A convent school in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district has become the centre of a heated controversy after allegedly distributing Hindi alphabet charts featuring Islamic references to its students.
The charts, reportedly given to children by Baby Convent School principal I.A. Qureshi, contained examples such as “Ka” for Kaba, “Ma” for Masjid, and “Na” for Namaz. Parents objected to the material, claiming it resembled charts used in madrasas. Their complaints quickly drew the attention of local groups and the education department, triggering protests and a formal inquiry.
On Friday, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) gathered outside the school, confronting the principal over the issue. Police were deployed to the site to prevent escalation. Sub-Divisional Police Officer Pratibha Sharma confirmed that the situation was brought under control.
District Education Officer (DEO) D.D. Rajak said an investigation is underway, noting that the department’s rules prohibit the use of study materials featuring religious symbols of any single faith in schools.
In her defence, Principal Qureshi admitted the error but described it as inadvertent. She explained that a small number of such charts—typically used in madrasas—were mistakenly included in the school’s teaching materials after being supplied from Bhopal. She blamed the mix-up on the vendor.
In a separate case from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi district, two teachers at Madrassa Imdadul Uloom in Khamaria have been accused of assaulting and threatening a 12-year-old boy over two consecutive days. Police said the child, from Jalhoopur village, was staying in the hostel with his elder brother when a theft occurred on August 5.
According to the boy’s father, teacher Numan Saeed beat the child with a stick on August 6, and teacher Rizwanuddin assaulted him again the following day, accusing him of the theft. The beatings allegedly left the boy with severe bruises on his back, arms, and legs, and he was threatened to remain silent. Police are now investigating both incidents.