NB Explains | FIR against school management for making Hindu girls wear hijab in private school of MP's Damoh

Damoh, June 8: A controversy erupted after a private school named Ganga Jamuna School in the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh made Hindu girls wear hijab. Now, Madhya Pradesh Police filed FIR against the management of the school.

 

 

 

Ganga Jamna School in MP's Damoh hit the headlines after posters of Hindu girl toppers from a private school named Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School began to circulate on the internet and it was claimed that the school is forcing students to wear a "hijab".

 

 

The District Magistrate (DM) Mayank Agarwal, however, dismissed these developments, alleging that they were simple misinformation and that there was nothing untoward discovered during the initial inquiries. In response to the tweet, the Superintended on Police (SP) Damoh commented that “the allegations were not proved on the investigation.”

However, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo tweeted, “A complaint has been received about a school in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district forcing Hindu and other non-Muslim girls to wear burqas and hijabs in the name of school uniforms. Cognizance of this is being taken and instructions are being sent to Collector Damoh and Superintendent of Police, Damoh for necessary action.”

The commission, which also discovered videos of students reciting religious prayers, the authorities appear to be in violation of Article 28(3) of the Indian constitution, and the funding received by the institution. Article 28(3) mentions that no person who is attending an institution recognised by the State, or that is receiving aid from state funds shall be requested to indulge in any religious instruction that may be imparted in any such institution.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that an FIR would be registered against the school. "Religious conversion conspiracies are going on at some places in the state and we will not let them succeed. We have also given instructions to investigate in the entire state, especially the educational institutions, whether it is madrassas or if education is being imparted in a wrong way," Chouhan told ANI.

"In the Damoh case, we are now getting the report and I have been told that the daughters who gave their statements have been forced. This is a very serious matter. Strict action will be taken," the Chief Minister added.

"There were continuous instructions from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the government to take action in the Ganga Jamna School controversy according to the facts that came to the fore in the investigation. Yesterday, statements of two-three girls came to the fore, after which it was felt that their statement is worth taking into consideration and the investigating committee also sent that statement to us, to take cognizance into it," Damoh Superintendent of Police (SP) Rakesh Singh said on Thursday.

He said police registered a case against the school administration under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 295, 506 and Juvenile Justice Act. "Now, the statements of the people associated with the school management will be recorded and on the basis of it further action will be taken," the SP said, adding that the number of sections and the accused may increase after further investigation.

Meanwhile, National Commission for Protection Of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chairman Priyank Kanoogo also shared pictures on Twitter and wrote, "It is the logo of the school in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, against which an investigation is going on for making Hindu children wear hijab, giving Islamic education and trying to convert them, in which half of India has disappeared by tampering the map of India."

"Not only this, the owner is using the same logo in all other business organisations. This type of tampering with the map of our nation by the educational institution will not be tolerated at all. NCPCR has taken it very seriously, and necessary instructions are being sent to the Government of Madhya Pradesh to register an FIR," he further wrote.

Earlier, the affiliation of Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School where purported posters of girls wearing Hijab came to light, was suspended for non-compliance with Madhya Pradesh Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools Recognition Rules 2017 and amended rules 2020.

According to a circular, there was no proper arrangement of a library in the school, old furniture and old materials were kept in the laboratories rooms and there were no proper experimental materials in the school. There were 1,208 students registered in the school and there was neither proper arrangement of separate toilets for boys and girls nor pure drinking water.

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 video of the incident is making rounds on social media. Apart from giving clean chit, 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.