Another question paper row in Valley

It is a season of examination paper controversies in Kashmir.

It is a season of examination paper controversies in Kashmir. After the arrest of a college teacher early this month for setting an allegedly anti-establishment paper,followed by the police charging a professor with setting an obscene paper,a translation exercise in yet another English language paper asked questions about selfish leaders who divide people on the basis of religion.

The passage that appeared in the second-year undergraduate examination paper read: Today,we need true religion the most. It teaches us to worship God and love His creation. It fills us with humility,kindness and mercy. But unfortunately,these days we fight one another in the name of religion. Some of our selfish leaders provoke uneducated and naïve people. They defame religion. Dr Iqbal has rightly said that religion does not teach hatred.

However,college teachers union seems to find this a politicisation of examination paper. If a paper which allegedly asks anti-state questions can land its setter into jail,what about a paper with pro-government questions? says Tariq Ashai,the president of college teachers union.

According to Ashai,the latest question paper is pro-government. It talks about leaders who divide people on the basis of religion. Who are they? They are either the leaders in Opposition or this can be inferred as an attack on the separatists.

Earlier this month,the police had arrested lecturer Noor Mohammad Bhat for asking students to translate into English an Urdu paragraph accusing the government of human rights

violations. In another question,Bhat had asked students to discuss if stone-throwers were the real heroes. This was followed by professor Shad Ramzan being booked for setting an allegedly obscene translation exercise in Kashmiri language paper.

Ashai says in Bhats case,the government took too far the inference that the questions were anti-state. And in the case of the present one,the government is happy with a bit of politics as it suits it, Ashai says.

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Prof Gul Wani of Kashmir University feels universities stand for freedom of thought,independence of mind and produce leaders of tomorrow. Wani adds,It appears implausible if not illegal for the police to act against teachers before the university could do so.