Mumbai: Accusing Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of humiliation, a delegation of Mumbai Muslims Thursday walked out of his chamber in the state secretariat without attending a scheduled meeting called to discuss the ownership dispute over the Ismail Yusuf College land.
According to Yusuf Abrahani of SEWA, the delegation including members of SEWA, Ismail Yusuf College and Campus Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and others reached the Vidhan Bhavan well before the appointed time. But, in spite of the prior appointment, the delegation was kept waiting at the Vidhan Bhavan Gate for more than one hour.
This led to the delegation feeling that it was insulted and humiliated.
"This is not the way to treat a delegation that was called for the meeting on an issue of serious concern for the Muslim Community. The delegation therefore decided to return without meeting the chief minister", Abrahani said.
"We condemn the casual attitude of the government of Maharashtra on the serious issue. It shows that the chief minister and government of Maharashtra don't understand the seriousness of this issue", he added.
Abrahani said that after the announcement made by SEWA, an NGO working in the field of education, announced the protest march at Ismail Yusuf College, he was called by the police commissioner to call off his proposed march promising him a meeting with the chief minister to discuss the issue.
The police commissioner also said that he was working as per the message received from the chief minister's office, Abrahanai said.
"We were promised that a 10 member delegation can meet the chief minister at 12 noon on 19th March and accordingly we postponed our protest march", Abrahani said.
The delegation included Sudhendra Kulkarni – Chairman Observers Research Foundation, Dr. Zaheer Kazi – Preseident Anjuman-e-Islam, Shabbir Ansari, Aamir Edresy, Salim Alware, M A Khalid, Feroz Mithiborewala and others.
The Maharashtra government's decision to allot Ismail Yusuf College land to the NLU faced stiff opposition from all circles. Few Muslim NGOs and activists led by SEWA even announced to 'forcibly occupy' the Ismail Yusuf College and declare it a 'Muslim property' if the government went ahead with its controversial decision.
Ismail Yusuf College Bachao Samiti led by Dr. Zahir Kazi of Anjuman-i-Islam and others warned to launch 'the biggest protest' in the history of Mumbai against the government's order.
Some of the leaders including Sudheendra Kulkarni - close aide of ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, even warned the government that a stubborn approach to the problem may create a fertile ground for protests with unforeseen and undesirable consequences.
The idea of a college for Muslims was mooted by philanthropist Sir Mohammad Ismail Yusuf who in January 1910 donated Rs. 8 lakh to then State of Bombay with a condition to establish a college which should be primarily for Muslims though, he said, students belonging to other religious communities could also be given admissions. The idea began taking shape by March 1924 and the college, one among the four affiliated to University of Mumbai by then, finally started functioning in1930.
Later on, a considerable size bisecting the land under the college control was used for the construction of Western Express Highway, and a hostel on the same campus was converted into an office for the education department of the state. In 1999, a few ex-students approached Bombay high court after the state government had started giving the college land to third parties.
Muslims are demanding possession of this land since independence. Their demands became stronger when the state government, after violent protests by Dalits, announced to use Indu Mill compound to build a memorial for Dr. Ambedkar.
Dr. Mehmoodur Rehman Committee, constituted in 2008 by the Congress-NCP alliance government to look into socio-economic and educational status of Muslims in Maharashtra, had also supported the demand in its report.
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