Probe ordered into West Bengal school cooking and serving midday meals separately to students of different religions

Indian Express

a day ago

A primary school in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district has been cooking and serving midday meals separately to students of different religions for years — a practice now under official scrutiny.
At Kishoriganj Manmohanpur Primary School, located in Purbasthali I block about 150 km from Kolkata, meals are prepared by two separate cooks. The school uses separate utensils and kitchens, though on a single gas connection, and meals are served to students in separate classrooms based on their religion.
The school's present authorities and cooks claim the arrangement has been in place since 2000, when the midday meal scheme was introduced. The school has 72 students — 29 Muslims and 43 Hindus.
Once the issue came to the attention of the district administration, they ordered a probe, and the headmaster called a meeting of parents on Tuesday to address the situation.
'We have sent an enquiry team to the school. Action will be taken based on the report,' said Ayesha Rani, District Magistrate of Purba Bardhaman.
Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, headmaster Tapas Ghosh said: 'The students study together, sit in the same classroom, but the food is cooked and served separately. This has been the practice for years. I joined the school a year ago. I tried to intervene but failed. Today, I have called a meeting of parents and local panchayat members. We hope to resolve the issue.'
Cooks at the school confirmed the long-standing arrangement.
'They won't eat food cooked by me. I've been cooking for Muslim students since the midday meal scheme began in 2000. The utensils and plates used are separate. The headmaster tried to change things, but couldn't,' said Ranu Bibi, the cook assigned to Muslim students.
'I cook for the Hindu students. The gas connection is shared, but everything else — from kitchen space to utensils — is separate. It's disheartening, but what can we do?' said Sonali Majumder.
Former headmaster Govinda Bhadra, who served from 2002 to 2022, said the arrangement dates back to the early days of the scheme. 'Initially, only one cook was employed. When objections were raised by one community, another cook was hired. I tried several times to end the practice and even informed the Block Development Officer and school inspector. But no action was taken,' he said.
Local panchayat leaders said they were unaware of the practice and that they will speak to residents of the village.
'We were not informed of this. Now that we know, we will attend the meeting and ensure such a practice is stopped,' said Kanan Burman, Pradhan of Nasratpur Gram Panchayat, under which the school falls.
Mahbil Hussain Mondol, deputy pradhan of the same panchayat, added: 'This is unacceptable. No such practice exists in other schools. The village has a 60:40 Muslim-Hindu population ratio. We will take steps to ensure this ends.'
'I don't know when the practice started, but it is unwanted and should be stopped,' said Ganesh Gosain, a resident of the village.
Ravik Bhattacharya is the Chief of Bureau of The Indian Express, Kolkata. Over 20 years of experience in the media industry and covered politics, crime, major incidents and issues, apart from investigative stories in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Andaman Nicobar islands. Ravik won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2007 for political reporting.
Ravik holds a bachelor degree with English Hons from Scottish Church College under Calcutta University and a PG diploma in mass communication from Jadavpur University. Ravik started his career with The Asian Age and then moved to The Statesman, The Telegraph and Hindustan Times. ... Read More