A principal of the Somaiya School in Vidyavihar, Mumbai, has been forced to step down from her position due to her alleged social media activity regarding the Palestine-Israel conflict and the ongoing killings in Gaza.
The decision was made by the school body after OpIndia, a pro-Hindutva website, published an article targeting the principal Parveen Shaikh for expressing political views on social media.
The OpIndia article, which was published on April 24, claimed to ‘expose Shaikh’ and accused her of being pro-Palestine and “sympathetic towards Hamas”. It also said she is ” anti-Hindu”, that she has “pro-Zakir Naik views” and also alleged that she is a supporter of “Islamist Umar Khalid (JNU scholar who is currently in jail)” while citing her behaviour on her X account based on posts she had liked there.
Subsequently, Shaikh was summoned by the school management on April 26, two days after the article was published. She was informed that her continued association with the school was no longer viable, and was asked to resign.
Shaikh, who has reportedly been associated with the institution for 12 years, served as its principal for the past seven years. The Somiaya school management reached out to her and sought an explanation. However, she Shaikh refused to comply with the request, citing her commitment to democratic principles and the importance of freedom of speech in India.
Parveen Shaikh expressed her disbelief at the malicious response to her expressions, stating that she was unaware of OpIndia or the report until she was informed by the management.
While talking to The Wire Shaikh said, “The management acknowledges my hard work and contribution to shaping The Somaiya School. However, they said they were under immense pressure to take action against me. They have not specified grounds other than the OpIndia article.”
OpIndia’s history of harassment
However, this is not a unique incident where OpIndia.com has stoked controversy about the Muslim principal for her political views. The right-wing website has a well-documented history of engaging in targeted harassment, spreading hate speech, and publishing misinformation.
In 2023, the Avadi police in Tamil Nadu registered a case against its Chief Executive Officer Rahul (CEO) Roushan and Editor Nupur Sharma for allegedly creating fear among the Hindi-speaking migrant workers in the state by publishing false news.
The website, which was launched in 2014, has morphed from a “media commentary” blog into a platform that actively promotes Hindu supremacy and chauvinism, while relentlessly attacking Muslims, liberals, leftists, and critics of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
An article from Newslaundry shows that in the last two years alone, fact-checkers and news outlets have reported at least 25 instances of false news and 14 instances of misreporting on OpIndia. The website’s penchant for communalizing crimes and explicitly naming the Muslim identity of accused individuals in its headlines has been a consistent pattern.
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