Days after a class 10th student was brutally beaten for protesting against a school principal’s decision to prohibit girl students from attending school wearing Hijab and boys donning caps in Tripura’s Sepahijala district, the Opposition parties on Sunday slammed the ruling BJP for “disturbing communal peace” ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
In a recent press statement, the Communist Party of India (CPM) accused the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of issuing notices to schools in mixed-populated areas. The CPM alleges that these actions are aimed at disrupting communal peace and harmony by propagating hate messages against the minority community.
The party accuses the BJP of capitalising on the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and by-polls in two Assembly constituencies. The CPM alleges that the BJP is intentionally attempting to gain political advantage through voter polarization by fostering an environment of hatred and communal division, according to a Hindustan Times report.
The statement further claims that the tactic is aimed at diverting people’s attention from pressing issues in the state such as “deterioration of law and order, food and job crisis of working-class people, problems in education sector, supply of drinking water and power facilities, irrigation, dilapidated road conditions.”
Congress Slams BJP
Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman criticized the BJP for the incident, stating that outsiders entered the school and harassed girl students, leading to the assault of the one who objected. He asserted that such incidents are not isolated to this school but are prevalent throughout the country.
Barman also expressed that common people and youth are dissatisfied with the state government over essential issues like rising commodity prices and unemployment. Accusing the BJP of attempting to divert attention on religious lines, he thanked the peaceful residents of the area for not taking the law into their hands. He urged the authorities to identify and arrest the outsiders responsible for the incident.
Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed has also condemned the incident. Referring to similar situation reported in a Mumbai school, he asked: “Why do these events keep happening in BJP ruled states. Even after their resounding defeat in Karnataka, BJP still hasn’t learnt!”
Hijab row in Tripura School
Tensions peaked at Sepahijala district and led a huge contingent of security forces being deployed after a Mohammad Illyas Sarkar, a class 10 student of a government-aided Higher Secondary School in Bishalghar sub-division was beaten after protesting against the school’s dress code allegedly enforced by a Hindu organisation.
According to parents, a group of miscreants forcibly entered the classroom and attacked students wearing hijab.
The incident occurred right in front of the principal Protyosh Nandi, a parent of the accused said following the incident. The head teacher claimed that an activist from a particular Hindu organization had recently demanded a ban on students wearing hijab. Later, the headmaster instructed the hijab-wearing students to leave the school premises.
Another parent said the principal called the hijab-wearing students to the staffroom and coerced them into signing an agreement. Subsequently, he summoned the parents to the school.
Protyosh Nandi, the Head Master of Vishalgarh Karimura School clarified stating, “More than 20 to 25 people entered my office today and ransacked the office. We have no standing rule in our school regarding Hijab. However, a few days back some people of the VHP came to our school and asked the students not to come to school wearing Hijab. They had to get a deputation on this.”
In the aftermath of the incident, an angry mob broke into the headmaster’s room and ransacked the office.
The 10th-grade student was forcibly dragged out of the school premises and subjected to a beating, while none of the teachers, including the headmaster, intervened to help as per reports.
This incident led to an outcry among local residents, resulting in road blockades as a form of protest.
Upon receiving the report of the incident, the Bishalgarh police station reached the site. After engaging with both sides involved, the situation was eventually brought under control. A meeting was convened with prominent figures from both the Muslim and Hindu communities to address the matter.
As a precautionary step, classes were suspended on Friday to deescalate the situation. A substantial deployment of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been stationed in and around the school premises.
Authorities are closely monitoring the situation and actively working towards resolving the issue and restoring peace in the district, which shares a border with Bangladesh.
According to Susanta Deb, the BJP MLA of Vishagarh, the situation has “returned to normalcy.”
Early last year, a similar controversy arose in Karnataka when a college imposed a ban on wearing Hijab inside educational institutions. The issue caused a significant uproar in the state, leading to a pending case in the Supreme Court regarding this matter.
