Senior politicians in India's Kashmir have expressed outrage after footage surfaced online showing students singing “Hindu devotional hymns” at a government-run school.
In the video shared by former state chief Mehbooba Mufti, Muslim students were seen chanting a famous devotional song titled “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram” or Ramdhun.
National Conference Party spokesperson Imran Dar also took to Twitter, accusing officials of instrumentalizing religion as a 'political tool'.
Likewise, the Communist Party of India’s (Marxist) Ghulam Nabi Malik wrote that, “The rituals and beliefs of a particular caste or faith cannot be imposed on the education system of a secular nation. Such activities can prove detrimental to harmonious educational atmosphere.”
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Ullema (MMU), a conglomerate of socio-religious groups, also issued a statement last Thursday, accusing the J&K government of weaning students away from "Islamic beliefs" and trying to integrate them with the "Hindutva idea of India".
This week, the Jammu & Kashmir government prohibited 'Dastar Bandi' (a turban-tying ceremony) at shrines across the region, claiming that the ceremony was being used for political purposes. Politicians in J&K would go to shrines to offer their obeisance and in turn are felicitated by caretakers of shrines giving them turbans.