Hijab Controversy: Multiple Complaints Against Nitish Kumar In Jammu Kashmir, Mirwaiz Umar Seeks ‘Apology’

Srinagar: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is facing multiple police complaints in Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly pulling a Muslim woman’s hijab during the distribution of job letters.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and daughter of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, Iltija Mufti, filed a complaint at the Kothi Bagh police station in Srinagar, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Jammu & Kashmir lodged a complaint against Kumar at the Bathindi police post in Jammu.

“The forceful stripping of her naqaab isn't just a brutal assault on a Muslim lady but on the autonomy, identity and dignity of every Indian woman. The fact that it transpired at a time when the deliberate othering and political & economic disempowerment of Muslims all across India is even more disconcerting,” Iltija said in the complaint.

“In the days following this shameful incident, we have witnessed with abject horror videos of miscreants pulling off the hijabs of Muslim women across India. Perhaps a chief minister engaging in this vulgar act of indecency has now emboldened such lumpen elements, giving them carte blanche to humiliate & attack Muslim women,” she said.

She lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers for “justifying” Kumar's indecency and “condoning” and “celebrating” it.

A copy of complaint filed by PDP's Iltija Mufti (ETV Bharat)

“As a young Muslim woman, I am deeply worried that so far no concrete action has been taken to serve both as a deterrent & precedent. I am sure you will agree that the rule of law must be applied uniformly & unequivocally to every Indian citizen. Being a chief minister doesn't exonerate an individual just because he enjoys political power & patronage,” she said.

Addressing the media, Coordinator AAP Yasir Mattoo said, “Wearing the hijab is the constitutional right of our daughters and sisters. Nobody has the authority to stop Muslim women from practising their faith. Any attempt to interfere with a woman’s choice is unacceptable and unconstitutional.”

Kashmir’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also condemned Kumar’s act and termed it a “grave violation of personal dignity and moral boundaries.” He has also demanded that the Bihar CM apologise to the lady for his actions.

“No position of authority, power, or office grants the right to interfere with another person’s self-respect. When dignity is violated in public, particularly by someone in authority, it sends a deeply troubling message that power can override ethics and basic human values,” he said, addressing the Friday congregation at the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar.

Mirwaiz expressed regret that instead of apologising for his actions, certain political parties and sections of the media are attempting to justify the act of the Bihar CM by “mischaracterising it as an issue of women’s empowerment, deliberately dragging the debate into the question of hijab.

“For Muslim women who observe hijab, it is a matter of faith, identity, and personal choice, which has never been a barrier to education, professional excellence, or social contribution, as is being deliberately implied to justify the CM’s actions,” he said.

Kumar removed the niqab from the face of a female doctor in Patna this week while distributing job letters to Ayush doctors. The incident has created a major row, with opposition political parties condemning it.

Speaking to reporters after filing the complaint, Iltija said that Nitish Kumar has no right to snatch the dignity and autonomy of women. “We have requested the police that even though Nitish Sahab is the chief minister, it needs to become a precedent that even a chief minister cannot do such grave indecency with a woman,” she said.

Iltija also criticised the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, for doing “petty politics” on a woman's issue. “Omar Abdullah is the only chief minister of a Muslim-majority state; he should desist from doing petty politics on a woman's issue. Women of Jammu and Kashmir have voted for you so that he saves their dignity. He should condemn it. It is shameful that, being the only chief minister of a Muslim majority, you are not speaking against it. Shame on you,” she said.

Omar has condemned Nitish Kumar for his action, but also censured Mehbooba Mufti for removing the veil of a woman voter a few years ago during polling day.

Iltija said that Muslim women will teach a lesson to all those leaders and politicians who even try to remove our veil from us.

She also said that instead of apologising for it, the BJP leaders and ministers are giving vulgar statements. “Imagine if the ghunghat was removed from a Hindu woman; how would it have been in the whole country?” she said.

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