Urdu row: BJP town chief held, gets bail for assault on school principal in Telangana

2 min readHyderabadUpdated: Jun 30, 2026 01:19 AM IST

Khan, who is now unavailable for comment, had earlier told The Indian Express that Urdu was taught in the school “only for two days”, at the insistence of a section of parents. (File Photo)

Two days after a school principal, Aamir Khan, was assaulted by BJP workers for allowing Urdu to be taught in a school in Armoor, Nizamabad district, Telangana Police on Monday took the party’s Armoor town president, M Balu, into custody. His arrest was recorded late Monday night.

Balu, however, got conditional bail from a local court.

Balu and other BJP workers had allegedly manhandled Khan, an English teacher and principal of Bharat Chandra High School, because a woman teacher at the same school taught Urdu instead of Hindi for “two days”. The alleged assault occurred on June 27.

Khan, who is now unavailable for comment, had earlier told The Indian Express that Urdu was taught in the school “only for two days”, at the insistence of a section of parents. Khan had explained that the management stopped teaching the language, which is a second language in Telangana, soon after another section of parents objected to it.

“However, the issue was escalated by the BJP leadership,” Khan had said.

When contacted, Balu had told The Indian Express that the school was teaching kalima and namaz to students “under the garb of teaching Urdu”. When enquired, Khan had justified the teaching of Urdu by saying “it is the second language in the state”, Balu had said.

The Telangana Police had booked two cases — one against Khan and the school correspondent, Mallaiah, for “promoting enmity between communities”, and the other against Balu and others for allegedly assaulting Khan. Khan was booked based on a complaint by the Armoor tehsildar, who accused the school management, including Khan, of teaching the language without taking permission. Balu was booked based on the complaint filed by Khan.

The BJP called for a bandh in Armoor Monday. The bandh remained total, though no untoward incidents were reported. Meanwhile, P Rakesh Reddy, the BJP MLA from Armoor, told The Indian Express: “Why should Urdu be taught in an English medium school? Who is behind this? They were also teaching students kalima and namaz to convert them into Islam. Who is funding this?”

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The school management has, however, stated that “no religious texts were taught to the students”.

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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.

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