Author: Ashwani Sharma
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: May 7, 2003
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=23433
With an eye on the 18 lakh Muslim
voters in the state, Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has come out with a posse
of sops for the minority community, soon after raising the decibel level
over a ban on cow slaughter.
His gifts include the setting up
of an Urdu academy, the formation of a Madarsa board and the institution
of 11 awards for Urdu scholars. Sources say this is the first time in two-and-half
years that Jogi has made a conscious bid to appease Muslim voters, as he
has been attending their religious functions only occasionally.
But yesterday was different. In
a hurriedly-called meeting, in which ministers Badar-u-din Qureshi and
Mohammad Akbar were also present, Jogi announced the formation of an Urdu
academy. Noted playwright Amir Ali Amir was made president of the academy,
while Shaukh Jallandari and Ujma Akhtar were named vice-presidents. Seven
other members were also appointed.
''It's a great honour for me and
the entire Muslim community. I want Urdu to get proper focus and made second
language after Hindi,'' Amir said.
The state government also ordered
the filling up of 446 vacant posts of Urdu teachers yesterday. The posts
have been lying vacant since the formation of the state. Durg district
has the highest number of vacancies (70), followed by Bilaspur (47), Sarguja
(36) and Dhamtari (30). The state Finance Department relaxed its ban on
recruitments following the order.
Minister for SC/ST and Minorities
Madhav Singh Dhruv said local urban bodies and panchayats have been made
accountable for filling up the vacancies for Urdu teachers. But the schools
are closed for summer vacation and any recruitment work can only begin
in July.
The CM also instituted 11 awards
for outstanding contribution to Urdu literature. The most prestigious will
carry a cash prize of Rs 51,000 and has been instituted in the name of
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
Jogi even constituted the Madarsa
board yesterday, which will be headed by Hasan Khan. Khan will retire from
the post of station director, All India Radio (Raipur), on May 31.
''Madarsas have been crying for
repair for years. We will go for complete modernisation and remove all
shortcomings,'' Khan said.
Reacting to the sops, BJP leader
Brij Mohan Aggarawal said: ''For two-and- half years, Jogi deliberately
kept quite on the demand for an Urdu academy and a Madarsa board. Now,
he knows that end of the Congress rule is near and has woken up to appease
Muslims.''
