Mysuru DC orders reopening of madrasa in Kyathamaranahalli

DC submits ‘action taken report’ before court, solves decade old issue.

Mysuru: The Mysuru DC passed an order on Wednesday regarding the opening of a madrasa in Kyathamaranahalli of the city that was closed by the Police in 2016 following communal clashes that were a result of the murder of a Hindu activist.

The decade-old problem has been solved following a High Court order to Mysuru Deputy Commissioner to take action and report on the issue. The DC submitted the action taken report before the court in Bengaluru on Thursday. The court issued the direction to the DC, following a writ petition by the Arabic madrasa authorities, for opening the madrasa in 2019.

The DC has ordered the opening of the lock of the building, to operate the Arabic school by Aleema Sadiya Education and Masjid-E-Siddique-E-Akbar Trust on Site No ½ and 1/3, on 6th Cross of Udayagiri (Gayathripuram 2nd Stage - Kyathamaranahalli) under the Fundamental Rights, enshrined in Article 30(1) (All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice) of the Constitution.

He has also ordered protection to the school, on the property of the trust, under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. The DC has also directed the Mysuru City Police Commissioner to provide adequate security to operate the school and to take action against those who interfere with its functioning.

Former corporator and Muslim leader K C Showkath Pasha, who represented the trust in the meetings convened by the DC to solve the issue, said, “The entire community is indebted to the DC for protecting our rights as per the Constitution. This is a historical order for us; we thank him with an assurance that we will abide by the law of the land and will never allow for any violation. We will try to take the other community, with due respect, into confidence, and will never allow politicisation of the issue”.

Pasha said, “Aleema Sadiya Trust was constructing a building on Site Nos. ½ and 1/3 of Kyathamaranahalli for the madrassa after obtaining a license from the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC). In 2009, some miscreants threw a pig's head on its premises, causing a communal disturbance, forcing it to stop the construction. The then Police Commissioner, Sunil Agarwal, called a peace committee meeting in 2010 to permit the trust to continue the project, with some guidelines. However, due to various reasons, the committee could not meet and the issue was pending up to 2013”.

Pasha said, “In 2013, a meeting was held, and the differences were resolved. The construction continued, and the madrasa was opened. It operated till March 13, 2016, when Raju, a Hindu activist, was murdered in Udayagiri, leading to communal clashes. A few miscreants pelted stones at the madrasa, damaging the windows panes”.

He said, “On March 14, 2016, the Police collected the key of the building from one of our trustees, telling him that they wanted to see the damages. After that, instead of returning the key, they took the building into their custody. After several meetings with the DC and Police Commissioner, we filed a Writ Petition before the High Court. The court had ordered the DC to resolve the issue within 12 weeks, on January 9, 2023”.