On Thursday (March 24), the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education announced that singing of national anthem along with other morning prayers will be mandatory for students in madrassas, reported The Times of India.
The decision was taken during a Board meeting, which was led by Chairman Iftikhar Ahmed Javed. While speaking about the development, he 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.”
It must be mentioned that the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education had announced in 2017 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. Iftikhar Ahmed Javed conceded that the Islamic institutes are wrought with nepotism.
He remarked, “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.”
Madrassa licence cancelled for barring students from singing national anthem in UP
In August 2018, the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adithyanath decided to cancel the registration and derecognized a madrasa in the Maharajganj district after a cleric prevented the students of the institution from singing the national anthem on Independence Day.
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.
Is this secular India….??
— Advo. Brijendra Sahay Mishra (@brijendra_bsm) August 15, 2018
Singing national enthem is not allowed as per muslim religion is said by the the members of this Madarsha situated at maharajganj U.P….
Plz take necessary action regarding disregard to our national enthem as soon as possible… pic.twitter.com/H7k7ElFTwh
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.
