LC may refer religious universities Bills to JSC

Chairman seeks fresh suggestions from MLCs on Transworld Muslim University, Sheikh-ul-Alam University, Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa University

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 10: With the ruling coalition partners---National Conference (NC) and Congress---getting trapped into the trouble of its own making, legislation on creating a privately-controlled religious university in Kashmir is again running into a rough weather. As the coalition appears inclined neither to pass the private member’s Bill nor to fail it, Upper House of the state Legislature is likely to further defer its consideration while referring the Draft to a Joint Select Committee (JSC) of Legislative Council (LC) and Legislative Assembly (LA).

Both Congress as well as NC have been tightlipped over the issue even after having jointly pushed the legislation in LA in 2010. The Bill seeking creation of Transworld Muslim University (TMU) had been moved by NC’s MLA, Mir Saifullah, in 2009. This university of a religious ambience was proposed to operate on the “surplus funds of Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadith (JAH)”. Only one MLA, belonging to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had opposed the Bill with the argument that the proposed university could lead to creating universities on the basis of different sects and schools of though among the Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir.

The MLA had pointed out that the ideology of the promoters was “radical” and contrary to that of the Rishis and Sufis being practiced in Kashmir since 14^th century A.D. According to him, promoters of the University had no faith in saints and shrines and their establishments could generate an adverse reaction among the rival schools of thought. He lashed out at former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for allotting 100 Kanals of state land to JAH and laying the foundation of Kashmir’s first “sectarian university”.

He pointed out that there was no scope for creating colleges and universities on “sectarian basis” in India as the Constitution had provision only for “minority” and “religious” universities like Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Guru Nanak Dev College of Agricultural Sciences, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipore, and Mata Vaishnu Devi University Udhampur.

However, almost all other members in LA voted in favour of the Bill after it was referred to a Select Committee. Finally, Minister for Higher Education, Abdul Gani Malik, pushed the legislation on the basis of a positive report from Select Committee. While the discussion was underway, JAH’s arch rival, Karwaan-e-Islami (KI), which is known for its faith in saints and shrines, pushed another Bill, seeking creation of a University in the name of Valley’s 14^th century saint, Sheikh-ul-Alam Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani. Interestingly, this Bill was piloted by Mir Saifullah’s rival in the NC, Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan.

Meanwhile, Independent MLA from Kathua, Chanranjit Singh, moved another Bill, seeking creation of ‘Shri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa University’.

JAH chief, Maulana Showkat Shah, before his assassination in April 2011, had dispelled impressions that TMU could lead to sectarian and ideological divide among the Kashmiri Muslims. He had repeatedly suggested that TMU would not be an extension of the Saudi-funded Madrasas in Pakistan and Afghanistan and would only promote research in Islamic Studies, science and technology. It was the result of Maulan’s sustained campaigning that JAH succeeded in getting the Bill passed in LA. Chowdhary Ramzan’s and Charanjit Singh’s Bills were also clubbed with the same and passed without change.

All the three Bills were further transmitted for passage to LC on October 9^th, 2010. Around the same time, the coalition partners seemed to undergo ‘change of heart’ as some national dailies reported that the union Ministry of Home Affairs as well as Congress high command in New Delhi were not in favour of creating a University that would draw its finances from a controversial source in Saudi Arabia and promote “radical ideology” in the sensitive border state. These apprehensions reportedly intensified when 18 people died in different incidents of Police firing in Kashmir, in September 2010, over a sacrilegious act in USA.

On October 11^th, 2010, these Bills came up for consideration in LC but were clubbed and unanimously referred to JSC. Then incharge Chairman of LC, Arvinder Singh Mickey, obtained a list of 10 names from LA but did not constitute the JSC till his term expired in October 2011. Meanwhile, Secretary LA read out a message under Rule 97 (2) informing Assembly that the three Bills had not been passed by LC despite a lapse of more than three months.

In the wake of a hullabaloo by three MLAs of PDP in LA on Tuesday, a number of members in LC today desired to know “current status” of the three Bills. In an hour, Chairman Mr Amrit Malhotra, read out a sequence of events. Significantly, movers of all the three Bills in LA remained tightlipped yesterday and they did not utter a single word in favour of or against the legislation. They did not react to suggestions that the mover of a Bill could move it afresh under Rule 98 after its lapse of three months in LC.

As reported in Early Times, Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs discussed the matter with Chairman of LC at the latter’s office last evening.

“When the matter came into my consideration after assumption of office, I felt that it would not be advisable to constitute the Joint Select Committee after a lapse of more than a year and also because of the fact that the Legislative Assembly was enabled to pass the Bills again after the message was read in that House as rule 98 (1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Legislative Assembly becomes applicable after a message is read under Rule 97 (2)”, Chairman Malhotra said in a written statement.

He added: “Now, since the House is supreme and it can either reiterate its earlier resolution about constitution of Joint Select Committee or modify the same or take any other appropriate decision in the matter, I want to take sense of the House in the matter. I accordingly leave the matter for a decision of the House. Let the Members firm up their opinion on the issue and come up with their suggestions tomorrow so that the issue is settled once for all”.

At this stage now, it appears likely that LC would constitute JSC and refer the issue to it on the last day of the autumn session on Thursday.

END