Bareilly: A government school principal in Uttar Pradesh was suspended after students recited Allama Iqbal's nazm or poem, called 'lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri'.
The verse concludes with 'Mere Allah burai se bachana mujhko' which was considered as an inappropriate part of the poem.
State’s Education department took action against the principal after the local unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) reportedly complained to the police about a prayer song sung by the children. Police have booked the principal and a para teacher after the allegations that “madrassa-type prayers” were being recited in a government school.
“The prayer was not part of the approved list and pertained to a community,” said a senior police officer of the area.
The Education department stated the principal has been suspended on the basis of initial information and they will conduct an inquiry into the matter.
The song in question was penned in 1902 by Urdu poet Mohammad Iqbal, who also wrote the famous lines “Sare jahan se achcha Hindustan hamara”.
In 2019, a headmaster in the state’s Pilibhit district was also suspended after the students were heard singing the song. Following a complaint by the local unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the authorities had taken action.
The Pilibhit District Magistrate had claimed the headmaster was suspended because he was not making the students sing the national anthem.
(With inputs from wires)
