Mumbai: The principal of Somiaya School, Vidyavihar, Parveen Shaikh (51), who was in the midst of a controversy over her social media posts relating to the developments in Gaza and domestic politics, was sacked on Tuesday.
Somaiya Vidyavihar, the managing trust of the school, said in a statement, that it terminated the services of Shaikh since her social media activities were "starkly misaligned with the values [cherished by it]" and to ensure that their "ethos of unity and inculsivity are not compromised". The principal, however, expressed her disquiet over the abrupt firing from the institution which she had served for 13 years.
The development comes a fortnight after OpIndia portal published an online article attacking Shaikh for 'liking' and 'reposting' various posts on X (previously Twitter) as well as for a few posts of her own.
These posts, which appeared over the past few years, cover a range of topics, including the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict, political figures such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Hijab ban in Karnataka, communal violence and the imprisonment of activist Umar Khalid. The portal accused her of endorsing "pro-Hamas, pro-Islamist, and anti-Hindu'' views.
After the appearance of article, Somaiya Vidyavihar, in a post on X, said that it didn't agree with "such sentiments" and found them to be of concern.
According to principal, the trust members had a meeting with her where they asked her to step down. Shaikh had however refused to leave, citing her 13 years of work at the premier institution.
Some of the parents came out in her support. The management later served a show-cause notice to Shaikh seeking her response, which was submitted by her on Monday.
Shaikh, who received an email announcing her termination on Tuesday evening, said that she will consult her lawyer to decide her future course of action. "Let me think this through," she said.
"OpIndia editor Nupur Sharma writes something about me, and my 13 years of service with the institution and 30 years of a career in education goes down the drain. This is what it has come to," she added.
The embattled principal had defended her views and social media activity and instead accused OpIndia of bias and unfairly targeting her. She said that her posts, likes, and comments, adhere to the nation’s "constitutional values of secularism and free speech" and align with "India’s historical support for the Palestinian cause".
