NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday triggered a political row after claiming that people educated in madrassas “develop a terrorist-like mindset”.His remarks drew sharp criticism from the Samajwadi Party and prompted a defence of madrassa education from religious leaders.Speaking to reporters at Vidhan Bhavan, Maurya alleged that madrassa students do not express patriotic slogans and linked their education to extremism.“Anyone who receives a madrassa education does not chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ nor sing ‘Vande Mataram’, and develops a terrorist-like mindset,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.The remarks were strongly criticised by senior Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav, who accused the BJP of harbouring extremists.“The BJP nurtures terrorists, and they are found right in their offices. The BJP provides training to all these terrorists, and they are found in their offices and homes,” Yadav said.Maurya’s statement also drew a response from Maulana Imam Maqbool, who runs a madrassa in Barabanki. He said madrassas provide both religious and modern education and rejected any attempt to associate them with
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terrorism.According to Maqbool, students at madrassas study not only the Holy Quran but also subjects such as Urdu, Hindi, History, English, Science, Mathematics and Computer Studies.He said many madrassa graduates have gone on to become doctors and engineers and expressed hope that more students would join the civil services as IAS and IPS officers.Maqbool added that madrassas have always promoted patriotism, brotherhood and peace, describing it as unfortunate to link them with terrorism.He also said the Holy Quran teaches people not to speak ill of others or harbour negative thoughts against them.
