In Khajrana, one of Indore’s most densely Muslim localities, a private school has quietly institutionalised religious separation and Islamophobia. The International School of Bombay recently conducted two separate annual functions, one for Muslim students and another for non-Muslim students, largely Hindus.
Accounts from parents, a teacher, and members of the local community indicate that the segregation extends beyond annual events, with students allegedly placed in different sections based on religion. Some parents also claim that Muslim surnames were removed from scorecards in earlier years. The issue has drawn attention only through social media reels and local circulation.
“My daughter and her classmates were told to prepare their dance performances on their own. They were not allowed to perform patriotic songs and were instead asked to present Punjabi songs. While they practised at home over video calls, the other students were coordinated and guided by teachers. Their annual function lasted three to four hours, while ours ended in just two hours and had no chief guest,” said Nighat, the parent of a Muslim Class 8 student, describing the disparity between the two events.
Nighat, along with several other parents, protested outside the school’s main gate on the day of the annual function. Since then, demonstrations have continued in various localities of Indore’s Khajrana area, with parents raising objections primarily against the school’s decision to conduct two separate annual functions.
While a fellow journalist and I visited the school posing as a Hindu couple seeking admission for a Class 5 child, we spoke to Poonam Tiwari, a mathematics teacher at the school. Tiwari said she has been teaching at the school for the past year and currently handles the “M” sections of Classes 6 and 7, indicating that these sections comprise Muslim students.
She assured us that the school performs well in academics and extracurricular activities and encouraged us to seek admission, stating that there had never been any communal incident involving students or teachers.
During the conversation, Tiwari described the students in the sections she teaches as “good students” who “study well.” She also advised us to request admission specifically in the “A1” and “A2” sections, noting that Hindu students are in the majority there.
When asked about the apparent segregation of students, she said that Muslim students were earlier taught in the afternoon shift but were merged into the morning shift about a year ago. According to her, the sections have remained the same since then and have not been reshuffled.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
