On Tuesday (November 22), a scuffle broke out between two groups of students over wearing religious attire to school. The incident took place at the Dhulagori Adarsha Vidyalaya in Sankrail in Howrah city of West Bengal.
As per reports, some female Muslim students wore hijabs to school on the previous day and were allegedly allowed entry by the school authorities. This irked the Hindu students of the educational institute, who protested against the preferential treatment meted out to the Muslim students.
On Tuesday, five Hindu students wore saffron scarves (Namabali) and assembled near the school gate. They demanded entry into the classrooms in line with the decision of the school to entertain Hijabi girls.
Violence breaks out at a school in #Howrah after a few students entered the school wearing a hijab.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 23, 2022
Some Hindu students then protested, after they weren’t permitted to enter the school wearing saffron shawls.
Police, RAF personnel deployed to control the situation. pic.twitter.com/dj1O2mepAj
The protesting students found support from other Hindu classmates who questioned the discriminatory attitude of the authorities. Meanwhile, a clash broke out between pro-Hijab and pro-Namabali students who were present on the campus.
Reportedly, they threw blows at each other and vandalised the school property. When the teachers failed to bring the situation under control, they called in the police and Rapid Action Force (RAF). No student was injured during the scuffle and no formal complaint was registered in the case.
After the situation was pacified, a meeting was convened between the local administration, guardians of the students and the managing committee of the Dhulagori Adarsha Vidyalaya.
School ‘diffused’ tension by asking students to follow dress code: Police
While speaking about the matter to Hindustan Times, a police officer said, “The pre-board exams were going on Monday when some students went to the school wearing hijab.”
“Seeing them, another group of students demanded that they be allowed to wear Namabali. The school authorities diffused the tension by asking students to follow the dress code,” the cop added.
The officer informed, “The school authorities informed police. The police did not enter the school first as it was an internal matter. But later officers of the local police station went inside to bring the situation under control.”
The protest against wearing of Hijab in school and the subsequent scuffle led to the cancellation of the Class XII pre-Board history examination. Similarly, another exam scheduled for Wednesday (November 23) was also postponed.
Pro-hijab ‘protests’ turn violent, bombs hurled at school in Murshidabad
In February this year, local Muslims resorted to violence against the authorities of Bahutali High School for asking the girl students not to wear hijab or burqa inside the class. The incident took place in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
As per reports, the school headmaster had asked the girl students not to wear hijab or burqa to school. The headmaster Dinbandhu Mitra had also warned them that their name would be removed from the school registry if they failed to comply with the rules.
After the headmaster asked the students to follow the uniform guidelines, the girls informed their parents, who staged a protest in front of the school and created a blockade.
The Muslim mob went on a rampage and threw bombs at the school. In response, the police had to use tear gas, resort to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control.
