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.
Terming Kumar’s act “vile”, the Congress party said he should resign from the chief minister’s post, while the former chief minister Lalu Yadav’s party said it was wondering whether this was proof of his mental health deteriorating.
Weeks before the Bihar elections in November, which Mr. Kumar’s JDU party and the BJP swept, he had come under fire after a video of him garlanding a woman at a public meeting had gone viral. A JDU MP, who tried to stop him from doing so, was rebuked by the chief minister.
Infuriated, Zaira Wasim, a former Indian actor, demanded an “unconditional apology” from Kumar. “A woman’s dignity and modesty are not props to toy with”, she wrote.
Politician Priyanka Chaturvedi said that she wouldn’t be surprised if the woman were to say that “she is okay about it”, as she will be one facing consequences regardless.
Member of the Lok Sabha, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, called for an apology, labelling it an “indefensible” and “deeply disturbing” act.
He also highlighted that the CM should be stepping down from his role after this “erratic” behaviour, questioning his mental ability.
Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair wrote on X: “Even Deputy CM tried to stop him. He wouldn’t have done this if he was in his sense[s]. There are several such videos of him behaving awkwardly.”
Iltija Mehbooba Mufti, daughter of former held Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, told the Press Trust of India: “Just because you’re the CM, it doesn’t mean you can pull off a woman’s hijab. Power doesn’t give you the right to humiliate Muslims. If you’re not well, please step down.”
Her mother also weighed in, tweeting: “Does one attribute it to old age or the normalisation of humiliating Muslims publicly. The fact that people around him watched this horrific incident unfold as some form of an entertainment is even more unsettling.”
Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who currently serves as the Minister for Minority Welfare in Telangana state, told PTI: “Very sad to see this. A head of the state behaving in such a manner is unacceptable, and nobody should do this, not even someone in such a position. What has been done is a very bad act, and it is strongly condemned. Such actions should not be repeated, and appropriate action must be taken, because when the head behaves this way, it gives a wrong signal and encourages others in the state to do the same.”
Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2025
