Nitish refuses wear skull cap at madrasa event in Patna

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday (August 21, 2025) reportedly refused to wear a skull cap that’s typically worn by Muslims at the centenary celebration of the Bihar Madrasa Education Board, where Mr. Kumar was the chief guest.

In a video that went viral on social media, Mr. Kumar can be seen holding the cap with both hands and placing it on the head of his Cabinet colleague and Minority Welfare Minister Mohammad Zama Khan.

“Nitish’s politics takes a new hue – rejecting the cap on stage, but accepting Sanghi coordination behind the scenes. The real face of Chacha’s cunning revealed,” the Bihar Youth Congress posted on social media platform X, along with the video.

When he was not part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Mr. Kumar was known to indirectly critique Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before the latter became PM, that the leaders of India must wear ‘topi (cap) and tilak’ (symbols of the Muslim and Hindu communities, respectively).

Mr. Kumar was previously seen wearing the topi at iftar parties at his official residence, and other functions of the Muslim community.

Since he formed the government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leaving the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress in 2022, several Muslims leaders have expressed their disenchantment with Mr. Kumar. When the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) supported the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which is now an Act, several Muslim leaders of the party resigned in protest.

RJD MLC Qari Muhammad Shohaib, RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed, and former MLA Mujahid Alam jointly addressed a press conference at the party office, alleging that Mr. Kumar was neither secular before nor would he remain secular because he was “busy pleasing the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)“.

Mr. Kumar listed the developmental work carried out for Muslims and madrasas at the event.

Attacking the previous RJD-Congress alliance government in the State, Mr. Kumar said that before 2005, no work had been done for the people of the Muslim community.

“After the formation of the new government, a lot of work has been done for the Muslim community. Earlier, there used to be Hindu-Muslim fights, so fencing of graveyards was started from 2006 itself. Fencing of graveyards has been done on a large scale. Now, there is no fight,” the Bihar CM said.

“Earlier, the condition of madrasas was very bad and madrasa teachers received little money. From 2006, madrasas were registered and given government recognition. Madrasa teachers started receiving salaries equal to government teachers, and equal salaries are being given continuously since then,” Mr. Kumar said.