BAREILLY CLERIC: NO NATIONAL ANTHEM, VIDEOGRAPHY OF IDAY EVENT

BAREILLY: A prominent Bareilly cleric on Saturday asked the UP madarsas not to sing the national anthem and national song on Independence Day.

The cleric also asked the Islamic schools not to record the Independence Day celebrations as directed by the state government.

“Asjad Miyan has advised all the madarsas to celebrate Independence Day by hoisting national flag and singing ‘Sare Jahan Se Accha’ and not ‘Jana Gana Mana’ or ‘Vande Mataram’,” said Nasir Qureshi, the cleric’s spokesperson.

Qureshi said the national anthem and national song contain certain phrases which are not fit to be sung by the ones who believe in one God.

Asked to explain, Qureshi said chanting ‘Jai ho, Jai ho, Jai ho’ which comes at the end of national anthem is like hailing somebody other than the Allah, which is contrary to our belief.

‘Sare Jahan se Accha…’ is a patriotic song in Urdu written by eminent poet Muhammad Iqbal.

Qureshi claimed over a thousand madarsas located in Bareilly, Kanpur, Jhansi and other parts of Uttar Pradesh will go with the advice of the cleric, who is a direct descendent of Ahmed Raza Khan, head of Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims.

The dargah of Ahmed Raza is taken care of by his descendent and is one of the most revered sites for the followers of Barelvi sect.

The dargah runs at least 300 madarsas in Bareilly and also in nearby districts through its various social organisations.

The advice came in response to the state government order directing UP madarsas to celebrate Independence Day and get the event videographed.

There are over 8000 registered madarsas in the state. Of these 560 are government aided.

While the cleric’s order is seen as a sign of defiance of the government directive, Qureshi said it was more about exercising the fundamental right.

“The constitution of India promises to safeguard our right to exercise freedom of religion. The government, with the order, is trying to force us to do what is prohibited in our religion. Muslims of the country do not need to do what is against our religion to prove their patriotism,” Qureshi said.

Bareilly district magistrate Raghvendra Vikram Singh said, “I have asked a magistrate to prepare a report on the matter. It will be sent to Lucknow for further directions.”