NEW DELHI: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar invited criticism from the opposition on Tuesday after he pulled off a woman doctor’s hijab at a graduation ceremony.
Opening himself up to more questions about his mental health a month after taking oath as the Bihar chief minister for the 10th time, Kumar was seen in a widely shared video clip as pulling a hijab down from the woman’s face during a government event in Patna.
The video clip shows the 74-year-old politician handing a certificate to an AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) doctor during the event on Monday and motioning to her to remove her hijab.
Before the woman could react, Kumar is seen reaching out and pulling down the hijab, exposing her mouth and chin.
Nitish Kumar’s act of pulling down woman’s face covering draws condemnation, raises questions about his mental health
The moment appeared to catch the woman off guard. Two men, including Bihar’s Home Minister Samrat Choudhary, half-heartedly attempted to stop Kumar, while others on stage laughed, treating the moment as an awkward joke rather than a violation.
The clip has sparked widespread outrage across India and Pakistan, with social media users, activists and commentators demanding an apology, as well as the resignation of the 74-year-old chief minister.
For many, the incident has become less about one man’s lapse in judgment and more about the normalisation of disrespect toward Muslims in India.
