Madan Mohan Das, a follower of the Hindu faith, taught at the Dhanmondi Government Boys High School from the year 2010. On July 26, 2011, he allegedly made disparaging remarks about the Islamic Prophet's pilgrimage and his numerous wives at a teachers' meeting that infuriated many teachers, students and parents.

The comments led to severe protests around the city and at the school, where protesters ransacked the office building, broke flower pots and vandalized the garden.

Ministry steps in

Bangladeshi Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told journalists, "when we heard the news, we contacted the school authority. I advised them to inform the education board. I also talked to the director general of the education board myself and asked him to get the situation under control as soon as possible."

The school's Vice Principal Ms. Rowshan Ara Akhter arrived right after the protesters gathered on the school premises and promised them that action would be taken. "We have been receiving complaints about this teacher from colleagues, students and parents. We have asked the education minister, the director general of the education board to take necessary steps to solve the problem,'' Akhter said.

Das is reported to have made remarks considered insulting about Islam on previous occasions, allegedly topping them off by taunting his fellow colleagues, saying, "there is nothing you can do to me."

Not a lone incident

Disciplinary action was taken against Das; he was transferred to a remote school in the country’s northern region soon after offending fellow teachers, students and parents. Yet protesters demanded the disciplinary action was not punishment enough and that he instead be immediately suspended from teaching. Madan Mohan Das was suspended last Sunday.

Das is the second Hindu teacher in two weeks to be removed from his post after alleged remarks about Muhammad triggered street protests in the capital Dhaka. The English language teacher Shankar Biswas was sacked for making similar remarks at his school in the southern district of Gopalganj. Last year Shanker Bishwas Mandal, a school teacher at G.T. Pilot High School, had also allegedly made comments about the Prophet's beard and compared him with a goat before being forced to resign. About 90 percent of Bangladesh's 142 million people are Muslims, and religious issues often erupt into unrest.

Author: Marina Joarder (AFP, UNB)
Editor: Sarah Berning