Lucknow: Teaching madrasa students in Uttar Pradesh about Muslim freedom fighters, so that they can understand their community’s contribution to the nation, is on the agenda for Danish Azad Ansari, the lone Muslim minister in the Yogi Adityanath 2.0 cabinet.
Ansari, the minister of state for minority welfare, also defended his government’s bulldozer action, saying that the move was a “message to criminals and mafias that the country will run according to the rule of law and there is no place for corruption”.
In an interview with ThePrint, Ansari — at 33, one of the youngest ministers in the cabinet — discussed his priorities under the ‘100 days action plan’ ordered by CM Yogi Adityanath. These include teaching madrasa students about Muslim freedom fighters, a mobile application for madrasa students to access their curriculum, and freeing Waqf properties from “illegal possession”.
He also said that discussions are on about having a recruitment exam for madrasa teachers on the lines of the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET). This, however, is not part of the 100-day plan.
Ansari, who belongs to eastern UP’s Ballia district, said his department is mulling the adding of sections about freedom fighters from minority communities to the curriculum, so that the students get to know about the contribution of their community to the nation.
“It used to be taught earlier too, and we are planning to ensure that madrasa students get taught about special freedom fighters and those great personalities who contributed towards making this nation great, so that our madrasa student or student of minority institutes can understand his/ her society. In the 100-day agenda, we will start work to introduce teaching about freedom fighters from minority society (sic),” the minister said.
Lucknow-based Muslim cleric Maulana Saif Abbas Naqvi, however, told ThePrint that teachings about freedom fighters from minority communities would be a new concept for madrasas.
The names have not been finalised yet. Ansari said that though the first name that comes to mind is that of Ashafaqullah Khan, there are many others who made significant contributions before the country gained independence.
“We will teach our madrasa students about them so that they too get to know about the freedom fighters of our community and their service to the nation,” he added.
Also Read: ‘No one listened’: Jahangirpuri residents cry after bulldozers raze ‘illegal’ shops & structures
‘Action will be taken against any person, no matter how powerful’
Asked about allegations that demolitions conducted over the past few months in UP, Madhya Pradesh and most recently Delhi overlooked constitutional propriety, Ansari kept his response limited to the goings on in his state. He said that CM Adityanath had issued instructions that any such action must be taken within the purview of law, and the helpless and destitute must not be harassed.
The bulldozer became a buzzword after Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti processions this year witnessed violence in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Delhi. The latest incident took place in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri last week, where bulldozers demolished several structures just four days after the area witnessed a communal flare-up.
In UP, Adityanath is often called ‘Bulldozer Baba’ due to his various references to his government deploying bulldozers to raze illegal properties of criminals and mafias. For example, on 25 March, in Saharanpur, a police team reached the house of two rape accused named Amir and Asif with a bulldozer and demolished a portion of their house. Moreover, earlier this month, the house of a murder accused was demolished in Tanda district, following which an inquiry was ordered.
“Action will be taken against any person, no matter how powerful, without any bias, and this will continue in the future too…The UP CM has directed that no innocent person should be targeted and criminals should not be spared,” Ansari said.
National anthem recital, hoisting national flag
Asked about Cabinet Minister Dharampal Singh’s comment that “nationalism will be taught to students in madrasas of the state”, and the UP Board of Madrasa Education’s order making reciting of the national anthem and hoisting of the national flag mandatory along with morning prayers, Ansari said it was a “positive move”, and “any positive thing should be implemented”.
Furthermore, discussions are on to start a “UPTET-like test” for madrasas for recruitment of teachers, though this is not part of the 100-day plan, he added: “We are holding discussions to improve the system. If anything concrete comes up, then the same can be shared. The agenda is to create a transparent system. Discussion is on…it is in the pipeline.”
Ansari also said that a special mobile app will be developed to help madrasa students access their curriculums on their mobile phones.
Action against ‘illegal possession’ of Waqf properties
Ansari said that minority education and employment as well as women empowerment are his priorities, along with ensuring that Waqf properties under illegal possession are demarcated so action can be taken.
“Waqf board properties are meant for the betterment of the minority community. However, illegal possession (of some such properties) is harming the interests of the community. One of my priorities is to ensure they are freed from illegal possession. We have sought a report from each district to share a list of such properties, and the Shia and Sunni Waqf boards have been told to demarcate such land under illegal possession. Notices will be issued to them first and action will follow,” he added.
‘Will work for minorities’ development’
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, Ansari said, is already trying to reach out to backward Sunni Muslims — the section of the community to which he belongs — it also plans to work towards the development of the weaver community, which comprises a large number of backward Muslims.
He also claimed that the percentage of Muslims voting for the BJP has increased.
“In the previous elections, while BJP would get 4-5 per cent Muslim votes, this time, we have got almost 8 per cent votes. It clearly shows that Muslims have expressed confidence in the BJP and re-established faith in the BJP government. They have given us their blessings in the form of votes. From east to west, in every sector, we are working on schemes for them. The weaver community is present in huge numbers in the state. For example, Bhadohi has qaleen (carpet makers) workers, Azamgarh has black pottery workers, Moradabad has brass workers, Bareilly has furniture workers. Minorities are in huge numbers across the state and we are looking at all of them and will work for their development,” he said.
Ansari said that the government has already worked for the community under the ODOP (One District One Product) project and were looking at saree-makers of Mau and Ghazipur too.
“They should get exposure under ODOP. We have worked for them in the previous five years. They are already linked with Flipkart and Amazon under ODOP and we plan to link more such e-commerce companies with ODOP,” he added.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also Read: Permission not taken for Hanuman Jayanti rally that erupted in clash at Jahangirpuri, say police