Alphabet charts with religious references trigger row at MP convent school

A controversy broke out in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen after a convent school allegedly distributed Hindi alphabet charts with Islamic references. The principal admitted an “inadvertent” error as authorities launched an inquiry, citing guidelines against religious content in school study materials

Raisen (MP): A controversy erupted in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district after the principal of a convent school allegedly distributed alphabet charts with Islamic references, prompting the education department to launch an inquiry, officials said on Saturday.

They said Baby Convent School principal IA Qureshi allegedly handed Hindi alphabet charts mentioning ‘Ka’ for Kaba, ‘Ma’ for Masjid and ‘Na’ for Namaz to students. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad staged a protest on Friday and gheraoed Qureshi.

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Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Pratibha Sharma said police personnel brought the situation under control. “The matter is related to the education department and referred to the district education officer (DEO),” Sharma said.

DEO D D Rajak said an investigation is being conducted into the allegations. “As per the Education department’s guidelines, study material containing religious symbols of any particular faith cannot be taught in schools,” he added.

Principal Qureshi admitted her “inadvertent” mistake, stating that one or two such books with mixed Urdu-Hindi multiplication tables had reached students. She claimed the charts of alphabets were sourced from Bhopal and, due to the seller’s error, three to four such items, generally used in madrasas, were included.