Students refuse to eat food cooked by Dalit woman, don’t pressurize them, says parents; school authorities in crisis

DEHRADUN: The government school in Uttarakhand, which sparked a controversy as a number of students refused to eat food prepared by a Dalit woman, has witnessed a similar incident once again. The school authorities had recently reappointed cook Sunita Devi, who was sacked in December following the controversy. With this, protests began once again.

The students are saying that they will not eat the food cooked by Sunita, said school principal Prem Singh. The mid-day meal was resumed in the school in last March. Champawat District Magistrate (DM) Narender Singh Bhandari and police officers had held an awareness meeting with the parents of the students, but to no avail. Even though the officials tried to set an example by eating from the school, the students did not heed to it.

“We warned them that the children could be expelled from the school. During the meeting on Thursday, the parents assured us that they will speak to their children about eating the food, but asked us not to put pressure on the students,” said the principal. From December 13 onwards, around 66 students have refused to eat meals cooked by Sunita.