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Bengal
Chief Minister Bites Dust Over Madrasa Remarks
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Remarks by Bhattachrjee sparked angry demonstrations
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By
Zafarul-Islam Khan
IOL
South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, Feb. 10 (IslamOnline) - Bowing to the immense pressure of social,
religious and political parties, Buddhadeb Bhattachrjee, the Marxist chief
minister of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, has made an about-turn on
his earlier outpourings against madrasas (Islamic schools) in the state.
Yesterday he issued orders to the state police not to harass madrasas in
particular and Muslims in general.
He
says that he was 'misquoted' on the madrasa controversy even by his own party
faction Ganashakti. The chief minister denied his own words when he said on
February 3 that his government had never received reports that the madrasas were
involved in anti-national activities.
"In
recent times we have made several arrests of people suspected of being involved
in the Khadim chief abduction case and the terrorist attack near the American
Center. Not one of them is even remotely connected with madrasas," he
added.
He
also said in the same breath: "Fundamentalist elements are active not only
among Muslims. They are active among both Hindus and Muslims. But a majority of
Hindus and Muslims are patriots. This is my belief as well as my ideology."
The
LK Advani-led Home Ministry in New Delhi has targeted madrasas for long as
alleged centers of terrorism and Pakistani intelligence ISI's hideouts, but
without furnishing any concrete proof so far even against a single madrasa. In
the state of West Bengal madrasas came under intense criticism from the chief
minister following attack on the police picket outside the American Center in
Calcutta on 22 January.
The
chief minister criticized the madrasas of hobnobbing with the ISI of Pakistan
and other anti-national elements. He also announced in Siliguri that
unrecognized madrasas will be closed down by the government very soon. The chief
minister also asked the police to survey the madrasas in the predominantly
Muslim district of Murshidabad and furnish all information regarding the
strength of students there, their addresses and their sources of income.
Another
senior Communist Party of India (CPI-M) leader Anil Biswas followed him in his
criticism of madrasas. He asked his party leaders, ministers and party cadres to
keep a close watch on madrasas. He went ahead and said that he feared that these
madrasas can join hands with Naxalites and other separatist forces. There are
507 recognized madrasas in the state besides hundreds of non-recognized ones.
Attacks
on madrasas and negative comments about them by the chief minister and his party
men did not go down well and received widespread criticism from all corners.
Jamiatul Ulama-e-Hind organized a huge rally on 4 February in Kolkata warning
the government of dire consequences if it went ahead with its 'clean up'
program.
Thousands
of Muslims attended the rally against Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's comments
maligning the madrasas and the community. The Jamiat also threatened to launch a
statewide movement if he failed to review his stand.
Several
Muslim organizations have come out in the open to denounce Bhattacharjee's
highly inflammable comments. Zaheeruddin Khan, general secretary of the All
India Anti-terrorist Forum said, "It is a blatant attempt to malign the
community." Noore Khuda, an office-bearer of the Madrasa Teachers'
Association, said that "People who go to these madrasas are from the lowest
strata of the society. After their education, they do petty jobs like teaching
in religious schools and working as mosque imams or the like. They are simple
people. I don't believe they are terrorists." West Bengal Madrasa Board
president, Abdus Sattar, said, "People have misconceptions about madrasas.
They do not know that madrasas are secular educational institutions which have
even Hindu teachers and Hindu students." Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has also
condemned the CM's statement calling it unwarranted and out of context.
A
letter from JIH addressed to the CPI (M) general secretary, Harkishen Singh
Surjeet, made scathing attack on the party stand and the CM and said that 'it
was perceived earlier that such misplaced and aggressive campaigns against
Muslims and their institutions are directed only by the Sangh Parivar. But now
it seems your party too has started giving the same signals."
Mamata
Banerjee, the firebrand Trinamul Congress leader, has called the CM's criticism
of madrasas as an anti-Muslim drive. But the most scathing attack against the
chief minister came from none other than his own party cadres when they realized
the big mistake their chief minister made.
Former
chief minister Jyoti Basu admonished his successor Buddhdeb Bhattachrjee for his
remarks against madrasas. At the Left Front meeting held in Kolkata on February
6, Basu advised the CM to admit that he had made a mistake by making such a
remark. Basu reportedly told him curtly, "You have made a mistake. You
should admit it."
When
Buddhadeb tried to justify his remarks, CPIM organ Ganashakti, CPI state
secretary Manju Majumdar, reportedly asked him, "What prevented you from
correcting the mistake? Why it took you so long to find out that you were
wrongly quoted by the media?"
While
the CM fumbled, CPM state secretary Anil Biswas and LF chairman Biman Bose
admitted that it had been indeed a grave mistake. "The controversy was
allowed to snowball and should have been nipped in the bud," they said.
The
LF also decided that the party mouthpiece Ganashakti newspaper would immediately
carry a correction and the CM would give an interview to the newspaper
explaining that he had nothing against madrasas. No madrasa was involved in the
terrorist activities, he would say in the interview.
Meanwhile,
Bhattacharjee has instructed the police in West Bengal not to harass innocent
Muslims.
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