Hyderabad: The Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) Students’ Union has condemned the Central Government’s decision to announce a mandatory half-day for all public institutions, ahead of the Ram Mandir inauguration on Monday, January 22.
In a statement, union president Mateen Ashraf described the announcement as a blatant attempt to infiltrate and saffronize public institutions and universities.
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“This move is not only a setback to the secular ethos that India cherishes but also poses a significant threat to the democratic and secular principles upheld within the Indian constitution. It shows how a majoritarian state backed by the RSS, aiming to make India a Hindu Rashtra, is deepening its roots and taking control over the educational institutions, imposing religious observances upon them, and eroding the very idea of India,” the statement read.
“The sanctity of academic institutions lies in fostering autonomy, freedom of thought, tolerance, and a pluralistic approach to education. Any attempt to politicize or align these spaces with Hindutva ideology is a threat to the idea of the university,” it said.
Calling upon students and faculty members to resist forces that pose a significant threat to India’s secular fabric, the union appealed to boycott classes on January 22. This is in solidarity with the demolition of Babri Masjid which once stood on the same spot before it was demolished by Hindu nationalists on December 6, 1992.
