The Gujarat education department has sought a report after a primary school in Bhavnagar staged an Independence Day play that depicted burqa-clad girls as “terrorists”, triggering a controversy, an official said on Wednesday.
A notice seeking the report was issued after local Muslims, under the banner of 'Bandharan Bachao Samiti', urged officials to take stern action against the school’s teachers for depicting their community in a "bad light" through the play.
Munjal Badmaliya, the administrative officer of the Bhavnagar Municipal School Board, said that the District Education Officer (DEO) has issued a notice to them and sought an explanation within seven days. The civic board runs the school.
In a video of the play that went viral on social media, a few girls in white dresses can be seen performing on a song describing the beauty of Kashmir.
Moments later, three burqa-clad girls carrying “guns” enter the scene and “shoot” the others, while an audio in the background says that “terrorists had killed innocent civilians during the Pahalgam attack” Badmaliya said the all-girls primary school, located in the Kumbharwada area of the city, had organised a play based on Operation Sindoor as part of their Independence Day celebrations on August 15.
“After the video surfaced on social media, the DEO received a representation alleging that the play had hurt the sentiments of Muslims. The DEO has sought a factual report from us within seven days about the I-Day event held at our school on August 15,” he said.
The official said they have appointed a coordinator to conduct a “probe” into the alleged incident.
A preliminary probe showed that the school teachers and principal had no intention to hurt the sentiments of any community, he said. The school principal told us officials the play was based on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, he said.
“The girls who were given the role of terrorists were instructed to cover their faces with black cloth. However, these girls wear burqas, and according to them, they were more easily available than a piece of black cloth,” said Badmaliya.
The real intention behind the play was to show respect to the country’s armed forces for their role in Operation Sindoor and not to hurt the sentiments of any community, the official said.
“We are still probing this issue from every angle and will submit a detailed report to the DEO,” he added.
After the cold-blooded killing of 26 persons, mostly tourists, near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, India launched Operation Sindoor to target terror bases inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
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