Three Muslim students at a college in western India were forced to bow down before an idol by members of Hindu nationalist groups after they were discovered offering salah in an empty classroom.
The incident took place on November 23 at Ideal College in Kalyan, a city in Maharashtra’s Thane district.
Videos circulating online show members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, both Hindu nationalist organisations linked to India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), asking the Muslim students to perform sit-ups, apologise, and touch the feet of an idol of the 17th-century Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Police officers can be seen standing nearby without intervening.
Students ‘treated like criminals’
The first video showed the three students praying quietly in an empty room. Students said the prayer lasted only a few minutes. But after the clip went viral locally, activists from the VHP and Bajrang Dal arrived at the campus.
One of the boys told reporters: “We were only praying for a few minutes in an empty room. We did not disturb anyone. We never imagined it would turn into this.”
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A second video shows the activists surrounding the students, shouting at them and demanding they apologise for “hurting Hindu sentiments.” The students appear visibly distressed in the footage.
They were then instructed to bow before the idol of Shivaji. Several men can be heard chanting “Jai Shri Ram,” a slogan frequently used by Hindu nationalist groups.
A local Muslim resident who saw the incident said: “They treated the children like criminals. The police were standing there and did nothing. The boys were crying.”
Parents said their children were shaken by the episode. One father said: “My son was forced to bow before an idol. That is not an apology, it is humiliation. The police should have stopped them.”
Police accused of inaction
Eyewitnesses said police arrived early in the disturbance but did not attempt to stop the confrontation. Local Muslims say such incidents have become increasingly common in states run by the BJP.
Instead of taking action against the activists, police reportedly accepted the college’s request to treat the matter as an “internal issue.”
The Muslim boys apologised to the college administration, saying they did not intend to break any campus rules. But the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists insisted on a second apology, this time in front of the idol and on camera.
And despite the incident being widely circulated online, Ideal College has indicated it may penalise the Muslim students.
A college official told the media: “Religious activities are not allowed on campus. If such things happen again, strict action will be taken. The rules of the institution must be followed.”
Parents and Muslim leaders in the area say the administration is acting under pressure from Hindu nationalist groups rather than ensuring the safety of its students.
Part of a wider pattern, say community members
Residents and community groups say the incident in Kalyan is not isolated. They point to a growing pattern in India where Muslim religious practices, including prayer in public spaces, are increasingly monitored and challenged, while Hindu nationalist groups often act with little resistance from authorities.
The VHP and Bajrang Dal are known for vigilante-style actions that frequently target minorities. Both groups are part of the Sangh Parivar, an ideological network aligned with the ruling BJP.
The Kalyan incident comes shortly after another controversy in Pune, where BJP MP Medha Kulkarni poured cow urine inside a historical fort after a group of Muslim women offered namaz there. Police later filed a case only against the Muslim women, not the MP.
A Muslim social worker in Mumbai said: “This is one-sided targeting. Hindu groups do whatever they want, and Muslims are punished even when they pray quietly.”
Muslim organisations have called for a fair investigation and action against those who confronted the students. They also want police to explain why officers stood by and allowed the harassment.
A local said: “If Muslim children cannot even pray quietly without being confronted, what does this say about safety? Today it is namaz, tomorrow it will be something else.”
Videos of the incident continue to circulate widely on social media, with many Muslim organisations demanding that the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists involved be identified and charged.
The college says it will “look into the matter,” but community members fear the only people who will face consequences are the Muslim students themselves.
