MP ‘hijab’ poster row: Only English-medium school in ward, its students face uncertain future

Speaking at an event in Chhatarpur on June 2, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, referring to Iqbal, had alleged that the school administration was “teaching poetry of a man who talked about the division of the country” and warned that “such acts won’t be allowed in Madhya Pradesh”. On May 31, Home Minister Narottam Mishra ordered a probe into the incident.

Though the district administration and the police are yet to get a formal complaint, on June 2, the education department de-recognised the school, citing inadequate infrastructure – “no proper library” and “no proper practical materials”, among other reasons.

A map showing Damoh in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

With less than a week left for the school to reopen after the summer holidays, its 1,200 students now face an uncertain future.

Haji Mohammad Idris, 70, a dal mill owner, is the school’s chief patron and director, and had, according to the school officials, “envisioned a school for students from the underprivileged community”.

Established by the Ganga Jamuna Welfare Society in 2010, this is the only English-medium school in the town’s Futera ward, catering to its population of farmhands, beedi makers and labourers.

The three-storey, white school building is located on a 1.5-acre plot behind a local masjid and faces a Hindu temple. While it began as a minority school with seven teachers and 180 students, the school now has 1,200 students and 50 teachers, both Muslims and non-Muslims.

The exterior of the Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School in Damoh. (Express photo)

Sitting in the ‘Director’s Office’, its walls lined with photographs of Ambedkar and Gandhi and a calendar with a picture of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan watering a plant, principal Afsha Sheikh, 44, said, “Our students are scared and weep over the phone. They keep asking if the school will shut down. A student who defended us in the media has applied for a transfer certificate. Of our 64 students in Class 10, 61 passed with first division. We had put a board to celebrate that and within minutes, we were targeted on social media.”

The school’s first batch of 42 Class 12 students – both science and commerce – would have appeared for their Board exams next year. Two years ago, the school started its science and computer labs, and had planned to introduce smart classes from the next academic year. The school is getting a playground for the new seniors’ block (Classes 8-12), the principal said.

On the hijab controversy, Sheikh said, “After Class 6, girls are asked to wear headscarves since it’s a minority institution. But several students don’t wear it and there is no punishment. The pictures on the poster were from the admit cards, for which students had to wear the school uniform.”

Jyoti Virmani, 40, the Vice Headmistress, said most of the students are first-generation learners. “All that progress is at stake now because of this attack against us. Most of the parents are poor and can’t help children with their homework and assignments. We doubled as their parents and ensured they did their homework and came to school regularly,” she said, adding how, during the Covid shutdown, teachers got handwritten notes delivered to the students.

The school’s first batch of 42 Class 12 students – both science and commerce – would have appeared for their Board exams next year. (Express photo)

Atiq Ahmad, 53, who teaches Urdu in the school, brings out a set of books from his locker. Tracing an Urdu couplet with his finger, he said, “Iqbal’s Lab pe aati hai dua and is a verse recited by children in several schools as part of their morning prayer. Iqbal is the same person who wrote Saare jahan se Acha… This book is printed by the Madhya Pradesh state education board. We are teaching children what’s in the state syllabus, not some ‘jihadi literature’.”

Hindi teacher Shaistah Parveen, 40, fears the row will lead to students dropping out. “We had worked very hard to get children to school. If a student is absent for four days in a row, we track them down and speak to their parents. But how will they take us seriously if we are seen as people brainwashing young minds,” Parveen said.

Most parents The Indian Express spoke to chose to remain silent on the controversy. The father of one of the students said, “Hindu sanghatan members visited my home and abused me. They asked me why I was sending my daughter to a Muslim school. My daughter was never forced to wear a scarf and has always done well in school.”

A photo from the Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School in Damoh. (Express photo)

Two Class 11 commerce students sit with their mathematics teacher, Sameer Khan, sharing an inside joke. “Our teachers are both Hindus and Muslims. Religion has never come up in any of our interactions. Both of us have several Muslim friends. I don’t know why this has happened to our school,” said one of the boys. “Last year, when we were in Class 10, Khan Sir would sit with us after school and explain Maths concepts,” said the other, adding that he and his friend hope to start their own business.

Khan said, “I have taught in other schools too, but didn’t enjoy it that much. Here there is a sense of family and kinship. Hindus and Muslims live and learn together. Some people don’t like that.”

The school’s first batch of Class 12 – 28 boys and 14 girls – is especially worried. At her home in Damoh, a 17-year-old who hopes to appear for the engineering entrance exams next year, is waiting for school to reopen. “My favourite subject is Urdu but I want to become a software engineer,” she said. Her father, a rickshaw puller, died during Covid and her mother has rented out their home for private tution classes.

A photo from the Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School in Damoh. (Express photo)

“My English was very weak and it got better after my teachers worked on me and I watched a lot of YouTube videos. I have a lot of Hindu friends; we don’t think of our friends as Hindus and Muslims. But now, everyone is scared,” she said.

Right-wing outfits spearheaded by the Hindu Jagran Manch are stepping up pressure on the local administration to crack down on the school. Its leader Monty Taikwar said, “We are planning to register FIRs against the school… Our main aim is to investigate its funding. We can’t allow a school that teaches Iqbal to exist in Damoh.”

Damoh District Collector Mayank Agrawal has constituted a high-level committee to investigate the allegations. “There is no religious conversion. But the allegations made by NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo and various outfits are now being investigated. We are probing the registration, funding and school rules. The school has told us that they will discontinue their old dress code and give children the option of choosing between dupatta and scarf. On the controversy over Iqbal’s verses, the school said that they will sing the national anthem every day,” Agarwal said.