In Madrassas in Uttar Pradesh, henceforth, recital of national anthem would be mandatory for the students.
The decision has been taken by the UP Board of Madrassa Education and later, its head Iftikhar Ahmed Javed said: “The national anthem is sung in various schools and we want to instil patriotism in madrassa students too, so that they know our history and culture.”
In 2017, Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education had announced that unfurling of the tricolour and singing of national anthem would be compulsory in madrassas on Independence Day.
During the same meeting, the Board also decided to introduce pre-qualification exams such as the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET)-based Madrassa Teachers’ Eligibility Test (MTET) for recruitment of madrassa teachers.
Javed also said Islamic institutes are wrought with nepotism.
“Nepotism has become the order of the day in teachers’ recruitment. This is why the board has decided to make MTET mandatory, but the selection process will be finalised by the management. A formal proposal will be sent to the government soon,” he said.
In 2018, a madrassa was derecognized by the Yogi Adityanath government after a cleric stopped students from singing the national anthem on Independence Day in Maharajganj district.
In the video that was widely shared widely on social media, the cleric was seen asking the students to avoid singing the national anthem. He then went on to say that it was not “jayaz” (permissible) in Islam. He was then seen asking students to sing ‘Sare jahan se acha’, even as a teacher protested against the cleric’s comments.
Following a probe, the state government decided to derecognise the madrassa and the Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Board released immediate orders to suspend the licence and registration. Maulana Junaid Ansari and two others were arrested on charges of sedition under Section 124-A and 153B (imputation assertion prejudicial to national integrity) for disrespecting the national anthem.
