Cornering Muslim students by Gujarat government, A Clear violation of Constitution
Close on the heels of Gujarat government exercise to collect religious identification of Muslim students, has sent shock waves among Muslims in the state. Parents of thousand of Muslims students are not happy at all with state government attitude towards this new style of religion identification.
All India Milli Council, Gujarat Chapter General Secretary and Editor of www.siyasat.net clearly opined that this is against the secular character of the Indian state.State government cannot ask only Muslim students of their identity. It should be for all students. Muslims students cannot be discriminated.The Constitution forbids state from mixing religion with education. The state being secular in character will not identify itself with any one of the religions or religious denominations. This necessarily implies that religion will not play any role in the governance of the country which must at all times be secular in nature.
Lambasting Gujarat government for this excercise, AIMC, Gujarat President Mufti Rizwan Tarapuri told that Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by the country’s constitution.Modern India came into existence in 1947 as a secular nation and the Indian constitution’s preamble states that India is a secular state. By asking Muslim students their religion, what is purpose behind that? Gujarat government has acted against constitution. The state government should ask all students about their religion.
Ahmedabad based educationist Uvesh Sareshwala expressed his views and told that this exercise is clearly violation of Indian Constitution and secular fabric of nation. It should be challenged in court and all Muslims should either go for boycott of this column or click on “others”option.
Why should the Gujarat government gather details of all Muslim students appearing for Board examinations in the State? Muslim students appearing for their Standard 10 and 12 Board examinations are specifically being asked to identify their religion after they say they belong to the minority category. Shockingly, after a student says yes, the online form categorically asks, “Please select”.
There are only two options provided. First option is ‘Muslim’. And second option is ‘Others’.
Interestingly, Gujarat has at least four other minority communities including Christians, Sikh, Buddhist and the richest and most influential Jain community but the Gujarat government is just keen to know whether a minority community student is a Muslim or not.
The Board examinations in Gujarat are conducted by the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GSHSEB). Every year, 17.5 lakh (approx) students appear for Board examinations.In 2018, as many as 17.14 lakh students wrote their Board exams. It is mandatory for all students to fill up the examination forms online. A lot of poor students without computer and internet access seek help from their schools or mentors to fill up these forms.“The forms are usually filled by the school administration. I came to know after I went to school to fill up my child’s form and saw that they had asked if we belong to the minority. When we clicked on “yes”, it offered two options: “Muslims or Others”. This left me wondering if the data gathered from online forms could be misused for something else. This has raised fear in me,” said the father of a Class 12 Science student who wished to remain anonymous.“I am scared. Before 2002, a similar exercise was initiated by the Gujarat government where every police station was asked to identify Muslim businesses in their locality. My restaurant was singled out and burnt. It was revealed that rioters had used the census collected by the government and police. I am scared for my son now. Why is Gujarat government keen to know if the student is Muslim or not. What is the purpose?” a Muslim restauranteur, whose son is appearing for his 12th Science examinations and is keen to join an IIT, told Mirror, emphasizing that he is really scared that all is not well in Gujarat.Now, cornering Muslim students like this is the final straw on the camel’s back. If the Board wants to ask students which minority community they belong to, they should seek information from students belonging to other minority communities like Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, too. Why just single out Muslims?”
Principal of F D School for Girls, Anisa Shaikh, feels that the Board should expand its perspective. The options must have been in this format since the time online system was started, she said, adding, “The forms are usually filled up by clerks in office and we just get printouts filled with all choices. This year is first time that we came to know about it. Is it an effort to gather data of various minorities? In such a case, why have they not offered options for other religious or linguistic minorities as well?”
She claimed, “The government and the Board cannot get away by claiming they were unaware of the issue, or that their outsourcing agency goofed up. Such flimsy excuses have become the norm.” Principal Sheikh demanded that existing malady be immediately addressed by the Gujarat government.
Achyut Yagnik, honorary secretary of Centre for Social Knowledge and Action – an organisation working for vulnerable communities, believe it is fundamentally a wrong question to ask. “The board should not differentiate between majority and minority, and further differentiate between minority communities.
This is insensitive of the board and education minister. The chief minister must look into it and ensure that such a thing is not repeated,” he said.
It’s a ‘scary’ feeling
Prof Navdeep Mathur of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, feels this is “scary”. “The Board’s purpose of asking this question is not clear. If it wishes to gather details, it should do so for all religious minorities and other minorities present in India. Gujarat is not a closed state and has presence of students from pockets of India. Why just mark-out Muslims alone?” he asked.
Political observer Ghanshyam Shah said, “It is dangerous. By asking such a question, they make students conscious of being a Muslim. Our Constitution talks about secularism and board is making them conscious of their caste and community. This is against the Constitution. This may isolate Muslims. If this is for any scholarship, it is understood but why ask such a question to Board students? Secondly, the then CM and now PM Narendra Modi had informed Sachar Committee that they do not differentiate between majority and minority. And his the government run by his party is differentiating between them.”
‘Unconstitutional act’
