A Bangalore based school - New Horizon Public School - is facing a backlash after it sent out an email to its alumni network and issued a notice to parents of current students instructing them to change the name of the Gyanvapi mosque to Gyanvapi temple on Google Maps.
Several alumni of the New Horizon Pubic School located in Indiranagar area of Bangalore took to Twitter to express their anger and disappointment at the school and even posted screenshots of the email.
"Please update on Google map as a Gyanvapi Temple instead of gyanvapi mosque. You are requested to do it and ask our Hindu brothers and sisters to do it till Google update this changes," the email from the school reads. It goes on to give detailed instructions on how to change the name of Gyanvapi mosque on Google Maps and says, "write as Gyanvapi Temple and mention as Hindu Temple" and has a link to the mosque's location.
The email asks the recipient to forward it to others and carries the logo and name of the New Horizon Public School and ends with "NHPS."
Multiple calls to the school went unanswered on Tuesday.
An alumna Karhika Namboothiri shared the screenshot on her Twitter profile
Some alumni posted the screenshot on their Facebook profiles and the same shows the subject line of the email as - 'Gyanvapi Temple instead of gyanvapi mosque'.
BOOM spoke to Balasubramanian V, a banking professional whose daughter studies at the school. Balasubramanian said he got the same email as a notice on the school's mobile app for parents. He explained that the app allows access to event details, student details and has a section for recent notices issued by the school for parents.
"I saw the notice on the school app and was not okay with what they were asking parents to do. I am very rationally clear about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. And this is not," Balasubramanian said.
He added that while he understands what the school is trying to do, he does not agree to their actions. "If they feel entitled to do so, I am understanding of it but it is not justified. There have been other things in the past like asking parents to watch a particular movie. I have noticed them but let it go thinking it is an individual choice and children are smart enough to make their decisions. But sending such a notice asking parents to change the name of a place is rubbish," he said.
He also confirmed to BOOM that the school had not taken down the notice despite issuing a clarification from their Twitter account. "The notice is still on the school's app. They have not deleted it," said Balasubramanian.
A alumni Waseem Chisthy who graduated from the New Horizon Public School in 2001 said he had written an email to the Council for The Indian School Certificate Examinations which issues ICSE certification to schools. Chisthy said while he had not received the email, he knew of several of his friends who had received it. "I was an active student of the school and have helped build the brand that NHPS is today. The school owes me and other minorities who studied there an apology for sending out such a mail."
He added that several alumni are disappointed with the school and also written to the school demanding an explanation. "The school's motto is in pursuit of excellence but this is a move in pursuit of regression. People are sending their kids in to their hands and impressionable minds are being subject to such dangerous ideas. The email is not a mistake on the school's part as they claim. This is a calculated move what is more shocking is that the management is subscribing to this," Chisthy said.
As backlash increased, the school posted a statement on their Twitter account claiming the the email was sent without proper initial screening. The statement reads, "...reports of the email sent out about disrespecting certain religious sentiments have come to our notice and issue is being handled with the highest priority. We wish to clarify that the email was sent without proper screening procedures that is required of all our email communications."
However, the statement did not include an apology.
A Varanasi court on May 16, 2022, ordered sealing off a portion of the Gyanvapi mosque after Hindu plaintiffs in the case claimed that a Shivling was found in the complex of the mosque after a court mandated survey of the premises.