On May, 31 Organiser reported a case from the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh where Hindu minor girls were seen wearing Hijab (a practice common to Islam) on a poster outside a private school. Organiser also found videos and pictures from the school prayers and events showing students reciting prayers like ‘Lab pe aai hai dua’ and wearing Hijab during the sports day events.
This was alarming hence, we also wrote a letter to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), asking action to be taken in the said matter. We drove his attention towards the prayers recited in the school and the mandatory scarf as the dress code.
Taking cognizance of the matter the NCPCR issued a letter to the district collector, the letter demanded details on the facts if the school had permission to allow hijabs as a dress code, the commission also found videos of students reciting religious prayers which are alarming, the authorities seem to breach article 28(3) of the Indian constitution and the funding received by the institution.
Notably, with prompt action, the administrator of the school Haji Mohammad Idris, wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of the state Shivraj Singh Chouhan, stating the scarf was never mandatory as a school uniform it was always optional, however, from now onwards, scarf or Hijab will not be a part of the school uniform for any girl studying at the school.
It is pertinent to mention that the Chief Minister of the state, Chouhan, took cognizance of the matter and said will never allow things like this in Madhya Pradesh ever. He Tweeted a video from an event and wrote, “What happened in Damoh’s school? Such activities will not work on the land of Madhya Pradesh, such schools will be closed.” (Find his Tweet here)
Find the suspension order here:
Sharing the letter by Haji Idris, Kanoongo wrote on Twitter, “It was not a scarf, it was a hijab, don’t spread lies, Haji Idris! The investigation is going on, today the team of the State Children’s Commission will reach Damoh, saying whatever is to be said, the drama of influencing the media and inciting public sentiments and gaining sympathy is not going to work.” (Find his Tweet here)
Members of Madhya Pradesh SCPCR Megha Pawar and Onkar Singh visited the school today and also met the parents. Sharing a picture from the visit Kanoongo wrote, “Contrary to the scientific theory of human evolution sequence of Charles Darwin, the orthodox Islamic theory of human origin is being taught to the children in this school. Action will be taken against the officials of the education department who ignored these serious issues while granting recognition to this school.
In order to influence the investigation being done by @CollectorDamoh on the instructions of the Chief Minister Shri @ChouhanShivraj ji, in the middle of the investigation Haji Idris is destroying the evidence by getting the building painted, in this regard @NCPCR_ notice should is being issued.” (find his Tweet here)
Notably, the school, Ganga–Jamna Higher Secondary School is an English medium private institution located in ward number–4 of the Futera area in Damoh district. The posters in circulation had names of meritorious students of the school, both girls and boys. Out of 18 mentioned students, three were boys and the rest were girls. Out of 15 girls, four were from Hindu and Jain communities. Shockingly, all these girls were seen wearing Hijab (a scarf covering their hair).
Organiser checked the Facebook and YouTube pages of the Ganga Jamna school and found several controversial stuff. Pictures of the students posted by teachers of the school show, that the girls are wearing Hijab even during the sports day. Some of them might be Muslims but not everyone. The yearly class photographs posted on Facebook show, the heads of these girls covered. Those who have not worn Hijabs have kept a dupatta on their heads.
The video clips of the events are available on the channel and these students are reciting prayers by Allama Iqbal such as Sare Jahan Se Accha and Lab Pe Aai Hai Dua. Notably, in these clips the girls can be seen wearing Hijab and starting their prayers with, Islamic greetings, ‘Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh’. (find the video clip here)
Earlier, the state Home Minister, Dr Narottam Mishra while speaking with media said, “In the matter of Hindu girls being shown in hijab in Ganga Jamuna School in Damoh, the District Education Officer and the local police officer investigated the matter but found nothing. However, in view of the seriousness of the matter, the Superintendent of Police has been instructed to thoroughly investigate the entire matter”.
Damoh Collector Mayank Agarwal Tweeted, “The information being spread by some people regarding a poster of Ganga Jamna School was found to be wrong by the station in-charge local Kotwali, and the District Education Officer and the inquiry committee submitted its report.” The SP Damoh also replied to the tweet that “the allegations were not proved on the investigation”. (find his Tweet here)
It is pertinent to mention that this is not the first time that Hindu activists have complained about the school and their forced religious practices.
Back in September 2021, the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad handed over a memorandum to the DM. They alleged that the students at Ganga Jamna school are forced to take the Madarsa kind of education. The girl students at the school were forced to wear Hijab whereas the boys were forced to offer Namaz. Inside the classroom, Quran Ayat’s were written in Arabic language and many such points were raised in the memorandum. However, no action was taken against the administration to date.
Organiser will keep updating this report with coming events and updates.
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