's time to pay, some mistakes are fatal.