RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, July 20: The matter of converting hundreds of schools of Jharkhand into Urdu schools has reached the High Court.
The development took place as advocate Rajeev Kumar filed a PIL on behalf of social activist Pankaj Yadav asking the court to give direction to ban the Islamisation of schools in Jharkhand.
Yadav though his petition has submitted before the court that hundreds of schools in six districts of Jharkhand including Jamtara, Pakur and Garhwa have been Islamized and the word ‘Urdu’ is added before the name of government-run schools in Muslim-dominated areas.
Those schools, according to Yadav, are closed on Friday instead of Sunday. Apart from this, Yadav in his petition has mentioned, that instead of praying with folded hands, prayers are being offered with closed hands in this school. This act is being done in violation of rules in 100 schools of Garhwa and 50 schools of Jamtara.
Yadav has brought to the attention of the court that so far information of schools being kept closed on Friday has come from ten districts of Jharkhand and if investigated properly the number of districts may rise.
The petitioner alleged that such unconstitutional and immoral acts are being done in Jharkhand under a big conspiracy. Due to this not only the academic environment is getting spoiled in the government schools of Jharkhand, but religious and social harmony is also at stake, the petitioner said.
It has been said in the petition that Hindu students were not enrolled in a school in Garhwa only because the number of Muslim students in that school was high. Many schools in Ranchi were Urduized and the administration is sitting silent.
After the order of the Education Minister, the petitioner informed, that Jamtara’s schools are being opened on Friday but students and teachers are not allowed to enter the school on Friday.
Those who are respondents in the case include DGP, Chief Secretary, Secretary Human Resource Department, Director Primary Education, DC Latehar, DC Jamtara, and DC Garhwa.
