KEY POINTS:
- Giriraj Singh defended Nitish Kumar’s act as justified.
- Singh framed incident as lesson in obedience, not accountability.
- Minister invoked Pakistan, claiming India is not an Islamic country.
- Bihar Health Minister downplayed incident, praising CM’s women empowerment efforts.
- Opposition leaders condemned remarks as misogynistic and Islamophobic.
- Nusrat Parveen reportedly traumatised, may have rejected appointment afterwards.
- Critics say ruling establishment marginalizes Muslims, undermining secular claims.
- International observers warned incident damages India’s global reputation and credibility.
ISLAMABAD: Another disturbing episode highlighting India’s deepening hostility towards Muslims has sparked outrage after a senior Indian minister defended the public humiliation of a Muslim lady doctor by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, laying bare the ruling establishment’s contempt for religious freedom and women’s dignity.
Abuse framed as duty
According to Indian media, Union Minister Giriraj Singh openly justified Nitish Kumar’s act of forcibly removing the veil of a newly appointed Muslim doctor during an official ceremony in Patna, dismissing criticism with shocking remarks that the woman could “go to hell” if she chose not to accept the job after the incident.
“If someone is going to collect an appointment letter, should she not show her face? Is this some Islamic country? Nitish Kumar acted as a guardian,” Singh said.
“If you are going to get a passport, do you not show your face? When you go to the airport, do you not show your face? People talk about Pakistan and England, but this is India. In India, the rule of law prevails,” he tried to justified the unjustified act of the elderly chief minister.
“Nitish Kumar did nothing wrong, this is not Islamic country and why hide one’s face while collecting an employment letter.”
Union Minister Giriraj Singh
I reject this logic completely.
India is not a Hindu country either, it is a constitutional democracy that guarantees… pic.twitter.com/InD7lWTAuk
— Tejasswi Prakash (@Tiju0Prakash) December 18, 2025
Veil pulled publicly
The incident occurred on Monday when Nusrat Parveen, a qualified AYUSH — India’s traditional and alternative medicine systems — doctor from Kolkata, was receiving her appointment letter at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. In full public view, the 75-year-old chief minister questioned her veil, pulled it off, and exposed her face — an act widely condemned as an assault on her religious and personal dignity.
Instead of expressing remorse, Giriraj Singh doubled down, insisting that the chief minister had “done nothing wrong” and framing the act as a lesson in obedience rather than accountability. His remarks reinforced growing concerns that India’s political leadership increasingly views Muslim identity as something to be policed, corrected, or erased.
Singh further invoked Pakistan while attempting to justify the incident, saying India was not an “Islamic country,” a remark critics say reflects the ruling elite’s obsession with Pakistan and its use as a rhetorical tool to legitimise discrimination against Indian Muslims.
Insensitive remarks
The minister’s comments came amid reports that the doctor may have refused the appointment due to trauma caused by the public humiliation. Indian officials, including Bihar’s health minister, attempted to downplay the episode, portraying the chief minister as a champion of women’s empowerment — claims many observers see as hollow in light of the incident.
When asked about the woman rejecting the appointment, Singh said, “Whether she refuses the job or goes to hell, that’s her choice [Woh refuse kare ya jahannum mein jaye].”
Singh’s remarks came shortly after Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey said that he was not aware of the doctor rejecting the appointment due to the incident.
“I have no such information,” Pandey said while also attempting to justify the CM by insisting, “Women have always been respected by our CM, who has made huge efforts for the empowerment of Matri Shakti.”
Islamophobia under fire
The episode has drawn international criticism, with rights advocates and opposition figures accusing the Indian leadership of advancing a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-inspired agenda that normalises Islamophobia under the guise of governance. Several Indian opposition leaders described the remarks as disgraceful, misogynistic, and reflective of a deeply prejudiced mindset.
Congress MP from Bihar’s Katihar, Tariq Anwar, called the minister a person with “cheap mentality.”
These are third-rate people. They have a cheap mindset. They don’t understand that our country is secular. Everyone is free to practice his religion. What Nitish Kumar has done is shameful and saddening,” Anwar said.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti also lashed out at Singh.
Only phenyl will work to clean this man’s filthy mouth. You dare not touch the hijabs and naqabs of our Muslim mothers and sisters. Otherwise, we Muslim women will set you right by teaching you a lesson you and your ilk will remember for all times to come,” she warned on X.
Similalry, MP Fauzia Khan also hit out Kumar and Singh.
“It is very saddening that responsible people do such acts, this will send a wrong message in the world. It is a personal decision of a woman as to how much she covers up and removing the veil is akin to disrobing a woman. He [Nitish Kumar] should have given a public apology but instead of that they are saying that what happened was right,” she said.
Asked about Singh’s remarks, Congress MP Imran Masood said, “He needs treatment for mental sickness.”
Observers say the incident is yet another example of how India’s ruling establishment continues to undermine its own claims of secularism, while systematically marginalising Muslims and infringing upon basic religious freedoms — developments that further erode India’s global standing and expose the widening gap between its constitutional ideals and political reality.
