Parents of a nine-year-old British Hindu boy have approached the UK high court after his primary school in London allegedly stopped him from wearing a tilak on his forehead, news agency PTI reported on Sunday.
The boy, who belongs to the Swaminarayan faith tradition, had been studying at Vicar’s Green Primary School in west London since 2021. However, the school raised concerns over the practice in late 2025, triggering a dispute that eventually led his parents to withdraw him from the institution and initiate legal proceedings.
“He had worn his Tilak-Chandlo to school for years without difficulty, and we never imagined that something so sacred to our family would become a source of distress,” they said. It raises important questions about religious freedom and equality in British education,” the lawyer representing the child said. He had worn the sacred religious marking, known as Tilak-Chandlo, to school for several years without any objection. His religious marking did not hurt anyone or prevent him from being a good pupil. “This case goes beyond one child or one school. The family has also alleged that after the school objected to the religious marking, staff repeatedly questioned the boy about his religious practices and restricted his participation in certain school activities. The school, however, has denied allegations of discrimination, saying it acted sensitively, recognised the family’s religious beliefs and offered alternative arrangements that the parents chose not to accept.