Jammu And Kashmir Teacher Suspended Over Post "Critical" Of Government

A teacher of a government school in Jammu and Kashmir has been suspended for a social media post "critical" of the government.

Joginder Singh, a schoolteacher in Ramban district, allegedly posted some comments on his Facebook page criticising the Union Territory administration's policies.

The action was taken a week after the administration warned government employees to avoid criticising the government on social media.

According to an order issued by the administration, Mr Singh was suspended for violating government directions "regarding criticism of policies" on social media platforms.

Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta had warned employees last week against criticising its policies on social media.

Mr Mehta had asked all administrative secretaries to monitor social media activities of their employees and identify those criticising or commenting adversely on policies and achievements of the government.

The administration, however, has not made a specific mention of its policies that were criticised by the suspended teacher.

According to the order, it was found after a "proper scrutiny" that the teacher has been running four Facebook pages. On two pages, he has given his designation as a "teacher". On the other two, he called himself a "socio-political activist".

"It has been found that the said teacher has posted various posts criticizing and commenting adversely about the government policies on his Facebook page. He has concealed his identity (in two Facebook accounts) and made fake Facebook ID with a profession as socio-political activist and not a government Teacher," said the order by the Ramban Deputy Commissioner Musarrat ul Islam.

Mr Islam said the teacher will remain attached to the office of the Ramban Chief Education Officer till the investigation is complete. The administration has asked the additional district development commissioner to look into the matter.

The order also said the government withheld Mr Singh's salary in 2020 for allegedly misusing social media.

Since 2019, the Union Territory's administration has launched a crackdown on "misuse" of social. Many have been charged under the anti-terror law UAPA over their social media posts.

In 2021, the Jammu and Kashmir administration told employees to give details of their social media accounts for police verification.