Indian school loses recognition, faces action over scarf issue

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) – A school in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh faced administrative action and was de-recognized for allegedly forcing non-Muslim girls to wear hijabs or headscarves.

State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, while talking to journalists in the capital Bhopal on Wednesday, warned that action will continue against the school for forcing non-Muslim girls to wear hijab and those responsible will be arrested soon.

The administration in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh demolished on Tuesday a part of the school which was illegally constructed. The demolition work will continue on Wednesday, said the minister.

The school has been de-recognized and the principal along with two others have been arrested.

Ganga-Jamna school in Damoh was mired in a controversy after a poster last month celebrating the school's success in school exams was put up outside the premises, showing non-Muslim students in headscarves.

This triggered off a series of protests by right-wing groups, who raised allegations of religious conversion.

A local official, requesting anonymity, told Anadolu that after the statements of three students, a case has been registered against 10 members of the school management committee.

According to the official, there were allegations of religious conversion in the school. However, no case has been registered so far as officials are still investigating this matter. Some non-Muslim students also alleged that they were forced to perform the religious rituals of Muslims.

- Special probe team

Damoh District Collector Mayank Agrawal told Anadolu that a special team has been formed to probe the issue.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier warned that no one would be allowed to force students to wear hijab or different dress in schools.

"We will take strict action if we find someone doing it," he said.

The school has been running since 2010. After the cases came to the fore, the school's president, Mohammad Idris, told reporters that no rule or dress was imposed forcefully on any student.

He said a provision was made in the school uniform that girl students could voluntarily wear the scarf. Idris is absconding now.

A parent of a Muslim student requesting anonymity said that the issue has been raised in view of the elections to be held in the state later this year.

“Students from all communities were getting education in the school. They just want to target the school as it is being run by a Muslim in order to please the majority community,” the parent told Anadolu.

Elections are due in Madhya Pradesh at the end of this year. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hoping to return to power once again.

Last year, female Muslim students in the southern state of Karnataka were barred from entering their classrooms at a government college in the Udupi district because they were wearing hijabs. Subsequently, the issue spread to other institutions in Karnataka, where Muslim girls were barred from wearing hijabs.

The matter reached the Supreme Court, which in last October delivered a split judgment on a ban imposed by educational institutions on wearing headscarves inside educational premises. The matter is still pending in the apex court.