Headmaster suspended for making students sing Iqbal’s poem in UP

A Headmaster of a government school in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit was suspended following the complaint by the local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang leaders that students were singing "Lab pe aati hai dua banke tamanna meri' in the morning prayers.

The poem "Lab pe aati hai dua" was written in 1902 by Mohd Iqbal, also known as Allama Iqbal who also wrote the famous lines -- "Sare jahan se achcha Hindustan hamara".

According to reports, the VHP complaint led to an inquiry which was conducted by Block Education Officer (BEO) Upendra Kumar. The inquiry revealed that the children in the school usually sang the poem during the morning assembly.

Pilibhit District Magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava said that the headmaster was suspended because he was not making the students sing the national anthem.

"If the headmaster wanted to teach another poem also to the student, he should have sought permission. If he makes student recite a poem and not the national anthem, then there is an offence against him," the District Magistrate said.

The suspended headmaster Furqan Ali, 45, however, denied the allegations.