School stops Arabic classes after pressure from Hindu hardliners

Catholic primary school in India will also drop teaching Urdu out of fear of further harassment.

India:  A Catholic school in India has suspended teaching Arabic and Urdu, so to avoid further problems from Hindu hardliners who barged onto the school's premises July 30 to protest the teaching of these languages, reports the Times of India.

After meeting with parents and villagers Aug. 6, the management from St. Thomas Aided Higher Primary School, in a village near the southern city of Mangalore, decided to stop the language classes because of pressure from the Sri Rama Sena activists.

According to the media reports 50 Hindu hardliners invaded the school grounds and interrupted classes protesting that languages were been "forcibly" taught to students. Police has subsequently arrested 16 of the hardliners for trespassing.

Management says that the classes were offered to students to assist with their future employment prospects. Urdu and Arabic are languages that are usually associated with the Muslim community.

Source: UCAN