Bareilly, July 5 (IANS). All India Muslim Jamaat (AIMJ) chief Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi on Sunday criticized the Jammu and Kashmir government. He alleged that the textbooks purchased under the ‘Samagra Shiksha Yojana’ glorified separatist leaders and terrorists.
Shahabuddin Razvi demanded an immediate ban on such books and warned that teaching such material to students could lead to radicalisation.
His comments came after Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum (JKPF), a social and non-political organisation, alleged that a textbook purchased under the ‘Samagra Shiksha Yojana’ contained material glorifying separatist personalities and terrorists, including Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) founder Maqbool Bhat.
Speaking to IANS, Razvi said, “The curriculum of schools in Jammu and Kashmir includes books that teach about people involved in terrorist activities and describe them in detail. It is extremely regrettable that those responsible for preparing the curriculum saw fit to include the names of terrorists and teach children about them.”
Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi said that if the younger generation is taught material that glorifies terrorism, they ‘will definitely become radicalized.’ He also urged the authorities to include mention of Sufism and the contribution of Sufi saints in the school curriculum to promote peace and patriotism.
He said, “The fact that this has been going on for some time reflects a major failure on the part of the administration. If the new generation continues to be educated like this, one can imagine the state of their minds and hearts. They will definitely become radicalized.”
Demanding a complete overhaul of the curriculum, Razvi said, “Therefore, it is necessary to ban the existing books and prepare new books which mention Sufism, especially highlighting the Sufis of Kashmir, their contributions and their achievements. This will help in inculcating a feeling of patriotism and love for the country in the hearts of the people. Also, it will inculcate the resolve to eliminate terrorism and a feeling of hatred towards terrorists.”
He also urged the authorities to investigate the role of those responsible for preparing the curriculum and replace existing textbooks with revised versions. He said, “I would also appeal to the Jammu and Kashmir government to investigate the authors of these books, replace the existing books with new books based on Sufism and implement them for children in schools. Terrorism is an evil which should not be linked to any particular religion.”
–IANS
SCH/PM