SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Wednesday rejected the statement of BJP functionary Kavinder Gupta on Madrassas as “sheer idiocy and mental frustration”, saying that the statement reveals how much revulsion the saffron party and its cadre has for Muslims.
In a press statement, the party’s chief spokesperson Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi said the statement of the former speaker is insightful of his ignorance and malice against Muslims.
“The statement is coming from a person who is affiliated with RSS, an extremist right-wing organization that didn’t play any role in the independence movement of the country; on the contrary it showed revulsion for the movement. The person who killed Mahatma Gandhi had links with the RSS and its affiliated parties. Pertinent to mention here that RSS was also banned following the killing of Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.
Ruhullah said that the allegation is coming from a person who is affiliated with an ideology that didn’t accept tricolor.
“Muslims do not require certificates of nationalism from those who were opposed to the very Constitution of India. The role of madrasas in the mutiny of 1857, and other anti-colonial movement is a well-established fact that cannot be berated by people like Gupta,” he said.
“The role played by madrassas towards national movement is immense. Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali, Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi, Sheikh-ul-Islam Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madani, Maulana Waheed Ahmed Faizabadi, Maulana Aziz Gul and Hakeem Sayeed Nusrat Hussain and others had to face penitentiary and imprisonment for their role in supporting national uprising against British colonial rule,” he said.
“The services rendered by Muslim intelligentsia towards emancipation of the lower class in India are immense and still remains undisputed. In India, madrasas have played an important role in protecting humanism, social values and other virtues including patriotism,” adding, “The role of Muslims and madrassas in the national awakening and national building is no less than any other group in the country.”
“India’s first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad too was a product of Madrasa education. It was he who established various institutions in the country ranging from UGC to IIT’S. As the Chairman of Central Advisory Board of Education, he gave impetus to Adult Education and Literacy. Not only did he lay emphasis on elementary education but also propagated diversification of secondary education and vocational training,” he said.