A bit of Gujarat next door: school bars Muslim couple’s Hindu grandson

After the death of her first husband, Gopal’s grandmother married Ahmad Ansari and changed her name to Saira Bi. ‘‘We were very glad to have him in Delhi where he could go to school and get a decent education’’, she told The Indian Express.

And Gopal repaid that faith. ‘‘He has always done well in school,’’ said a very-proud Ansari, showing off his report card for Class V in Arya Samaj Pathshala in Bhogal, where he stood first in class.

In February, however, the family was forced to shift to a resettlement colony in Bhalswa from the Nizamuddin slums. That’s when the problems began.

‘‘When we went to get him admitted to the local Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School in Libaspur, they told me, ‘‘You are a Muslim and this boy is a Hindu, you cannot bring him here’’’, said Ansari.

When Ansari asked what religion had to do with it, he was told to bring proof of the fact that he was indeed the boy’s guardian. He was also told to get the names of Gopal and his parents included in their ration card.

‘‘They never asked me for anything like this in the Nizamuddin school; I showed them his transfer certificate but they won’t listen,’’ said Ansari.

When this reporter visited the Libaspur school on Thursday, she saw first-hand the school’s reaction. ‘‘Oh miya, tum phir aa gaye, Hindu bachhe ko lekar; chalo bahar niklo, tum Muslim ho aur yeh baccha Hindu hai, proof lao (You have come again with the Hindu child, get out! You are a Muslim, this boy is a Hindu, give us some proof),’’ said principal B S Yadav.

When Ansari tried to explain his situation, Yadav and another teacher said: ‘‘Haan, haan, miya, hamne sun liya, tumhara naam to nahi badla, naa? (Yes, yes, we have heard your story. Have you changed your name?)’’

When asked why he had taken such a stand, Yadav said: ‘‘It is not about religion, we want to be sure this is genuine.’’ He said either an inclusion of the child and his parents’ name in the ration card or a letter from the local legislator would do. ‘‘We get so many bogus certificates, so we have to verify,’’ said Yadav.

However, education lawyer Ashok Aggarwal said that all that is needed to gain admission is just the transfer certificate from a previous school, which Gopal had.

The family have approached a local NGO, Kirandeep, for help, and they are considering appealing to the Delhi High Court.

For Gopal and his grandparents, the fuss is inexplicable. ‘‘We’ve never had problems with anybody,’’said Ansari, ‘‘He follows his religion and goes to the temple, we do ours. We don’t even force him to eat anything.’’

‘‘My friends have always been curious about my situation but I’ve never even been teased about it before’’ Gopal said.

‘‘I told the school authorities that they should be happy that being a Muslim, I was trying so hard to educate a Hindu boy. Instead, they are just creating problems,’’said Ansari.