How a school principal’s ‘speak in English’ directive led to an FIR in MP’s Guna

Most wouldn’t call it a crime to ask a student at an English-medium school to speak in English.

But a school principal’s usual directive to “speak in English” in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna led to a mob of ABVP activists to protest and barge into the school premises, force its principal to “apologise”, and file an FIR against her for “hurting religious sentiments” on Monday. 

The incident at Vandana Convent School – one of the oldest English medium schools at BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia’s bastion – occurred two days after local daily Patrika claimed that its principal Sister Catherine Vatolly “got angry and snatched the mic from a student for reciting a Sanskrit shloka or verse from Gita”. The ABVP demanded that the school be shut, or the students raise the “Jai Shri Ram” slogan in the school assembly every day. And the Guna District Education Officer CS Sisodia issued a show cause notice against the educational institute threatening “action”.      

The school, however, has alleged that the local daily published “fake news” without looking into the matter, and that it “promotes students to develop linguistic skills in all the other languages despite being an English medium school”. 

School says it was a ‘normal directive’

The principal had asked two students, newly-elected as house captains, to give a “proper speech” in English during the school assembly on July 15. Catherine gave the students four more days to “prepare” after one of them began his speech with a Sanskrit verse. 

School staffers told Newslaundry that it was a “normal directive”, and “not a scolding”.

Speaking to Newslaundry, Catherine said that she had asked four newly-elected house captains to prepare a motivational speech in English, two of whom were set to recite it on July 15. “One of them began his speech with a Sanskrit shloka. I thought he was giving his speech in Hindi, so I asked them to speak only in English. I asked twice, but I believe they couldn’t hear me and continued reciting the shloka. Then I approached one student, took the mic, and announced to the assembly that a speech should have an introduction, content, and conclusion. I gave them time until Saturday to prepare their speeches properly. After that, school activities continued as usual until Patrika published the misleading news.”

The news daily reportedly reached out to Catherine on Friday night about the incident, and despite taking her quote, “published the misleading news”. “My only intention was to ask students to give speeches in English. I want them to develop their English-speaking skills, learn English and get rid of stage fright. I have never hurt anyone’s religious sentiment nor will I do so because I respect all religions.”

She said that the ABVP activists protested for over two hours and wanted her to apologise “despite my explanation that my intention was to improve students’ language skills, not to offend anyone’s religious sentiments. But if anyone was hurt, I am sorry. When I said this, they were asking to say maaf kardo instead of sorry.”

The principal claimed that ABVP leader Saksham Dubey said he forced many schools to shut down and that the “Jai Shri Ram slogan should be recited by the students at the assembly everyday, and he would come to monitor the school’s activities”.  

The controversial report

The school also told DEO CS Sisodia that it has designated days for Hindi and English public speaking at its assembly, during which students recite different religious texts such as the Gita, Quran, Guru Granth Sahib, and Bible but in the designated language. “If a student speaks in a language not designated for that day, they are reminded to switch to the language designated for that day. It was pre-decided that students would give their speech in English on July 15.” 

Newslaundry reached out to Sisodia with queries on the matter. This report will be updated if they respond. 

Meanwhile, Patrika’s July 20 news report, headlined “Convent school main Hindi Bolne par bachhon ke hath se cheena mic (Mic was snatched from students for speaking Hindi in convent school)”, claimed that the principal said “shlokas of Gita will not be recited here”. 

Pravin Mishra, a journalist with Patrika, told Newslaundry that the news daily published the report after “some students approached us” and that they also “called up the principal of the school and published her version”.

Newslaundry reached out to the students of the school, including the house captains, but they refused to comment on the matter.     

However, the report published in Patrika didn’t carry all the details of the incident, including the protocol of the designated English and Hindi public speaking days at the school, and the principal’s prior instructions. Mishra said that he “was not aware of it. They [students] didn't inform me about that”. 

Peeyush Mishra, district coordinator of ABVP, who led the protest against the school, claimed that one of the students was punished by the principal to “write the entire speech again in English and give it again in assembly the next day. When we came to know about this issue we protested and demanded an apology. The principal has been involved in anti-national activities for the last many years. They have been humiliating the Hindu religion”. 

Staff says ‘neither scolded nor said anything in anger’  

A senior staffer of the school, on condition of anonymity, told Newslaundry that the principal had asked two class 11 students elected as captains to prepare a speech in English  for the school assembly on July 15. “But as one of them began their speech with a Sanskrit shloka or verse, the principal asked him to give the speech in English, as previously instructed. It was also the designated day to give an English speech.” 

The staff said that it was a “normal directive from the school principal” in an attempt to improve their English language skills. “None of us expected it to lead to an ABVP protest in the school and an FIR against the principal.” 

The school has alternate designated days for public speaking in English and Hindi during the assembly, said another staffer. He added that the principal “neither scolded the students, nor did she say anything in anger. She only asked them to give the speech in English and I don’t think it’s a crime to ask students to speak in English in an English medium school”.

A staff member claimed that subsequently, two police officials came to the school and informed them that “some groups were planning to protest and file a complaint against the school authority”. 

The school staff then took the matter to the offices of the district collector and the superintendent of police. “The collector was not in the office, but we met the SP, who told us that the ABVP was planning to protest against the school from 10 am on Monday.” 

He told Newslaundry that the police “assured us of protection. Around 11:30 am on Monday, about 80-100 ABVP members forcibly entered the school premises, and continued protesting till 2:30 pm. They forced sister Catherine to apologise before leaving. If the police had not been there, things could have escalated further.”

Newslaundry reached out to Guna SP Sanjeev Sinha with queries on the matter. But he refused to comment on it.

‘Ridiculous, absurd action,’ say alumni 

Around a dozen alumni of Vandana Convent School, who spoke to Newslaundry, condemned the ABVP’s action and the FIR against the school principal.

Harbeer Singh Sood, secretary of Guru Singh Sabha and member of the VCS’s first batch of students, said that he has been “connected with the school for 50 years” and in all this time, he has “never heard of any religious promotion at the school”. 

Sood added that “students from all faiths attend the school that respects every religion. This issue has been given a political angle, and an unfair FIR has been filed against the principal. The school had already responded appropriately to the DEO notice, so there was no need for the FIR.” 

He alleged that the police “haven’t investigated the matter properly and filed the FIR directly. The school has educated over three lakh students in the past 50 years, with more than 50,000 students now holding high positions. It’s completely unfair to accuse the principal and the school of offending religious sentiments.”

Rohit Rakhan, 41,  a senior software engineer at an MNC in Pune and former student of VCS, called the incident “ridiculous”. He said that VCS “has never tried to convert students or promote Christianity. It’s an English medium school, and there’s nothing wrong with asking kids to speak in English. The school wants them to improve their English which will help their future careers.” 

“When I was a student, we spoke Hindi, Sanskrit, English, and many other languages, and that’s still the case.”

Rajeev Dua, a scientific officer at SFSL under the Madhya Pradesh department of home, said that the teachers and sisters of VCS “work very hard to provide education. Without this school, many students in the town would have missed out on quality education and the chance to learn English, which is essential today”. 

“I graduated in 1978. VCS was set up in Guna in 1974, and was the first English medium school in the district. VCS alumni include doctors, police officers, engineers, scientists, and military personnel, with many working in the UK, USA, Europe, and Singapore. They are all grateful to VCS for their success. I know the school management has faith in all the religions.”

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