11 Hindus join madressah, 140 Muslims go to RSS school

Published January 19, 2015
Madressahs have for long been associated with traditional Islamic teachings, but now most of them have joined the mainstream education system and are teaching mainstream subjects. - AP/File
Madressahs have for long been associated with traditional Islamic teachings, but now most of them have joined the mainstream education system and are teaching mainstream subjects. - AP/File

RAMPUR: Defying stereotypes, 11 Hindu children have enrolled in a madressah here while 140 Muslim boys have joined a school run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

According to principal of the Madressah Jamiatul Ansar, it is the parents’ love for the Urdu language and literature which motivated them to put their children in the madressah. 

The Hindu students and their parents “love Urdu and poets like Mirza Ghalib, Firaq Gorakhpuri and Jigar Moradabadi have a following, cutting across distinctions of community religion. Also, the families are keen that the children learn the traditional etiquette”, said Khalid Ansari, the principal of the madressah. 

Madressahs have for long been associated with traditional Islamic teachings, but now most of them have joined the mainstream education system and are teaching mainstream subjects.  Mr Ansari says the 11 Hindu boys, besides learning other subjects, study Urdu language with keen interest. The students from both the communities offer morning prayers together. 

Mean­while, about 140 Muslim children have been enrolled in a school run by the right-wing organisation RSS, known for its Hindutva ideology. 

Take a look: A new vision of India – 100% Hindu

“As many as 140 Muslim boys have been enrolled in various classes of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter Coll­ege,” college principal Jiten­dra Singh said. “The day starts for the students with surya namaskar and singing of Vande Mataram besides vedic hymns,” he said.  Mr Singh said all the students take their lunch together.

He said a graduate of the college, Danish Mustafa, succeeded in getting an engineering job in Saudi Arabia, and claimed hundreds of Muslims students had landed good jobs in various parts of the country. 

—By arrangement with the Times of India

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2015

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