Community Round-Up

Three teachers in one civic school, with classes from Std I to VII. In another school, a single teacher has a Std I and a Std III class in the same room. Elsewhere, teachers scuttle from room to room teaching various classes at the same time.


These were vignettes of the state of education in civic schools, coming from angry Corporators in the house of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently. The serious dearth of teachers is most acute in Urdu-medium schools, they raged, after Samajwadi Party corporator Mohsin Haider raised the issue. While Hindi-medium civic schools are missing nearly 400 teachers, Urdu schools are awaiting 266 recruitments. Worse, a large chunk of these vacancies in Urdu-medium schools is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Nomadic Tribes (NT). “Whether you like it or not,’’ said Congress Corporator, K. A Bastiwala, ‘‘it’s rare to find a non-Muslim who can teach Urdu,” and naturally, the Muslim community cannot offer SC, ST or NT candidates.


The All India Khilafat Committee’s BEd college in Byculla trains 100 teachers each year, but nobody is opting for a job in a civic Urdu school, says Principal Safia Mukadam. This is because the BMC is waiting for reserved category applications. ‘‘But there are no SC or ST candidates among Muslims,’’ she said.


Where will they get these teachers?’ Seven or eight graduates from her college are still hunting for jobs. And there are 266 vacancies in civic Urdu schools, most of which they cannot apply for. Municipal Commissioner, Johny Joseph said that under a 2001 Government Resolution, it was essential for the BMC to prove that reserved category candidates were unavailable. ‘‘We have already written to the government saying we will take open category candidates if SC/ST candidates do not apply,’’ he said.

In a serious setback to the Shahi Imam of Delhi’s historic Jama Masjid, the Delhi High Court has asked the Imam to submit a statement of the last 30 year’s account to the Delhi Waqf Board. Ahmad Bukhari claimed that the historic mosque is run by a Trust headed by him and the Waqf Board has nothing to do with the mosque.


A Division Bench of Justices B C Patel and S K Kaul issued this directive while hearing a public interest litigation by the NGO, Heritage and Culture Forum. The NGO has asked for the Jama Masjid to be declared a ‘protected monument’.


Bukhari’s claims to custody of the Masjid also received a setback recently when the High Court decided that the Waqf Board was its real custodian. The Bench asked the Archaeological Survey of India to carry out minor repairs in the structure and submit a completion report by August 3, 2005, when the petition is to come up for hearing next.

The Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has announced that an Islamic University will soon be established at Awantipura in South Kashmir. He said that the university would be the first of its kind in Kashmir.


Sayeed, who is also Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board, said that the government had identified waste Waqf land at Awantipura on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway to establish the campus of the university.

Principal Sessions judge, R.R Vachcha recently transferred the infamous Suleman Usman Bakery firing case to a fast-track court in Sewri. The transfer orders came following an application by the eight policemen accused in the case that another case on the same episode in 1993 was being heard by the fast-track court. The eight are facing charges of shooting dead nine Muslims who had taken refuge in the bakery during the 1993 riots. “The Sewri court is already hearing another case in the same matter which was registered by the Pydhonie police,” said advocate Shrikant Shivde, counsel for the accused policemen. The case relates to the arrest of 78 persons during the riots from the area near the Bakery and the Dar Ul Imdadiya madrasa after a counter-complaint was registered by the police. The trial in the case has already commenced in the fast-track court of additional sessions judge D.D Joshi. “Since both cases relate to the same incident, Supreme Court guidelines say the trial has to be heard by the same judge,” said advocate, Shivde.

Sanchetana, a non-Government organisation here will hold a two- day consultation on ‘socio-economic rights of the Indian Muslim and its violation,’ on August 5 and 7, 2005. In a press note, Sanchetana Director, Dr. Hanif Lakdawala said the NGO had been engaged in interaction through various media about the real problems of Muslims in India. Dr. Hanif said while the educational and cultural rights of the minorities are guaranteed, the socio-economic rights are not talked about. It will try to evolve strategies for advocacy to address these issues.


More information can be had from: Sanchetana, 0-45-46, 4th floor, New York Trade Centre, Near Thaltej Cross Road, Ahmedabad-380054. Ph: 079-26857848, 26843395,

e-mail: ifieahdad1@sancharnet.in