UP principal suspended after children sing ‘mere Allah bur se bachaana mujko.’

New Delhi, Dec 23: The principal of a government run-school in Uttar Pradesh has been suspended after a clip of children singing an Urdu language prayer went viral.

Hindu groups complained to the police about the prayer being sung by children at a school in the Bareilly. District. The children can be heard singing the Urdu language prayer, "lab pe aati hai dua banke tamanna meri." The prayer was sung at the morning assembly and the clip has been widely circulated since.

The clip also shows the part where the children can be heard singing, 'mere Allah bur se bachaana mujko.'

The police have filed a case, but no arrests have been made. The police said that the case was filed because the prayer was not part of the approved list and pertained to a community and a religion.

The education department said that the principal has been suspended on the basis of internal information and they will conduct an inquiry into the matter.

The song in question was penned by 1902 Urdu poet Mohammad Iqbal.

In 2019, it may be recalled a headmaster in UP's Pilbhit district was suspended after the students were heard singing the same song. Following a complaint by the local unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the action had been taken by the authorities. The Pilbhit district magistrate had said that the headmaster was suspended because he was not making the students sing the national anthem.

Last month, Hindu activists in Karnataka's Udupi held protests against the authorities of a private school after the students staged a performance of Azan, the Muslim call to prayer at sports event. Following this the The Mother Teresa Memorial School at Shankaranarayana town had to apologise following the confrontation by the Hindu group with the authorities of the school.