Prayagraj: School Principal Booked for Asking Students to Wear Kurta, Cap on Eid

The principal said that the matter should not be unnecessarily disputed and claimed she was innocent.

Nyaya Nagar Public School has over 1,200 students.

Photo: Accessed by The Quint

An FIR was filed against the principal of a private school in Prayagraj on Wednesday, 4 May, for hurting religious sentiments after she allegedly asked students to post 20-second videos wearing "Eid attire" and wish "Happy Eid" as part of school activity.

The zonal in-charge of Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Gau Raksha Vibhag Lalmani Tiwari later lodged a complaint against the principal of Jhunsi's Nyaya Nagar Public School, Bushra Mustafa, at the Kydganj police station on Wednesday. The CBSE-affiliated school has over 1,200 students.

Several Hindu organisations have also threatened that if the accused principal is not arrested in 24 hours, they will take to the streets and protest.

Meanwhile, Mustafa said that the matter should not be unnecessarily disputed and claimed that she was innocent.

Meanwhile, Prayagraj SSP Ajay Kumar said, "We are recording the statement of the principal to figure out if it was her intention to hurt or incite religious feelings of anyone or not. She has said that she did it to maintain equality so that students of all faiths know about each other's religions. The FIR was lodged on Wednesday, and further investigation is underway."

Mustafa was booked under IPC (Indian Penal Code) section 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and under section 67 of the IT Act.

More About the Incident

The students were allegedly lured with extra marks during internal exams as well as prizes and certificates for making the video. The video was to be recorded by all the children and uploaded to the school's WhatsApp group.

This instruction by the school to the students was shared on social media and subsequently went viral. It was also brought to the attention of the UP Chief Minister (CM) and Deputy CM, and other ministers and officers through Twitter. Later, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal also jumped into this controversy and accused the principal of promoting a particular religion.

Meanwhile, Tiwari said that Mustafa had sent a message to the students on 2 May, asking the boys to wear kurta and caps and girls to wear salwar-kurta and dupatta the next day for the video.

"Children are innocent, and talking about giving more marks for wearing Eid outfits and making videos is an attempt to get them attracted towards a particular religion. This can be regarded as a step in the direction of religious conversion," Tiwari said.

He also demanded that the accused be arrested at the earliest, adding that action should also be taken against other people associated with the incident. Tiwari also said that the recognition of the school should be cancelled, and its funding should also be investigated.

Meanwhile, Mustafa said that such activities keep happening in the school during all festivals, and it was wrong to associate it with any particular religion. Mustafa said that children were to be introduced to the traditions of other religions through such activities.

Even the school administration defended Mustafa, saying that such activities are also organised on Hindu festivals like Diwali, Dussehra, Independence Day and Republic Day.

What Did the Complaint Say?

Tewari's complaint stated, "This is to inform you that a message was sent to students of Nyay Nagar Public school. The message read, 'Students have to make a short video of 20 seconds dressed up in salwar kurta with Eid cap (boys), salwar kurta with dupatta (girls) saying, 'Happy Eid'. After the message trended, there was anger among those who read this message and belonged to other religions. My religious feelings were hurt. School Principal Bushra Mustafa is a Muslim woman who has communal thinking, and she has misused her position."

"She has done this as part of a conspiracy to hurt the religious sentiments and to ruin the atmosphere of schools and colleges. This has been done like the hijab row in Karnataka to ruin communal harmony. On 3 May, along with Eid, two major Hindu festivals – Akshay Tritiya and Lord Parshuram Jayanti – were also celebrated. But the principal didn't give any activity or programme which shows her intention," the complaint further stated.