Clarion India
NEW DELHI – A complaint was filed with the Dehradun district collector’s office in Uttarakhand by a Hindu couple who lamented that their religious sentiments were “hurt” after their child addressed them as Ammi-Abbu (an Urdu reference to Mother -Father).
According to the parents, the child was “influenced” by a poem called ‘Too big to small’ by Lavanya Karthik.
The poem talks about a little girl named Shanu who is confused if she is old enough or still small.
For example, some of the lines go,
“I can’t lift you up Shanu!’ says Ammi.
“You are too big!”
“You can’t walk to school alone, Shanu!” says Abbu.
“You are too small.”
Shanu has similar conversations with her grandfather (addressed as Dadu) and grandmother (addressed as Dadi).
The father of the child, Manish Mittal, who is also the plaintiff, complained that after reading the poem his child started addressing him as Abbu.
According to the Times of India, District Magistrate Sonika has directed the education officer to investigate the matter and take appropriate action, as per reports. Bansidhar Tiwari, DG, School Education, Uttarakhand, said that all parties concerned would be heard and action would be taken after the investigation.