When candidates sat down recently to take the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Teachers’ Selection Board examination, one strange question caught the eye.‘‘Who do you think Darul Uloom, Deoband is linked with?’’ it asked. The four options listed were (a) terrorism (b) Khadi movement (c) Parsi movement and (d) social reform in the Parsi community.Considering that the internationally acclaimed centre of Islamic learning has nothing to do with the Khadi movement or the Parsis, many candidates were forced to go for option (a)—terrorism.The goof-up has created a furore, especially since the ‘‘secular’’ government of Mulayam Singh Yadav is in power in Uttar Pradesh. Reached for his comments, Minister of State for Madhyamik Shiksha, Manpal Singh told the The Indian Express: ‘‘Strict action will be taken against members of the selection board and the paper-setter. Under no circumstances will this government allow vested interests to defame its image.’’After all, the thinking behind the question seems to echo the words of VHP general secretary Praveen Togadia, who once called Darul Uloom, Deoband ‘‘a factory of terrorists’’.Deoband is seething with anger.Speaking to The Indian Express over phone from Deoband, the vice-rector, Maulana Sufiyan Qasmi, said: ‘‘A strongly-worded letter has been sent to the chief minister on March 16 drawing his attention to the conspiracy to defame the internationally-famed centre which had strong links with the country’s freedom struggle. The chief minister has been asked to take action against the guilty officials.’’ The chief minister’s office had not yet replied, he said. The Maulana admitted that while the government itself may not be directly involved in the controversy, some officials from the education department certainly needed to answer.The legal advisor to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board Zafaryab Jilani also seemed to be bothered by the government’s callous approach to the issue.‘‘The present government has done nothing to remove the RSS minded officials from the education department,’’ he fumed. ‘‘Mulayam Singh Yadav has completely ignored the education sector. This should serve as a wakeup call for the chief minister.’’Maulana Khalid Rasheed, the Naib Imam of Aishbagh Idgah and member of AIMPLB, said that legal action should be taken against whoever was responsible for hurting the community’s sentiments.Interestingly, while the Muslim community seethed, it was business as usual in the state assembly. While a private bill on the Mohd Ali Jauhar University was passed by a voice vote, Deoband was not even discussed.
