Author: IANS
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: September 23, 2005
The chief of Chhattisgarh's madrassas dropped
a proposal to introduce a chapter on tennis ace Sania Mirza in books taught
in them after he was threatened by the religious orthodoxy, a local newspaper
claimed on Thursday.
The Hari Bhoomi said in a report that madrassa
board chairperson Adil Hamid Khan's plans to include Sania as a role model
in the 285 madrassas in the State were forced to change due to pressure and
threats from Muslim organisations. It said that Mr Khan changed "his
statement dramatically".
Mr Khan had said on Tuesday: "We plan
to introduce a chapter dedicated to Sania in the 285 madrassas of Chhattisgarh,
where over 17,000 kids are enrolled for education in classes one to eight."
He had said the proposal to adopt Sania as
a Muslim role model for the state-aided madrassas had to be cleared by an
eight-member madrassa policy affairs panel. However, Khan refused to comment
on the issue when contacted on Wednesday.
He had reportedly received calls on his mobile
Wednesday, threatening him with dire consequences if he went ahead with his
announcement and immediately informed police.
If the plan had gone through, madrassa students
would have started reading a chapter on Sania from next year's academic session
beginning July.
