Allahabad school ‘bans’ National Anthem, manager claims ‘Bharat bhagya vidhata’ is “un-Islamic”

• With the Independence Day approaching, M A Convent School, a private school in Allahabad has barred students from singing the national anthem
• The argument is that 'Bharat bhagya vidhata', which can be interpreted as 'Bharat has made our destiny', is against Islam
• Allahabad District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar said that M A Convent School, that admits children up to Class VIII, is not registered under any board

With the Independence Day approaching, M A Convent School, a private school in Allahabad has barred students from singing the national anthem. Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, the manager of the school says that he got complaints from Muslim parents saying that the phrase 'Bharat bhagya vidhata' from the national anthem is "un-Islamic."Protesting against this, the principal of the school and seven other teachers resigned on Friday, August 5.

M A Convent School is in Sadiyabad locality of Allahabad district. A report by indianexpress.com, states that the school has 200 Hindu students while the remaining 130 are Muslims.

The argument that cropped up was that, 'Bharat bhagya vidhata', interpreted as 'Bharat has made our destiny', is against Islam as Allah is their bhagya vidhata. Every line in the anthem has a meaning which has a possible connotation in praise of "our motherland" and the community says, that they can't accept that the country is more important than religion (mazhab) and God (Allah), Haq added.

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Allahabad District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar said, M A Convent School, which admits children up to Class VIII, is not registered with any board. It has been decided that the students will be shifted to another school. "I am going to take strict action against the school management. We will give them an opportunity to be heard. I am meeting the manager in the evening and will decide the next course of action," said Kumar to the Indian Express.

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After the incident, Zia-Ul-Haq was arrested and a probe is under way to find out how the school was allowed to run for so long without proper affiliation. The ban on National Anthem at this school in Allahabad has started a major controversy resulting in various sections of society criticizing the school management for its decision.

– prepared by Ajay Krishna of NewsGram. Twitter: @ajkrish14

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