Muslim teacher humiliated by Hindu groups in India for promoting equality in classroom
New Delhi: A Muslim teacher in India was forced into a humiliating public apology after asking young pupils not to display religious symbols in class, an incident that has sparked outrage and raised concerns over deepening intolerance under Hindu nationalist rule.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the case took place at Sandipani School in Khargone, a city in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
Shahrukh Pathan, a guest teacher for second-grade students, told children not to wear tilak — a Hindu religious mark on the forehead — or kalawa, the sacred red thread tied around the wrist. According to colleagues, his intention was to encourage equality among classmates and to minimize religious distinctions inside the classroom.
“He was not stopping the children with any wrong intent. He only wanted them to understand equality and respect for all,” one staff member explained but the move provoked anger from Hindu extremist groups. Members of the Hindutva outfit Sakal Hindu Samaj entered the school, created chaos, and demanded Pathan’s public humiliation.
A video that went viral shows the teacher being forced to hold his ears and perform repeated squats —a degrading punishment commonly used in Indian schools — while Hindu nationalist slogans echoed around him. Witnesses said he was also compelled to issue a written apology under pressure.
Civil rights advocates argue the incident exposes the hypocrisy of Hindutva groups and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
In recent years, the BJP has imposed hijab bans in schools and universities, claiming such measures uphold secularism and uniformity in the classroom. Yet when a Muslim teacher asked Hindu students to refrain from displaying religious identity markers on similar grounds, he was vilified and humiliated.
Analysts say this selective enforcement of “secularism” illustrates how India’s education system has become another arena where Hindutva ideology is applied unevenly — restricting Muslim practices while protecting Hindu rituals as “cultural traditions.”
International rights organizations have repeatedly warned that such double standards erode minority rights and weaken India’s secular fabric.
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