Kasaragod: The Kerala High Court on Thursday declined to stay the suspension of Kasaragod teacher Guruprasad Rai, who is facing departmental proceedings over a quiz question on V D Savarkar, and directed the government to explain the “specific reasons” for the action.
Justice Viju Abraham issued the direction to the Government Pleader while considering a writ petition filed by Rai, a teacher at Aided Upper Primary School, Pallathadka, in Badiadka panchayat. The court posted the case for further hearing on August 17.
Rai was placed under suspension pending an inquiry after a quiz question on Hindutva ideologue Savarkar, prepared for a ‘Freedom Quiz’ competition, triggered a political controversy in the state.
The teacher had approached the High Court seeking to stay the August 9 letter issued by the Director of General Education to the Kasaragod Deputy Director of Education (DDE) directing his suspension, the DDE’s suspension order issued the same day, and the charge memo issued by the school manager, besides all further proceedings arising from them.
The court, however, did not grant an interim stay on Thursday.
On August 6, the Social Science Club of the Kumbla education sub-district conducted the Freedom Quiz as part of the 80th Independence Day celebration for schools in the Kumbla and Manjeshwar education sub-districts of Kasaragod. One of the questions asked: “Who was the freedom fighter who received the harshest punishment from the British?” The answer key identified Savarkar as the correct answer.
The question drew sharp criticism from the UDF and CPM, which accused the teacher of distorting the history of India’s freedom struggle and pushing an RSS agenda among schoolchildren.
Following complaints, particularly from Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf, General Education Minister N Samsudheen ordered an inquiry.
The inquiry conducted by Kasaragod DDE Rafeeq concluded that the question was misleading and recommended action against those responsible for preparing the questionnaire.
Rafeeq said around three teachers were involved in setting the questions for the primary section under the leadership of Guruprasad Rai, who is serving as secretary of the Social Science Club in the Kumbla education sub-district.
Based on the findings, the Director of General Education Snehil Kumar Singh directed the DDE to suspend Rai on August 9, a Sunday. When Minister Samsudheen visited Kasaragod on August 10, he said the inquiry was still underway and that other teachers would also face action if they were found to have been involved in setting the question.
The BJP has meanwhile rallied behind Rai, arguing that the controversy arose from the wording of the question rather than any deliberate attempt to distort history. BJP district president M L Ashwini said the teacher intended to refer to Savarkar’s long imprisonment in the Andamans but incorrectly framed the question as asking who received the “harshest punishment” from the British.
