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Kolkata: The abrupt transfer of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Dr Bushra Bano from her post in BJP-ruled West Bengal has drawn sharp criticism from political leaders and commentators. Bano was transferred from her position as Additional Superintendent of Police in Kharagpur after a Hindutva group objected to her use of common Islamic greetings in a motivational video.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, Bano, a 2021-batch officer of the West Bengal cadre, was transferred to the post of Deputy Commandant of the 4th Battalion of the State Armed Police \u201cin public interest\u201d on September 14, 2026. The move followed a September 13 video in which she addressed UPSC aspirants and shared her journey, including support from Aligarh Muslim University\u2019s Residential Coaching Academy. She began the video with \u201cAssalamualaikum\u201d, used \u201cInshallah\u201d during her remarks and concluded with \u201cJazakallah.\u201d<\/p>\n
A group calling itself the Hindu Legal Fund complained to the West Bengal Home Secretary, arguing that a serving officer representing the Indian state should maintain neutrality and use \u201cnational expressions\u201d such as \u201cVande Mataram\u201d or \u201cJai Hind\u201d instead of the Islamic phrases. The complaint, along with social media criticism from Hindutva-linked accounts and coverage framing it in communal terms, preceded the transfer order.<\/p>\n
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra criticized the development, highlighting double standards. \u201cOne BJP govt showing off secular credentials at BRICS summit by creating \u2018prayer room\u2019, another sidelines Muslim woman IPS officer Dr Bushara Bano simply for saying \u2018Assalamalaikum\u2019 & \u2018JazakAllah\u2019 \u2014 furthering hate spread by Godimedia TV,\u201d she said, adding \u201cWe are with you Bushara.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026\u2026. transferring a Muslim IPS officer for saying Assalamalaikum & Inshallah is ridiculous. We are a nation gone mad, poisoned with hate & bigotry,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi also condemned the action against Bano. He said a hate-mongering TV channel had first sensationalized the video, triggering online trolling of the officer, and that the state government transferred her the very next day instead of standing by her. \u201cWhat kind of India are you building, @narendramodiji?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Prominent journalist Siddharth Varadarajan pointed to unequal standards on religious expression by public officials. He noted that Home Minister Amit Shah \u201cis allowed to shout a directly religious slogan like \u2018Jai Shri Ram\u2019 whenever he likes. But a Muslim IPS officer who says Assalam Alaikum\u2014a greeting which is not even religious but means \u2018peace be upon you\u2019\u2014 has now been punitively transferred by the West Bengal government under pressure from fascist oriented social media handles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former civil servant Ashish Joshi also expressed support for Bano online, praising her record of clearing the UPSC examination twice, leaving a comfortable job in Saudi Arabia, and entering public service in the country. He described her choice of words as a reflection of personal faith rather than a rejection of national values.<\/p>\n
Critics have described the transfer as an indication of communal pressure over routine cultural or faith-based expressions widely used by Hindi and Urdu speakers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kolkata: The abrupt transfer of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Dr Bushra Bano from her post in BJP-ruled West Bengal has drawn sharp criticism from political leaders and commentators. Bano was transferred from her position as Additional Superintendent of Police in Kharagpur after a Hindutva group objected to her use of common Islamic greetings in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":210857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n