Uttar Pradesh derecognises madrassa after pupils were allegedly stopped from singing national anthem

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Uttar Pradesh government has derecognised the Madrasa Arabia Ahle Girls’ College after a cleric and two other people allegedly stopped students from singing the national anthem on Independence Day, PTI reported on Wednesday. A sedition case was filed against three people soon after the incident occurred in Maharajganj.

Madrassa Education Board registrar SN Pandey, who issued the order, said all financial assistance to the institute under the madrasa modernisation scheme had also been stopped, The Times of India reported. “No member or office-bearer of the madrassa’s management committee was present during the flag-hoisting ceremony,” the newspaper quoted the order as saying. “While this shows their lack of interest in the affairs of the madrassa, the institution also lacks the sufficient number of students and teachers as requisite under the law.”

District Minority Welfare Officer Prabhat Kumar said the action was based on the findings of an inquiry panel on the matter. District Magistrate Amarnath Upadhyay had ordered the committee to investigate the allegations.

A video of the Independence Day incident went viral after a science teacher at the institute shared it on social media. The video purportedly shows cleric Juned Ansari, who is not associated with the madrasa, stopping the students from singing the national anthem.

“[Principal] Fazal-ur-Rahman and one other staff member stood silent,” Additional Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Tripathi had said. “They neither supported Ansari nor opposed him. Ansari was in favour of singing ‘Saare jahan se achcha’ instead of the national anthem but Sunil Tripathi opposed him.”

The police had arrested Ansari and Rahman soon after the incident, the newspaper reported.

Unidentified officials told the news agency that the students will be accommodated in another institution.