J&K Chief Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam on Tuesday withdrew an order issued by the Education Department “to procure in bulk Urdu and Kashmiri versions of the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana in all educational institutions and libraries of Jammu and Kashmir”.
The order was issued on October 4 and came under criticism from political parties and civil society groups after it was circulated online on Monday.
Former Chief Minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah had questioned the move. “Why just the Gita and Ramayana? If religious texts are to be placed in schools, colleges and government libraries (and I’m not convinced that they need/should be) then why is it being done selectively? Why are other religions being ignored?” he had said.
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The order, which was issued after a meeting president of Governor Satya Pal Malik’s advisor B.B. Vyas, evoked a huge response on social media too.
“Now Kashmiri Muslim students will have to read Ramayana and Bhagwad Gita but no mention of Quran. Why this religious divide? In spite of Muslims being in a majority, the local governments never in the past enforced teaching of Quran for minorities in Kashmir. We will resists these ugly designs,” said Raja Muzaffar, a RTI activist.
MLA Engineer Rasheed termed the withdrawal “a confession of guilt.” The government should explain why it issued a “communally-designed order”, he said.
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