Madarsa ownership battle gets murkier

Md A Basith / TNN / Jun 23, 2006, 01:28 IST

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This struggle for the ownership of the institution started after the death of its chairman Moulana Rizwanul Qasimi in 2004.

HYDERABAD: The tussle for control of Darul Uloom Sabeel-ul-Salam at Barkas, the biggest madarsa in the city, and its 50-acre land took an ugly turn last week with the management, alumni and several local leaders dragging the issue into the public domain.
The tussle is now the topic of discussion at every Irani cafe in the Old City. Frequent brawls have also hampered regular classes at the madarsa.At times, the police had to step in to bring the situation under control.
This struggle for the ownership of the institution started immediately after the death of its chairman Moulana Rizwanul Qasimi in 2004.
The madarsa was set up 33 years ago, with Syed Zia-ur-Rahman as its founding chairman, by collecting public funds, donations and charity. It was set up under the Societies Registration Act, local people said.

But Qasimi had allegedly taken over 50 acres of the madarsa land by forging signatures of other members of the society. Soon after his death, his family members formed a panel comprising their kin to control the property.
The property, which was purchased for Rs 7 lakh in the 1970s, is now valued at over Rs 100 crore. Differences among the family members of Qasimi have been cited as the reason for the legal tangle.
Local people now want to set up a separate board comprising their representatives and prominent citizens to protect the property and run the madarsa. They also demanded that the family of Qasimi withdraw the cases and stop claiming ownership of the madarsa and its adjoining land.

Last year, hundreds of local people ransacked the institution alleging that its management was trying to take over the property which belongs to the community.
To counter the takeover bid, some people had distributed copies of the property documents in Barkas. A 70-page dossier was also prepared on the madarsa appending even the pahani details of the land, transfer deed and documents containing the alleged forged signatures of the society members.
The Asifnagar police recently took the family members of Rizwanul Qasimi into custody following a complaint lodged by Syed Azaz-ur-Rahman, the son of the founder of the madarsa. He charged the Qasimi family of forging his father's signature.
Meanwhile, the alleged forged signatures have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for investigation. The madarsa alumni, who formed the Old Boys Association of Sabeel-ul-Salam, contended that the property was purchased by raising public donations hence it should be handed over to the Wakf Board.
"A society comprising prominent citizens be formed to protect the property and also to run the madarsa," association convener Nisar Ahmed Nadvi told TOI.
However, Mohammed Imran, eldest son of the late Qasimi, denied the charges that the family was trying to take over the property of madarsa.
He said the entire land belongs to madarsa but the family members want to be the custodians of the property to ensure its protection. "The allegation of forged signature against my late father is a conspiracy to defame the family," Imran told TOI.

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