Hindu students barred from attending special classes at Hyderabad school for wearing Durga Mata malas and religious attire

Case ID : 30aad4c | Location : Hyderabad, Telangana, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 11 October, 2026

Case ID : 30aad4c

Hyderabad, Telangana, India

11 October, 2026

Hindu students barred from attending special classes at Hyderabad school for wearing Durga Mata malas and religious attire

Undecided cases

Case Summary

In Maruti Nagar, Champapet, Hyderabad, Telangana, Hindu Class X students were denied permission to attend special classes at Hyderabad Sainik School for wearing Durga Mata malas and religious attire. The students were observing Durga Diksha (Bhavani Deeksha), a Hindu religious observance, during the Sharad Navratri festival. According to the students’ parents, several students arrived at the school to attend their regular special classes while wearing sacred Durga Mata malas as part of their religious observance. However, the school management instructed them to remove their religious attire and malas, discontinue their religious observance and wear the prescribed school uniform before being allowed into the classrooms. When the students refused to comply, they were prevented from attending the special sessions. A video subsequently went viral in which the Hindu students shared their testimonies about the incident. They were seen wearing Durga Mata malas and Durga Diksha attire, including traditional Indian religious clothing instead of school uniforms, along with religious scarves around their necks. One of the Hindu students was also heard stating that the school was asking them to remove their religious attire and wear the prescribed uniform. The incident angered the parents, who gathered outside the school gates and staged a dharna against the management. They accused the school authorities of hurting the religious sentiments of the students and argued that their religious beliefs and traditions should be respected without compromising their education. They also expressed concern that denying the students access to important special classes ahead of their Class X examinations could adversely affect their academic preparation and future. The protest created a tense atmosphere in the area for some time. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders visited the school and joined the protest, demanding that the management allow the students to attend special classes without forcing them to remove their Durga Mata malas. The situation escalated, prompting senior police officials to reach the spot and intervene. Meanwhile, the school management suspended Telugu teacher Pushpalatha in connection with the incident. A complaint was also lodged with the police, seeking action against those responsible for preventing the students from attending the special classes. The parents urged the school to address their concerns and ensure that students did not lose valuable classroom time because of the dispute.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case, Hindu Class X students were denied permission to attend special classes at Hyderabad Sainik School for wearing Durga Mata malas and religious attire while observing Durga Diksha (Bhavani Deeksha) during the Sharad Navratri festival. The decision sparked outrage among Hindus, who accused the school management of hurting the religious sentiments of the students and preventing them from attending important academic sessions. This is not the first time such a controversy has erupted. In 2022, in Karnataka, a heated debate erupted when Muslim girls insisted on wearing burqas and hijabs in schools and classrooms. At that time, politicians, social commentators, Hindu activists, and even the judiciary argued that schools had the right to enforce uniform rules. Uniformity was seen as a means of promoting harmony and equality within classrooms. Therefore, disallowing hijabs was deemed to be the enforcement of a uniform policy rather than religious discrimination. Similar logic can apply here. The school's restriction on wearing Durga Mata malas and religious attire may have been an enforcement of uniform regulations rather than an act motivated by religious bias. However, if the school allowed students of other faiths to wear religious symbols and attire while prohibiting Hindu students from observing Durga Diksha, it would demonstrate religious bias and hostility towards Hinduism. The incident nevertheless raises concerns about the possibility of religious animosity influencing the school's decision. The Hinduphobia Tracker has previously documented multiple incidents of Hindu students being targeted in schools for wearing minor religious symbols such as tilak, kalava (sacred thread) and janeu (sacred thread worn by Hindu men). Such symbols do not fundamentally alter a school uniform, yet students have faced restrictions for wearing them. In cases where students are targeted for these minor expressions of their Hindu identity, such actions indicate religious bias against Hinduism. However, the present case involves students wearing religious attire, along with scarves and Durga Mata malas, as part of their observance of Durga Diksha. It is therefore difficult to establish, based on the available information, whether the school restricted their entry because of religious animosity towards Hinduism or to enforce its uniform policy. The religious motive behind the decision remains unclear. Therefore, this case is being added to the ‘Undecided’ database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. If further information emerges establishing that the school acted out of religious bias or selectively targeted Hindu students because of their faith, the case will be reassessed for inclusion in the Hate Crime database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred, rather than when it was reported by the media. In this case, the media reports did not specify the exact date of the incident. Hence, 12 October 2026, the date of media reporting, has been selected as the indicative incident date for documentation purposes only. In this case, the total number of students affected was not specified. However, based on the available videos and media coverage, four students were identified as victims, comprising three female students and one male student. Hence, the victim count has been recorded as four for documentation purposes. Similarly, the entire school management was held responsible for restricting students from attending classes while wearing religious attire. However, only one teacher, Pushpalatha, was suspended in connection with the incident. As the total number of perpetrators has not been specified, the perpetrator count has been recorded as one, referring to Pushpalatha alone, for documentation purposes.