On Wednesday (15th May), a Hindu student was forced to remove his sacred thread (janaeu) before appearing in the Common University Entrance Examination (CUET) examination.
The disturbing incident took place at an exam centre located in Bhawanipur Anchalik College in the Bajali district of Assam. The victim was identified as Dhritiraj Basistha, who was accompanied by his mother to the exam centre.
As per reports, the Hindu student was told to remove his janaeu if he wanted to sit in the exam centre. While speaking about the matter, the mother of the victim said, “I was not allowed to enter the college to inform the higher authority.”
According to her, Dhritiraj Basistha was stopped at the gate of the Bhawanipur Anchalik College and the officials checked for his identity card. The victim was denied entry after they realised that he was wearing the sacred thread under this shirt.
The Hindu boy called his mother and said that the college officials told him to remove his janaeu. As per his mother, the college administration claimed that a metal object was detected in his janaeu.
“Without the sacred thread, he can’t eat, speak or practice his Faith. Our identity as a Brahmin is primary,” the woman told News Live. She also displayed the janaeu that her son was forced to remove.
Akhil Bharat Brahmin Front to take legal action, college denies allegations
The incident has created an upheaval in the area for hurting the religious sentiments of Dhritiraj Basistha. On learning about the matter, the Akhil Bharat Brahmin Front launched an agitation and vowed to take legal action against the Bhawanipur Anchalik College administration.
In the meantime, the college has denied coercing the Hindu boy into removing his janaeu.
The principal of the Bhawanipur Anchalik College, Manas Kumar Chakraborty, claimed that Dhritiraj Basistha was only asked to remove the metallic ring attached to his sacred thread and not the janaeu in its entirety.
“We were following the instructions of the NTA that clearly stated that any metallic item is not allowed inside the exam hall. As per the instructions, we asked the student to remove the ring from his sacred thread, but instead he removed the sacred thread and handed it over to his mother,” he alleged.
Manas Kumar Chakraborty also claimed to have instructed the victim to not remove his sacred thread but the latter did not comply to his directive.