Why Damoh school, run by Muslim family, has drawn BJP’s ire in MP

 Why Damoh school, run by Muslim family, has drawn BJP’s ire in MP

What began as a hijab controversy has turned into a full-fledged probe against the Ganga Jamna School

Rahul Noronha

Bhopal,UPDATED: Jun 11, 2023 21:47 IST
The poster showing non-Muslim students wearing the hijab.

On June 7, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told the state’s chief secretary and DGP to probe the role of the management of the Ganga Jamna School in Damoh from multiple angles. Chouhan asked them to include allegations pertaining to land encroachment, evasion of GST, and also religious conversion—a theme that has been playing out regularly in MP ahead of assembly elections.
The Ganga Jamna School came in the news when right-wing Hindu outfits accused the school management of forcing non-Muslim students to wear the hijab as part of the school uniform. The outfits raised the issue when the school put out a poster with pictures of girls who had done well in the Class 12 exams. The poster included pictures of non-Muslim girls wearing the hijab.

The owner of the school, Mushtaq Khan, clarified that the head gear was a scarf and part of the uniform, but not mandatory. The Muslim family that runs the school has other businesses as well, such as of beedi and pulses.

Soon after, Damoh district magistrate Mayank Agarwal asked district education officer (DEO) S.K. Mishra and the Damoh police to look into the allegations. After receiving the report of the DEO and the police, the collector gave the school an all clear. This, however, made the state BJP turn against the district administration.
On June 5, top BJP leaders in the state accused the school of carrying out religious conversions. Three faculty members, all women, were claimed to have been converted to the Islamic faith. The faculty members, however, said they had not been converted by the school and had changed their faith after marriage to Muslims.


On June 6, three local BJP leaders, Amit Bajaj, Monty Raikwar and Sandeep Sharma, while shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, threw ink on DEO Mishra, who they accused of shielding the school management. A case was registered against the trio by the Damoh police. Mishra told the media that these leaders were upset as he had not passed their bills for payment for a contract owing to a technicality. State BJP president V.D. Sharma condemned the act of his party leaders in Damoh.
The recognition of the school was, however, cancelled by the state education board. School education minister Indar Singh Parmar claimed the role of the collector in giving a clean chit was not above board.

The entire matter took another turn on June 7 with home minister Narottam Mishra saying that he had instructed the Damoh police to register a case against the school management. Consequently, an FIR was lodged under Section 295 (destruction of place of worship) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Juvenile Justice Act. The FIR was lodged on the basis of a statement of a girl student.

Meanwhile, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said the school had used a distorted map of India in its logo and for its other businesses as well. The logo shows the peninsular part of India with snowy mountains and a river flowing from them. The same day, chief minister Chouhan said there were other complaints too against the school and the family running it, and that these should be probed.

Some months ago, the NCPCR got cases registered against a missionary institution in Damoh, accusing it of forcible religious conversion.
Political watchers see the seriousness with which the issue is being probed and the media focus on it directly linked to the upcoming assembly election. Conversions, terrorism and terror funding have been a constant narrative in MP politics. Some weeks ago, the police in Bhopal claimed to have busted a terror group. A Jain youth and his wife, who had converted to Islam, were alleged prominent members of the group.

While BJP leaders have been vociferous in raising the Damoh school issue, terming it as a national security threat, the Congress leadership has been quiet. Some see it as part of the Congress strategy to not attract allegations of Muslim appeasement. “The district magistrate has constituted a committee to look into the allegations. We should wait for the findings. Only then will the party take a stand,” Damoh Congress MLA Ajay Tandon told INDIA TODAY.