Faridabad DEO withdraws letter mentioning ‘love jihad’, calls it a mistake

The letter, which instructed school principals and officials to take preventive measures, received backlash

District education officer (DEO) Anshu Singhla issued a letter on October 29 after receiving a complaint through the CM window alleging that some government and private school students were bunking classes to visit parks and engage in “anti-social activities” and “love jihad”.

Love jihad’ is a term popularised by radical Hindu groups to describe what they believe is an organised conspiracy of Muslim men to force or trick Hindu women into conversion and marriage. (HT Photo)

The letter, which instructed school principals and officials to take preventive measures, received backlash following which the DEO retracted the letter on October 30.

The October 29 letter which was circulated widely on social media had instructed all the government and private school principals and teachers to create Whatsapp groups with parents to monitor daily attendance. Further, it also mentioned stern action against instructions if such cases came to notice.

In a follow-up circular, the DEO clarified that no such complaints had been officially received by the education department. The notice added that the earlier communication was being withdrawn, effectively nullifying the previous letter.

When contacted, Singhla told HT that no case of “love jihad” had come to the department’s notice.

“I have already issued a clarification. The complaint was received on the CM window, and I had mistakenly copied its contents into the letter without proper review. The letter has been withdrawn,” she said.

Meanwhile, district commissioner of Faridabad Vikram Yadav didn’t respond to any calls or messages of HT team.

President of the Haryana School Lecturer Association, Dan Singh Chandila said, “We have not received any such complaints. I am not sure why the DEO issued the statement.”