UP madrassas told to submit video footage of I-Day functions

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has asked all Madrassas (Islamic schools) to hold celebrations on Independence Day and submit video footage of the events organized to the district minority welfare officer. The directives, sent to all government aided Madrassas, say that the video footage will help the board to guide these institutions to put up a better show in the future.
The circular, issued by Rahul Gupta, Registrar, UP Madrassa Education Board which comes under the Minority Welfare Department of the state government, has been sent out to some 8500 Islamic schools which receive government aid. Of these 507 Madrassas have teachers who are given salary by the government. The rest have been covered under the government’s Madrassa mordernisation scheme, says RP Singh, Joint Director, Minority Welfare.
The circular has triggered some strong reactions from the clerics and Madrassa teachers. Questioning the need for singling out the Madarssas to submit video proof of such celebrations, they see the circular as an attempt to send across a message that these institutions were not hoisting the tri color on January 26 and August 15 every year which was not the case.
Secretary, Basic Education Council, Sanjay Sinha said, “It‘s a routine exercise to issue letter ahead of importance days like the Independence Day. This year too, a letter asking schools to carry out tree plantation, reciting of national anthem, hoisting of national flag has already been drafted. The letter will reach the schools on August 12 morning. Students should be told the significance of Independence Day and about freedom fighters who got India free.’’ He added, no provision of videography has been made. “We trust our schools,’’ Sinha said.
“We hoist the tri color on both the Independence Day and the Republic Day and sing our national anthem in all the Madrassas since independence and will do it this time as well,” said Ajaz Ahmed, national president Islamic Madrassa Mordernisation Teachers Association of India (IMMTAI). However he questioned the government’s intentions over asking the institutes to submit video footage of such events. “We are being asked to submit proof of these events and it is as good as someone asking to prove our nationalism and patriotism,” he said.
Similar sentiments were aired by Maulana Saif Abbas who runs Madrassa Abu Talib in Lucknow. “Rashtragaan is a regular feature at our Madrassas during the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations. By asking us to submit video proof, the government has already declared that they doubt our patriotism,” says the Shia cleric.
Maulana Khalid Rasheed says that the circular issued by the BJP government is aimed at establishing an unfounded notion that Muslims don’t celebrate national festivals like Independence Day and Republic Day. “The community has been an integral part of the freedom movement and Muslims have sacrificed their life for the country like any other Indian but why has the government not issued similar directives to all the government aided schools and only decided to single out the Madrassas,” he said.