Nishikant Dubey, a member of the BJP, has accused the Hemant Soren-led JMM-Congress coalition in Jharkhand of abusing the state’s educational system to pursue appeasement politics. Speaking to the media, the BJP leader raised concerns over the state moving towards ‘Islamisation’ under the Hemant Soren government.
Dubey said that the JMM-Congress administration in the state of Jharkhand’s primary goal is to win votes and in its desperation to do so it will not even hesitate to solicit the help of Pakistan, China, or Bangladesh.
#WATCH | Jharkhand being changed to Islamic state… This is a conspiracy, NIA should be called to investigate. Congress & JMM in it together… They’ll take anyone’s help to win, be it Pakistan, China: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on many Jharkhand schools having Fridays as week off pic.twitter.com/uaLDiqd1gT
— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2022
Dubey was concerned that Hemant Soren’s leadership was ignoring the “very serious” problems associated with hundreds of state-run schools in Jharkhand switching to Urdu schools and demanded that the National Investigation Agency conduct an investigation into it.
The BJP leader further alleged that the state administration has inadvertently consented to hundreds of government schools in Jharkhand moving towards Islamification by issuing an order, in the wake of the recent uproar, to remove the word ‘Urdu’ from the schools that have not been notified as Urdu Schools.
He informed the media that on August 2, BJP MLA Anant Ojha had raised the issue of the Islamisation of education in Jharkhand in the Parliament. He had alleged that “Urdu was added at the local level” in 407 schools across the state, while the weekly holiday was changed from Sunday to Friday in 509 schools. The Jharkhand government had agreed to the same and a day prior on August 1, issued an order to remove the word ‘Urdu’ from the schools that have not been notified as Urdu Schools.
लोकसभा में कल मेरे द्वारा झारखंड के इस्लामीकरण,सरकारी स्कूलों में उर्दू विद्यालय जोड़ना व रविवार की जगह शुक्रवार की छुट्टी का यह आधा अधूरा सच है जो झारखंड सरकार ने स्वीकार किया है @NIA_India @PIBHomeAffairs को इसके विदेशी आका व झारखंड में रहने वाले देशद्रोहियों की जॉंच करनी चाहिए https://t.co/Js5lNHjmMD
— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) August 6, 2022
Notably, the BJP MP from Jharkhand’s Godda Lok Sabha constituency had also raised the same issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha on Friday. He had asked the Union Government to not release funds to these schools under the Centre’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
“All of a sudden, at least 1,800 schools included the word Urdu in their names across Jharkhand…. Now a report of a committee set up by the Jharkhand government has come (which stated) that Sunday is not a weekly holiday in these schools,” the BJP MP said.
Calling it “a very serious matter”, Dubey alleged that the “country is moving towards Islamisation and Jharkhand has shown the way.” “It is my humble request to the Centre that an NIA probe is ordered and funding of the schools which have included Urdu in their names and changed the weekly holiday to Friday be withheld,” he said.
He further said that a message should be sent out that “this country runs under one law and that such things will not be tolerated at any cost”.
Islamification of state-run schools in Jharkhand
It may be recalled that OpIndia had reported in detail how the state-run schools in places like Jamtara, Lohardaga, Garhwa and Dumka, the hometown of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, have made several modifications in state-run schools in response to the whims of the local Muslim population in the areas.
In July this year, a class 4 student was brutally thrashed by Mohammad Abul Kalam, the headmaster of a government school in Giridih, Jharkhand, for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the classroom’s blackboard.
Recently, it was reported how Sharia and Islamic practices were being imposed on the students of a state-run school in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district, with children forbidden from praying with their hands folded. Then reports emerged on how state-run schools in areas like Jamtara and Dumka, which is the hometown of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, were being converted into Urdu schools, and the weekly offs changed from Sunday to Friday (Jumma).
In April, a ruckus ensued in the Government Jagannathpur Polytechnic college in Jharkhand after students chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogans while celebrating ‘Nav Samvatsar’, the first day of Hindu New Year.
State Govt orders removal of the word ‘Urdu’ from the schools that have not been notified as Urdu Schools
Notably, owing to the uproar stirred by media reports about the Islamification of state-run schools, the Jharkhand authorities on August 1, issued an order to remove the word ‘Urdu’ from the schools that have not been notified as Urdu Schools. The Directorate of Primary Education under the Department of School Education and Literacy issued directives that stated that the department received information that some schools have added the word ‘Urdu’ and started observing weekly offs on Friday instead of Sunday. It further noted that those schools also changed the schedule of mid-day meals accordingly and changed the pre-prayer methods.
