Indian teacher in Doha forced to quit over Modi caricature

Doha: A woman teacher at a prominent Indian school was forced to resign after she posted a derogatory caricature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on her Facebook account, a media report said on Thursday.

The caricature last week had triggered a huge outcry in a section of the Indian expatriate community here as some objected to it, saying the 'photoshop' work was insulting to the Prime Minister. The teacher, who was not identified, said the caricature was circulating on social media and she had just picked, shared and posted it on her Facebook account.

"I didn't create the caricature nor did I post it to insult Modi," The Peninsula quoted the teacher as saying.

"I just used it to protest against what has been happening back home."

The teacher was initially suspended for three days pending inquiry by the management, the paper said. Yesterday she was asked to put in her papers, which the teacher said she did. Her friends told the newspaper that they found the school's action shocking because India being a democratic country, its citizens enjoyed freedom of expression. However, contacted for comment, the management of MES Indian School said they had asked the teacher to quit since she used the school's name and logo with Modi's caricature.

"Being a teacher, she shouldn't have posted such a derogatory caricature on her Facebook account. A teacher is a role model for the entire society," said a senior official from the management.

The teacher said she didn't know how the school's name and logo appeared on her posting. The school official said that after the posting of the caricature by the teacher the school got calls from several parents.

Meanwhile, the Indian embassy here said it had received some complaints informing them about the teacher's Facebook posting and they forwarded it to the school management.

"Yes we had received complaints about it and we forwarded it to the school...It is a private school. We have no say in their matters. The decision to terminate the services of a teacher comes under school's authority," an embassy official said.