Annual day functions are usually chaotic, crowded affairs — too many parents, too many performances, too many speeches squeezed into one evening.

At a private school in Indore this month, there were two annual days instead. One for Muslim students. Another for Hindu students.

On February 2 and 3, the International School of Bombay in Khajrana held separate annual functions for different groups. Several Muslim parents told Newslaundry they were not informed in advance that the celebrations had been split and only realised when they reached the venue and found that the audience was unusually uniform.

The school, however, said the decision was logistical and considerate, not discriminatory.

Joy Joseph, the admission officer, said, “We held the annual function on two separate days because Shab-e-Baraat was being observed on February 3. We felt Muslim students might not be able to attend the event that day, so we organised a separate function for them on February 2.” He added that the venue, Ravindra Natya Grih, could not accommodate all students and parents together. “We conduct the annual function every year on a fixed date. That is why we did not shift it.”

Principal Manju Chopra could not be reached for........

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