Islamic Prayer Row in UP: School Director Booked Under Unlawful Conversion Act

A controversy erupted after a parent said that students were being “compelled” to recite Islamic prayers at school.

Parents objected to recitation of Islamic prayers during morning assemblies at a school in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur on Monday, 1 August.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint) 

An FIR was registered on Tuesday, 2 August, against the managing director of an Uttar Pradesh school that's caught in controversy for reportedly making students recite Islamic prayers during the morning assembly.

The controversy erupted after a parent tweeted on Monday, 1 August, that students at the two-decade-old educational institution were being “compelled” to recite the 'Kalima Tayyab.'

One of the parents who had expressed their disagreement filed the complaint, following which a case was registered under:

• IPC Section 295A (deliberate malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class)

• Section 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021

Following protests by parents as well as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, the school had stopped the recitation of religious prayers during morning assemblies.

While the principal had said that they recite prayers of four religions –Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity – during morning assemblies, she added that "now we will recite the national anthem."

The school was also compelled to declare a holiday on Monday and extend it until Wednesday, 4 August, following the agitation, news agency PTI reported.

(With inputs from PTI.)