“At the beginning of the school year, in June, two days of Urdu classes were held, and when parents of Hindu students opposed this, we decided not to conduct these classes anymore,” Khan said. (Special Arrangement)At 10 am on June 27, a group of 10 to 15 men walked into Bharat Chandra High School at Armoor in Telangana’s Nizamabad district and allegedly manhandled the principal, purportedly over complaints that he taught Urdu to a class of 25 students.The incident was caught on video and later circulated through WhatsApp groups.The principal, 37-year-old Aamir Khan, told The Indian Express that he is actually an English teacher, and that Urdu classes were, in fact, taught briefly at the private school, but by a different teacher. The classes were started on the instruction of the school management board, which he said was “headed by Hindu persons who decided that Urdu can be taught as a second language in the school”.Principal Aamir Khan says Urdu classes were taken for just 2 days, by a different teacher, after a request from parents of Muslim students pic.twitter.com/XRMVoIX6a5— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) June 28, 2026Khan, who has an MA in English and a B.Ed, has been principal of the school since last year. He alleged that he was being framed in the matter by local BJP leaders. He said that after the June 27 incident, he was held at the Armoor police station for eight to 10 hours.While Telangana has a Congress government, the Armoor Assembly constituency was won by the BJP.According to Khan, the school decided to offer Urdu classes because 25% of the students are Muslim, and there was a request from Muslim parents to make Urdu available.“At the beginning of the school year, in June, two days of Urdu classes were held, and when parents of Hindu students opposed this, we decided not to conduct these classes anymore,” Khan said.However, the matter was subsequently taken up by the BJP’s Armoor town leadership. The president of the BJP’s Armoor unit, M Balu, claimed, “They were not teaching just Urdu, but were teaching Namaz and Kalima in school.”Story continues below this adThe school management, however, rejected this claim. “There was no question of teaching any religious text. The students were being taught the Urdu alphabet for two days,” the school Correspondent, Mallesh, said in a complaint lodged against the local BJP leadership at Armoor police station.The complaint, based on which an FIR was registered against Balu for trespassing and voluntarily causing hurt, was met with a counter-complaint — Tahsildar Satyanarayana of Armoor lodged the complaint under section 196 read with 3(5) of BNS (promoting enmity between groups) against the school principal and correspondent.Armoor police said they were “looking into both the complaints and will take necessary action”.Meanwhile, Balu admitted that he manhandled the teacher. “We were sure that he was trying to force Hindu students to take up Islam,” claimed Balu.Story continues below this adKhan, meanwhile, said that he has been teaching English for the past 15 years and had taken up work as a principal at the school in 2025. “The management was happy with my work and hence decided to continue my contract this year, too,” he said.According to school management, classes started on June 17.Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice. Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India. Expertise & Focus Areas Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include: Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India. Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism. Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities. National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting. Authoritativeness & Trust A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society. Find all stories by Nikhila Henry here. ... 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