BHOPAL: Following the footsteps of the RSS, the Madhya Pradesh Madrasa Board is attempting to tamper with the school syllabus in the State in a bid to instill patriotism among students.
The board will introduce a new syllabus, including books titled Hubbul Watan (love your homeland) to students of class 1 to class 8 from the next academic year.
The new syllabus will be taught to over 4.5 lakh students enrolled in over 7000 madrasas in the State.
“The board’s executive committee has already passed the resolution in this regard and the work on drafting the curriculum and contents of the book will be finalised in next two months,” said Board’s head Syed Imaduddin.
“The books infusing love for the nation and respect for all communities with which they coexist will be published not only in Urdu, but also Hindi and English, to broad base the teachings of Islam over loyalty to homeland among students of all communities, studying in non-madrasa as well,” Imaduddin told New Indian Express on Friday.
Not divulging much about the content of the syllabus and book, the Madrasa Board head said the book will entail history of India’s freedom struggle, spanning from 1857 to 1947.
The syllabus will also comprise sections on great leaders who contributed to the nation, spanning from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
“Though it is a mere possibility, the new syllabus may include something on our PM Narendra Modi and MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Possibility of some parts even being dedicated to Jan Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay cannot be ruled out, as his philosophy of integral humanism further the cause of the homeland,” he added.
The Madrasa Board head informed that a team of progressive Muslim scholars from across the country, including Delhi, Gujarat and UP’s Deoband is working on developing the new syllabus.
“Over 7000 madrasas in the State which teach students from Class I to Class VIII are affiliated to the Board. Out of these, 2500 plus madrasas enrolling 2.5 lakh students have regular affiliation with us. We have already intimated about the resolution of the board’s executive to MP Rajya Shiksha Kendra. Once the syllabus is finalised for the new book, it too would be sent for the Kendra’s clearance,” he added.
While, Imaduddin maintained that the effort is aimed at instilling patriotism among madrasa students right from the beginning and is not to further any political ideology, another Muslim scholar and head of MP Muslim Vikas Parishad, Mohd Mahir was quoted in media as saying that the move could be foreseen as the furtherance of a saffron agenda in madrasas.