In a recent video shared on social media, Faizul Bari, an anchor for Haque Media, accuses Yogi government of perpetrating cultural genocide against Muslims through the renaming of cities and railway stations. He alleges that the renaming process targets places historically associated with well-known Muslim figures, effectively erasing their cultural legacy. He calls it a genocide of Urdu language.
The video, endorsed by an account, The Muslim, known for promoting animosity towards Hindus, shared the video on July 27, 2023, and wrote, “CULTURAL GENOCIDE! Genocide means slaughter, but cultural genocide is a process before that, in which religious institutions, buildings, language, history, etc. are targeted. Changing the names of cities, stations, and other such things all comes under cultural genocide.
In a significant move, the Indian government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has undertaken a renaming campaign for several cities and railway stations across the country. The initiative aims to address historical imbalances and correct perceived erasure of Hindu heritage attributed to the Mughal era.
During the reign of Mughal emperors, a period known for its complex political dynamics, despotism and hostility towards Hindus have long persisted. Historians have cited incidents of mass murders of Hindus and the alteration of place names to emphasize Muslim heritage over Hindu.
The renaming campaign seeks to rectify historical injustices, as the Mughal rulers actions led to the erasure of Hindu cultural identity and heritage. Many Indian cities and railway stations currently bear names associated with Mughal emperors, and this initiative aims to replace them with names that reflect a more historically accurate perspective.
The Haque Media anchor discussing the purported cultural genocide of Muslims claims that a recent news report from Uttar Pradesh indicates significant changes in Madrasas. According to the claims, Madrasas will now observe a weekly off on Sundays instead of Fridays. Additionally, the students, who used to wear traditional attire, are now required to adhere to a dress code of shirt, pant, and tie.
Moreover, we also located the original video on Haque Media’s YouTube Channel, which primarily focuses on disseminating misinformation targeting the government. The video was posted approximately 7 months ago.
Let us conduct a fact-check to ascertain the accuracy of these claims and verify their validity.
Fact Check
Madrasa will observe a weekly off on Sunday?
During the start of our research, we did the keyword search and found a report from Hindustan Times dated December 25, 2022. The report titled “In Uttar Pradesh, madrasas to continue with Friday weekly off” stated that the Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Shiksha Parishad has released the holiday calendar for 2023. As per the calendar, there has been no change in the weekly holiday, and it will continue to be observed on Fridays, similar to previous practice. The calendar lists a total of 75 holidays for 2023, which includes 36 days of Ramzan and Eid-ul-Fitr.
Moreover, upon further investigation, we obtained information from the UP Madarsa Shiksha Parishad’s website, confirming that the weekly holiday for the year 2023 will remain unchanged and will continue to be observed on Fridays.
On December 21, 2022, the Madrassa Board conducted a meeting where 19 crucial proposals were put forward. Among these proposals was the provision of 14 days of casual leave for teachers and employees. However, the leave requests must be approved by the madrasa’s manager and principal, with each being able to approve a maximum of 2 days, totaling up to 4 days of leave. On national festivals, teaching activities will be suspended, but both teachers and non-teaching staff, along with students, will be required to be present in the madrassa to partake in the organized programs.
We also found a news report by ABP Ganga dated December 21, 2022. The news report states that during the Madrasa Board meeting, various proposals were presented, one of which suggested changing the weekly off day for Madrasas from Friday to Sunday. However, the Madrasa Board did not give approval to this particular proposal. Moreover, the proposal was put forward by Kamar Ali, an Islamic scholar, so, the Uttar Pradesh government has no role in it.
Furthermore, On December 26, Madarsa Board President Iftikhar Ahmed Javed took to Twitter and shared a news link to clarify that the proposed change in the weekly holiday was merely a suggestion and has not been implemented yet.
Hence, considering the aforementioned facts, the claim that the Uttar Pradesh government ordered to observe Sunday as a weekly off for Madrasa is misleading.
Is Uttar Pradesh govt planning to bring a dress code in Madrasa?
We found a recent report by Hindustan Times. As per the report, in January during the board meeting, two significant decisions were taken during the January board meeting of the Madrasa Board. The first decision was to gradually implement the NCERT syllabus in madrasas. The second decision aimed to address the challenges in providing dresses to madrasa students.
Regarding the dress code issue, Madarsa Board President, Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, clarified that efforts are being made to provide ₹1200 to madrasa students for their uniforms once the proposal sent to the government is accepted. However, no final decision has been made on the dress code, and madrasas will have the freedom to choose appropriate attire, such as ‘kurta pajama’ for male students and ‘salwar, kurta’ for female students.
It is essential to note that the Madrasa Board itself proposed these changes, and there has been no involvement or interference from the state government, led by Yogi Adityanath, in these matters. So, to blame the state government is completely misleading.
| Claim | 1. The UP govt ordered to observe Sunday as a weekly off in Madrasa 2. The UP govt is planning to bring a dress code for students in Madrasa |
| Claimed by | The Muslim and Haque Media |
| Fact Check | Misleading |
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