Minarets like mosques were erected on the gates of a Government Urdu School in the Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand prompting a fierce outrage from local Hindu organisations. The incident took place in the Government Primary Urdu School in Dumraun of the Ichak Taluka of the Hazaribagh district in Jharkhand. The 35-foot tall minarets built on the gates of the school caused a stir in the locality. More than 128 villagers filed applications from the block level to the district level in this matter, but the education department has not yet taken any action against the responsible school principal.
This school was started in 1976. Currently, 52 students study in this school. Late last month, the construction of two minarets at the school’s main gate began. About 35-foot-high minarets have been constructed. The matter gained momentum when news started being published in local newspapers for the last 5-6 days.
After the construction of the minarets, there is a situation of communal tension in the village. The villagers recalled that when the construction of these mosque-like minarets was opposed by the villagers, the Muslims involved in the construction stopped the work during the day and finished the work at night.
On Sunday (25th February), local Hindus and members of Hindu organisations including Bajrang Dal held massive protests near the school gates expressing their resentment over this attempt to impart a religious identity to a government school. The protestors demanded immediate removal of the illegal construction and action against school headmaster Naushad Alam. The angry villagers have also submitted an application to the District Collector. In the application submitted to the DC, the villagers have said that it is unfair to carry out any kind of construction work on the school without any departmental order.
The local Muslims who erected these minarets in the school claim that it is their private land. They also show papers to claim that the government school is built on private land and that they are free to build the structure. One of the locals said, “We have not given this property in writing to the government, so we will continue to do our religious work here.”
On Saturday, Ichak CO Ramji Prasad visited the spot and inspected it. He talked to all the stakeholders in this case. The CO spoke to the panchayat samiti members and villagers to know their views. He said, “Prima facie, the construction appears illegal. Its investigation report will be submitted to the concerned senior officers. The block education officer of Ichak had sought an explanation from school headmaster Naushad Alam and CRP Deepak Kulkarni. Along with this, the Block Education Extension Office has been asked to take legal action against the headmaster and CRP by giving an application to the local police station.”
According to reports, Doman Mochi, Block Shiksha Prasar Officer of Ichak said, “I came four days ago. This matter is not in my knowledge. It will be investigated. If the allegation is true, it (the construction) is wrong.”
Chohan Mahto is the Sarpanch of the village Dumraun. He said, “An application was filed on this subject one and a half months ago. The application was made to the Deputy Commissioner. No action was taken regarding the minaret. This is a school and how can anybody build something like this? This may be a cause of a bigger dispute. The education department is also silent in this matter. This is a wrong message being sent.”
