New Delhi: In 2025, Bharat’s educational ecosystem was marked by a troubling series of incidents that raised profound concerns about institutional neutrality, constitutional freedoms, and the protection of civilisational values within schools, colleges, and examination systems.
These were not isolated episodes or momentary controversies. Taken together, they revealed a nationwide pattern spanning from kindergartens to premier institutions, where students’ religious identities, practices, and freedoms were repeatedly subjected to scrutiny, restriction, or coercion. Over the course of the year, numerous cases came to light in which students were penalised, humiliated, or even physically assaulted for openly expressing their Hindu or Sikh religious identity.
In Udaipur, Rajasthan, St Gregory’s School issued a transfer certificate to a Class 12 Sikh student for wearing a kara, following earlier disputes over the application of tilak and the wearing of kalava. In Chhattisgarh, a nursery student was beaten and had her mouth taped shut for greeting others with “Radhe Radhe,” an incident that eventually led to the arrest of the school principal.
In Munger, Bihar, more than 30 students were reportedly beaten at a government school for wearing kalava. At a Karnataka CET examination centre, students were compelled to remove their janivara, sparking widespread protests across the state.
Viewed collectively, these incidents point to a disturbing trend: the effective criminalisation of indigenous religious symbols, often justified under the pretext of discipline, neutrality, or uniformity.
Allegations of forced or covert religious instruction
Equally troubling were reports suggesting that religious instruction was being imparted to non-consenting students, including minors, raising serious concerns about consent, parental rights, and institutional oversight.
In Rajouri, J&K, a UKG Hindu girl was reportedly taught the Kalma at a private school. In Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, parents alleged that Hindu students were compelled to recite Islamic prayers or assume namaz-like postures during school hours. A viral video from Uttarakhand further intensified public concern, showing children allegedly reciting Islamic prayers during a morning assembly, an incident that triggered statewide protests and widespread outrage.
While education departments in several states ordered inquiries and dismissed some teachers in response, the repeated emergence of such cases across diverse regions points to deeper, systemic lapses within the education system rather than isolated administrative failures.
Missionary overreach and conversion allegations
Government schools were not immune to controversy. In Bilawar Kala village, Madhya Pradesh, students accused a teacher of preaching Christianity, pressuring tribal students to abandon Hindu customs, and threatening to issue transfer certificates for non-compliance. The allegations drew the attention of both civil society organisations and district authorities.
These incidents reignited long-standing concerns about missionary influence within publicly funded educational institutions, particularly in tribal and rural regions where students may be more vulnerable to coercion or social pressure.
Even elite institutions were not immune to allegations of ideological imbalance. At IIT Gandhinagar, PhD research themes proposed within the Humanities Department sparked accusations of academic bias and the promotion of Islamic theology. The controversy deepened when the administration reportedly cautioned students against sharing internal communications, raising concerns about transparency and academic freedom.
Similarly, Jadavpur University faced strong backlash after denying permission for Ram Navami celebrations while allowing an Iftar event on campus. The decision intensified allegations of selective secularism and the uneven application of institutional policies.
One of the most serious revelations emerged from Haryana, where investigators alleged that terror-linked funds were used to establish a madrasa near Al-Falah University. The case underscored how lapses in regulatory oversight can allow national security concerns to intersect dangerously with educational spaces.
Several incidents, including the denial of entry to students wearing Ayyappa mala, black attire during Sabarimala vratham, or even mehndi, were defended by institutions as matters of uniform discipline. However, the selective enforcement of such rules, often coinciding with Hindu religious observances, has significantly eroded public trust and raised questions about whether “uniformity” is being invoked as a pretext to curtail specific forms of religious expression.
An incident in South Africa, where a Hindu student’s sacred thread was reportedly cut by a teacher, underscored that these challenges are not confined to Bharat alone. Rather, they reflect a broader global struggle faced by Indic communities in asserting religious dignity and cultural identity within modern educational frameworks.
Taken together, the incidents of 2025 reveal a systemic erosion of religious neutrality in education. Although inquiries and official assurances followed many of these controversies, their persistence and wide geographical spread point to the absence of clear, consistent, and enforceable guidelines that protect students’ constitutional rights without bias or selectivity.
