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Row gathers steam: BJP leader to visit seminary after Darul Uloom Deoband’s circular on ‘English ban’
In his circular (a copy of which is available with HT), Hardwari restricted students from studying English while being enrolled at the institute and warned them that violation could lead to expulsion.
LUCKNOW Despite a clarification issued by the Darul Uloom Deoband, the controversy over its circular that bans students from learning English continued to gather steam on Saturday.
The prominent Islamic seminary went on to add that the row over the circular -- issued by Maulana Hussain Hardwari, its in-charge of education section -- has been ‘misinterpreted and deliberately blown out of proportion’.
Following notice by the U.P. Minorities Commission and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to the seminary, a senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) minority wing in west U.P. said that he would visit the seminary for a fact-check too. This visit is expected to prolong the age of the controversy.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he wanted Muslim students to have Quran in one hand and a laptop in the other. It’s clear that the BJP is all for imparting modern education to enable a progressive attitude among madrasa students. However, going by what we hear, the seminary’s attempts to stop students from studying any language are reprehensible. We will visit the seminary for a fact-check,” said Javed Malik, BJP’s minority wing in-charge in west Uttar Pradesh.
In his circular (a copy of which is available with HT), Hardwari restricted students from studying English while being enrolled at the institute and warned them that violation could lead to expulsion. “We have summoned Deoband seminary’s officials to the commission’s Lucknow office on June 21,” said Ashraf Saifi, the chairman of the state’s minority commission.
Priyank Kanoongo, the Delhi-based chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, told HT that he felt that Saharanpur administration officials haven’t acted firmly against the seminary. “They are repeat offenders. In the past too, we had issued notices to them over fatwas. If only the Saharanpur administration acted a bit firmly (against the seminary), things would be different,” said Kanoongo.
In a similar vein, U.P. minorities’ commission chairperson, Ashraf Saifi, told HT that he has written to the seminary through Dinesh Chandra, the district magistrate of Saharanpur. Repeated attempts to contact Chandra didn’t materialise while Bharat Lal Gond, Saharanpur’s district minorities officer, said he has not received any orders from the government so far to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, Maulana S Rashidi, a spokesman for Deoband, criticised those, who according to him were spewing venom. “A circular meant only for Deoband’s students has created a needless controversy. For the past 15 years, Deoband is running courses in English and Computers. This circular was only meant for students who receive free-of-cost education, stay, and medical facilities from Deoband. The issue/circular was for students who enroll with Deoband for studying Islamic jurisprudence. They usually enroll with some outside body for studying other subjects. What’s wrong with that,” he asked.
“A section of intellectuals is deliberately out to twist and tweak the entire issue. Only 2% students are enrolled in madrasas. The Constitution permits minorities to set up educational institutes based on language and religion. So, some ministers are making needless controversy. Such hatred-spewing acts appear to be part of the political discourse now,” he added.
