New Delhi: A fact-finding committee released its report on discrimination of non-Muslims and conversion of non-Muslims to Islam in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University, Delhi. It was released by Justice (Retd) S N Dhingra, Former Commissioner of Delhi Police S N Srivastava and other members of the panel.
While submitting its report, the committee found that almost every witness testified about the discrimination and bias against non-Muslims at JMI, whether the non-Muslim was a student or a member of the teaching faculty.
When an assistant Professor submitted Ph,D. thesis
As per the report, an assistant Professor stated that the bias was felt by her from the very beginning and the Muslim staff of JMI would misbehave, taunt and discriminate with non-Muslims. When she submitted the Ph.D. thesis, the Muslim clerk of Ph.D. section passed disparaging comments and told her that she was good for nothing and would not be able to achieve anything. The clerk, who was not even able to read the title of the Ph.D. thesis properly, started commenting on the quality of thesis because he was a Muslim and she was a non-Muslim, the professor said, according to the committee report.
He was denied basic facilities for a long time
The report added that another non-Muslim teaching faculty of JMI claimed he was grossly discriminated against. The facilities that were given to other Muslim colleagues — seating place, cabin, furniture — were not given to him for a long period after joining the University, while the Muslim faculty members who joined after him were given all these, he alleged. The faculty belongs to SC community. When he was made Asstt. Controller of Examination and allotted a cabin for administration work, the staff of examination branch started publicly issuing remarks that how could a Dy. Registrar cabin be given to a ‘Kafir’, he said as per the fact-finding report.
‘Convert to Islam and complete M.Ed’
Yet another teaching faculty of JMI submitted that there was lot of harassment and discrimination of non-Muslim students and faculty members in JMI. Many tribal students, who were unable to bear this harassment, leave the University. Some convert Muslims more forcefully try to influence the students as well as the teachers for conversion to Islam. This teaching faculty had done M.Ed. from JMI. She deposed that one of the Professors announced in the class that unless the students follow Islam, she would not allow them to complete M.Ed. She gave example of herself and other converted persons (who were converted to Islam) who consequently got good posts and postings in JMI, the report quoted her as saying.
The fact-finding committee on JMI University will be presented to the Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanad Rai, Ministry of Education and LG of Delhi Office. The committee was constituted by ‘Call For Justice’, an NGO, after receiving vital information in respect of JMI University, Delhi, regarding discrimination of non-Muslims and conversions of non-Muslims to Islam and their harassment.
