The unceremonious removal of Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi from one of India’s oldest and most prestigious Islamic seminaries, Darul Uloom Deoband, in Uttar Pradesh, raises fundamental questions that go beyond the confines of what may be normally dismissed as internal affairs of a minority community. Known as a reformist leader, Vastanvi was Deoband seminary’s first vice-chancellor from Gujarat. He was appointed to lead it in January after his successes in modernising the madarsas in Maharashtra, where he bridged traditional Islamic education with the needs of the modern world by teaching secular subjects like science and computer programming. He had hoped to bring this to Darul Uloom. His sacking means that the process of these reforms has been halted. In fact, his replacement, Mullah Nomani, has already announced that he would revert back to the traditional mode of Islamic teaching.
More serious is the reason for this unprecedented decision and the manner in which it was arrived at. According to his detractors his removal had become necessary after he praised the development and progress made by the Muslims in the BJP-ruled Gujarat. The fact that Vastanvi clarified that he did not give a clean chit to Narendra Modi for the post-Godhra riots was totally glossed over. The anti-Vastanvi group in Majlis-e-Shura virtually bullied him into quitting after a number of its members walked out and two of the three-members in the inquiry committee supported him.
This is a clear case of a wanton attack on the freedom of expression by certain social groups, which not only prohibit others from speaking the truth but also resort to intimidation against those who do not fall in line. When the Sangh Parivar outfits make any unpalatable comment, these fundamentalists as well as self-styled liberals have been pouncing on them. Ironically, those who preach liberalism are the ones who curb the freedom of expression. Vastanvi should be supported by those who believe in genuine inclusive and democratic India.