Congress-ruled Karnataka and YSRCP-ruled Andhra Pradesh have changed the timings of schools to suit the schedule of Muslim students observing a fast for the month of Ramzan.
As per reports, the Karnataka Directorate of Urdu and Other Minority Language Schools issued a circular modifying the Ramzan hours for Urdu primary and high schools from 8 am to 12:45 pm.
The Andhra Pradesh School Education Department has ordered a similar change in timings for Urdu-medium schools. Schools will now open from 8 am to 1:30 pm from 12th March to 10th April.
This comes after the Minority Teachers’ Association in Andhra Pradesh urged authorities to consider the requirements of children marking Ramzan.
The directive applies to Urdu medium primary and high schools as well as parallel sections and the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET).
In Telangana, the work hours for Muslim employees have been reduced for the month of Ramzan. This will apply from 12th March to 11th April.
Muslim government employees in Telangana can leave work at 4 pm for the month.
The outright communal nature of these decisions taken by the two Congress-ruled states of Karnataka and Telangana and the YSRCP-ruled Andhra Pradesh exposes the sheer appeasement politics being played by the parties.
What’s worse is that these pro-Muslim decisions come in the backdrop of the several anti-Hindu decisions taken by these very governments in the recent past.
On 27th January, the Karnataka Police removed a Hanuman flag hoisted on a 108-foot pole in Mandya district prompting protests against the Congress government.
The Telangana Revenue Department on 5th March issued a circular cancelling the 3-day holiday of its employees across Hyderabad on 8,9 and 10 March on account of Mahashivratri because the CM had visits scheduled.
The very next day, on 6th March, the Telangana government issued a circular that stated, “Government hereby permits the Muslim Government Service/Contract/Out-sourcing/Boards/Public Sector Employees/Schools working in the state to leave their offices/schools at 4 pm during the Holy Month of RAMZAN.”
This exposes a stark difference between the treatment to Hindus and Muslims under the Congress government.
Additionally, on 8th March, as devotees gathered to observe Mahashivaratri in Telangana, the police resorted to aggressive tactics, including baton-charging the crowd that was merely attempting to cross the barricades.
The lack of proper crowd management and empathy from the police led to chaos and unnecessary violence, tarnishing what should have been a joyous occasion of spiritual observance.
The Andhra Pradesh government too has in the past tried to interfere with a temple administration and was called out for the same by the High Court as well as the Supreme Court. In June 2022, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government launched a drone pilot training program, the ads for which stated that the program was only for candidates belonging to Muslim and Christian communities.
