A principal of a government school and a shiksha mitra have been booked in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, for “hurting religious sentiments” after a video of students reciting Muhammad Iqbal’s “Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua” poem during the morning assembly went viral. The Education Department has also suspended school principal Nahid Siddiqui and ordered a probe against shiksha mitra Wazeeruddin.
The FIR against Siddiqui and Wazeeruddin was registered at Fareedpur police station on a complaint lodged by a local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionary, Sompal Singh Rathore, who alleged that a “religious prayer” was recited at the government school in a bid to convert the students.
“Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua” was penned in 1902 by Muhammad Iqbal, also known as Allama Iqbal who wrote “Saare Jahaan Se Achccha” song.
“A prayer was being recited which said something like, ‘Allah ibadat karna’. This is not the stipulated prayer, and hence school principal Nahid Siddiqui has been suspended. I have also ordered a probe against the shiksha mitra,” Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), Bareilly, Vinay Kumar said.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com . Read the full story here