Backlash over 'Hijab' Poster! Future of English-Medium School Hangs in the Balance

Madhya Pradesh: At Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, teachers have been getting panicked phone calls from worried parents, attempting to explain why the moving 'Lab pe aati hai dua' by Urdu poet and philosopher Mohammad Iqbal… doesn't include terrorism in any way.

Madhya Pradesh School Faces Attacks and Investigation

A sign outside honouring the school's recent achievement in the Class 10 Board exams has been taken down; right-wing organisations complained that the image depicted even non-Muslim kids wearing scarves, which caused a stir. As rumours of forced religious conversion and pupils being "forced" to sing Iqbal's verses circulated, the dispute grew more intense. Tuesday, S K Mishra, the district education officer, was attacked by a mob of persons screaming "Jai Shri Ram" and had ink splashed on his face. "The Ganga Jamuna school case is to blame for this. A powerful committee was looking at the case; I did not conduct any investigation, Mishra informed the journalists. On June 2, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan complained that the school administration was "teaching poetry of a man who talked about the division of the country" and said that "such acts won't be allowed in Madhya Pradesh" while speaking at an event in Chhatarpur. Narottam Mishra, the home minister, launched an investigation into the event on May 31.

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Uncertain Future for Students as Infrastructure Concerns Raised

On June 2, the education department de-recognized the school, alleging poor infrastructure, including "no proper library" and "no proper practical materials," among other reasons. The district administration and the police had not yet received a formal complaint. There are now only a few days until the school's 1,200 students return after the summer break, leaving them with an uncertain future. The school's chief benefactor and director, 70-year-old dal mill owner Haji Mohammad Idris, "envisioned a school for students from the underprivileged community," according to school authorities. The only English-medium school in the town's Futera ward, which serves a population of farmworkers, beedi manufacturers, and labourers, was founded by the Ganga Jamuna Welfare Society in 2010. The white, three-story school is situated on a 1.5-acre land that backs up to a masjid and faces a Hindu temple. The school today has 1,200 pupils and 50 teachers, both Muslims and non-Muslims, although it only had seven teachers and 180 kids when it first opened as a minority school.

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Staff Defends School's Policies and Curriculum Amid Controversy

Principal Afsha Sheikh commented on the hijab debate, saying, "Since it's a minority institution, females are asked to wear headscarves after Class 6. However, several students choose not to wear it, and they are not penalised. The images on the poster were from the admit cards, which required kids to dress in their school clothes." The majority of the pupils, according to vice headmistress Jyoti Virmani, 40, are first-generation college students. "Now that we are being attacked, all of that progress is in jeopardy. Due to their financial situation, the majority of parents are unable to assist their children with their schoolwork and other obligations. We served as both their guardians and teachers, making sure they completed their assignments and frequently attended class, she added, describing how, throughout the Covid shutdown, teachers had students receive handwritten messages from them." The school's 53-year-old Urdu teacher, Atiq Ahmad, pulls a set of books out of his locker. He replied, "Iqbal's Lab pe aati hai dua is a verse recited by children in several schools as part of their morning prayer," while tracing an Urdu couplet with his finger. The same author who authored Saare Jahan Se Acha is Iqbal. The state education board of Madhya Pradesh printed this book. Instead of teaching youngsters "jihadi literature," we are teaching them what is on the state curriculum.

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