Bongaigaon (Assam) – A government school principal in Assam’s Bongaigaon district has been suspended after students were found reciting verses from the Qur’an during the morning assembly, reported the Madhyamam.
The matter came to light after a video from Paschim Bhadrahaon Lower Primary School, showing children reciting Surah Al-Fatiha (the opening chapter of the Qur’an), went viral on social media.
Confirming the action, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Monday that the principal had been suspended. He added that the state government would “take all steps to prevent any kind of radicalisation in our schools.”
Following the video’s circulation, the district education department launched an inquiry and reported that students had been reciting the Qur’an daily during the assembly. The school is located in a Muslim-majority locality, where most of the students belong to the Muslim community.
While authorities viewed the practice as a violation, many social media users argued that reciting verses from the Qur’an in a Muslim-majority school should not be equated with “radicalisation.” Some recalled their own experiences of being asked to recite Hindu prayers, including the Hanuman Chalisa, in schools during their childhood, stressing that such practices reflected India’s cultural and religious diversity.
The incident has sparked debate over the role of religion in public education and whether students should be allowed to practice faith-based recitations in government schools.
