Indian principal wrongly charged with playing Pakistani song at school
School denies allegations, saying performance used soundtrack from Turkish television phenomenon Diriliş: Ertuğrul rather than Pakistani music
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Police in western India have filed criminal charges against a Muslim school principal and two teachers after Hindu extremists claim that students performed to a Pakistani song during a school event.
The case was registered in Maharashtra state’s Jalna district against Kids World English School principal Wazhiyoddin Siddiqui and two staff members following a controversy fueled by social media posts and complaints from local Hindu nationalist politicians. The charges include provisions related to promoting enmity, endangering national unity and spreading misinformation.
According to police, the controversy stems from a performance during the school’s annual gathering in March 2025. Videos circulated online in recent weeks claimed students had danced to a Pakistani song and that images linked to Pakistani religious figure Mumtaz Qadri had been displayed during the event.
The allegations triggered outrage among Hindu extremist groups and local political leaders. Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Babanrao Lonikar publicly demanded action against the school’s management and called for authorities to revoke the institution’s official recognition.
School administrators, however, denied the accusations and said the controversy was built on manipulated and misleading material circulated online.
Principal Siddiqui said the music used during the performance came from Diriliş: Ertuğrul, a Turkish historical television drama that gained a large following across South Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa.
He also rejected claims that images of a Pakistani figure had been displayed, saying visuals shown during the program depicted an actor from the series rather than the individual identified in social media posts.
According to Siddiqui, edited videos and false captions played a central role in transforming a school performance into a political controversy.
Police said they are investigating the origin of the music and images used during the event and have not yet publicly confirmed the allegations that prompted the criminal case.
The incident comes amid a broader pattern in India in which schools, cultural programs and educational institutions have increasingly become targets of campaigns by Hindu extremist groups objecting to content perceived as Islamic, Pakistani or foreign.
Rights advocates and opposition figures have repeatedly expressed concern about the growing use of criminal law in cases involving cultural expression, warning that accusations linked to religion, national identity or alleged sympathy toward Pakistan can quickly escalate into legal proceedings and public campaigns against Muslim individuals and institutions.
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