On Tuesday, several Hindu activists and BJP workers threw ink on District Education Officer SK Mishra for allegedly shielding and giving clean chit to the Ganga Jamuna school. The school is accused of making girl students, even Hindus and Jains, wear hijabs on the school premises. The BJP workers protested saying that the Officer had taken money from the school and had made an attempt to close the case.
According to the Nai Duniya report, BJP leader Amit Bajaj and Monty Raikwar threw ink on the officer while the latter was leaving his office in a car. The video of the incident is making rounds on social media.
Damoh: हिजाब मामले में गंगा जमुना स्कूल को क्लीन चिट देने वाले जिला शिक्षा अधिकारी का लोगों ने मुँह काला कर दिया। https://t.co/3gfl0czV9w pic.twitter.com/zLBFjfLpdt
— BALA (@erbmjha) June 6, 2023
BJP leader Amit Bajaj, while talking to media, said that the officer had caused insult to the sentiments of Hindus. “He took money from the school and tried to close this controversial matter. He has always shielded such matters,” he alleged.
The controversy in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, erupted when Hindu and Jain girls were seen wearing hijabs on the posters of meritorious students from a private school named Ganga Jamuna School. The school administrator Haji Mohammad Idris then tried to mislead the matter calming that the students were wearing scarves and not hijabs.
The DM also dismissed the assertions after a probe, claiming that they were simply rumours and that there was nothing untoward discovered during the first inquiries.
गंगा जमुना स्कूल के एक पोस्टर को लेकर कुछ लोगों द्वारा फैलायी जा रही जानकारी को लेकर थाना प्रभारी कोतवाली और जिला शिक्षा अधिकारी से जाँच कराने पर तथ्य ग़लत पाये गये
— Collector Damoh (@CollectorDamoh) May 30, 2023
जांच समिति ने अपनी रिपोर्ट प्रस्तुत की@ChouhanShivraj @mohdept @JansamparkMP
Taking cognizance of the matter, NCPCR’s Priyank Kanoongo issued a notice on May 31 to the District Magistrate (DM) demanding an action report in a week.
मध्यप्रदेश के दमोह ज़िले में एक स्कूल द्वारा हिंदू और अन्य ग़ैर मुस्लिम बच्चियों को स्कूल यूनीफ़ॉर्म के नाम पर जबरन बुर्का व हिजाब पहनाये जाने की शिकायत प्राप्त हुई है।
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) May 30, 2023
इसका संज्ञान लिया जा रहा है एवं आवश्यक कार्यवाही हेतु @CollectorDamoh व पुलिस अधीक्षक दमोह को निर्देश प्रेषित…
According to several Hindu organizations that have been long protesting against the school, the pupils were taught as if the school was a Madrasa. Hindu girls were made to wear hijab and boys were instructed how to recite namaz. Several school photos of students uploaded by teachers on Facebook and Instagram also revealed that the females were donning the hijabs on sports day and not all of them doing so belonged to the Muslim community.
Later, an exclusive report by the Organizer also indicated that Ayats and lessons from the Quran have been imprinted on every wall of the school. The academic registers and the identity cards of the minor girl students also showed them wearing hijabs. Moreover, the students at the schools had been taught to greet the teachers with ‘Assalam Walikum..’ and not Good Morning.
The students at the school were also asked to recite three Islamic prayers followed by the National Anthem during the assembly every day. The prayer included ‘Lab pe aati hai dua..’ by Allama Muhammad Iqbal who had advocated the formation of a separate nation for Muslims in the form of Pakistan in 1930.
The report further mentions that the school provided Madarsa-type education even to kindergarten students, as confirmed by SCPCR member Onkar Singh. Questions like “What are the five pillars of Islam, what is the holy book of Islam, where is Allah, etc,” were found included in the kid’s booklet. Further, not only the students but teachers were also mandated to follow the Islamic practices on the school premises. Three of the school teachers, 2 Hindus and 1 Jain have converted to Islam post their appointment for the job at the school.
Some questions from the KG booklet are:
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) June 5, 2023
Q. What are the 5 pillars of Islam?
A. Kalma, Namaz, Roaza, Zakat & Haj
Q. Who are you?
A. I am a Muslim.
Q. Where is Allah?
A. Allah is everywhere.
Q. Which is the holy book of Muslims?
A. Quran
Etc. More details in my report soon.
Reportedly, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan happened to take cognisance of the event and said will never allow things like this in Madhya Pradesh ever. He tweeted, “What happened in Damoh’s school? Such activities will not work on the land of Madhya Pradesh, such schools will be closed.” Also, the registration of the school has been cancelled by the state.
दमोह के स्कूल में जो हुआ….
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) June 2, 2023
मध्यप्रदेश की धरती पर ऐसी हरकतें नहीं चलेंगी, ऐसे स्कूल बंद कर दिये जाएंगे। pic.twitter.com/mVaFqVwCq2
The SCPCR members also visited the school and found that out of 1200 students, around 350 are Hindus and Jains, and the girls belonging to this community are asked to wear hijabs. Further probe into the case is underway.
