Principal Of Mumbai’s Somaiya School 'Asked To Quit' Over Allegations Of ‘Hamas Sympathy’
Parveen Shaikh has clarified to Midday that she has not submitted her resignation yet and has no intention of doing so. As the Hamas-Israel war rages on, debate on the issue is ever more polarised.
Parveen Shaikh, the principal of Mumbai’s reputed Somaiya School, has reportedly been asked to resign by the school management after a report suggested that her activity on social media platform X (likes and comments) showcased her “support for Hamas” amid the ongoing Hamas-Israel war. However, she clarified to Midday that she has not submitted her resignation yet and has no intention of doing so.
According to a report in the daily, Shaikh, who has been associated with the school for over 12 years, was asked to resign after news portal OpIndia accused her of being a Hamas sympathiser in a news report.
The report claimed she liked posts by Sulaiman Ahmed, “a man who regularly runs propaganda against Hindus and India”. Shaikh, the report added, also reportedly liked a post by Jackson Hinkle, who was addressed by the news portal as an “anti-semite and fake news peddler”.
OpIndia cited a post by Hinkle where he referred to the death of the children and grandchildren of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as “martyrdom”, and noted that Shaikh had liked the post.
Reacting to the controversy, Shaikh told Midday: “The news portal that published the article about me is reputed for its bias against the secular constitutional ethos and the Palestinian cause. Those who have trolled me from its followers likely share the same bias.”
She said the article was published by the news portal on April 25, and the management convened a meeting the next day to address the allegations.
“During the meeting, they expressed disappointment with the content of the OpIndia article and conveyed that, despite recognising my hard work and contributions to Somaiya School, they could no longer continue our association,” she told Midday in an email interview.
Shaikh added that the management told her that it was a difficult decision for them but it was necessary due to mounting pressure on them to act.
“In the subsequent days, both covert and overt pressures from management representatives were evident, aiming to coerce my resignation,” she added.
However, Shaikh said she has been receiving support from her friends, students, parents, and social media users, and referred to them as her “beacon of hope and strength”.
The allegations against her, she added, are “far from the truth”.
Indian-Origin Princeton Student Arrested Over Pro-Palestine Protests
Pro-Palestine protests have rocked top US universities, with thousands of students holding campus demonstrations against the Israeli military operation in Gaza. Israel’s onslaught, which is believed to have killed thousands in Gaza, came after Hamas attacked southern border communities in Israel on October 7 last year, killing over 1,200 people and abducting dozens.
In April, Tamil Nadu-born Achinthya Sivalingan, a student at Princeton University, was arrested along with another student in connection with a protest described as unauthorised.
She was arrested after protesters set up tents for a pro-Palestine encampment in Princeton’s courtyard on April 25, according to Princeton Alumni Weekly.
University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill said the two students were apprehended for trespassing and were “barred from the campus with immediate effect”. She also added that the tents on the campus were against the university’s policy.
Sivalingam is pursuing a Master’s in Public Affairs in International Development.
IIT Bombay Students Accuse Professor Of Supporting Palestinian Terrorist
In November 2023, several students of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay filed a complaint against a professor and guest professor, alleging that they spoke in support of “Palestinian terrorists” during a virtual lecture.
Through the complaint, the students sought action against the professor and speaker, adding that the former had used her position “inappropriately” to invite a “radical leftist” to her coursework lecture.
Professor Sharmistha Saha of IIT-Bombay’s Humanities and Social Sciences department invited guest speaker Sudhanva Deshpande to address an event for a course titled Performance Theory & Praxis.
During the lecture, the students alleged, Deshpande sought to glorify Palestinian terrorists Ghassan Kanfani and Zakaria Zubeidi and defended their “armed rebellion”.
She also admitted to meeting Palestinian terrorist Zubeidi, who is known for his association with the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, designated a terrorist entity by various international organisations and governments, the students wrote in their letter, as reported by India Today.
India Bars Pro-Palestine Protests In Kashmir: Report
A report published by the Associated Press stated that Indian authorities had barred all sorts of pro-Palestine solidarity protests in Kashmir and asked Muslims to avoid mentioning the Israel-Hamas conflict in their sermons.
Saying these restrictions stemmed from India’s “efforts to curb protests which could turn into demands seeking the end of New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir”, the report claimed the bar showcased India’s changing foreign policy under PM Modi’s rule.
India has maintained close ties with both Israel and Palestine and, as the war broke out, it has walked a tightrope and backed a two-state solution to resolve the decades-old conflict. It has condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas, while also calling for international humanitarian law to be upheld in all circumstances while pointing to the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the large civilian toll of the conflict.
Indian-Origin Doctor Suspended In Bahrain Over Anti-Palestine Tweets
Last year, an Indian-origin doctor working in Bahrain was fired for anti-Palestine comments on social media. Dr Sunil Rao had reportedly posted a series of posts on X where he expressed his support for Israel in the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
Following this, the Royal Bahrain Hospital terminated his employment with immediate effect, calling his posts “offensive to our society”.
The hospital also took legal action against Rao, who worked there as a specialist in Internal Medicine.
Rao, who has 20 years of experience and has been living in Bahrain for over 10 years, subsequently issued an apology on social media, acknowledging the insensitivity in his statements.
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