Tempers are rising in Darul Uloom Deoband and factionalism wars are turning ugly as the date for the all-important meeting of Majlis-e-Shoora draws near. The meeting, scheduled to be held on February 23, is expected to decide the fate of Darul Uloom Deoband vice-chancellor, Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi who has been facing fire for his statements on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
Scuffles were reported from the campus of the Islamic seminary on Wednesday evening and journalists present on the campus were also roughed up. Vastanvi’s arch rival Maulana Arshad Madni had suspended a Shoora member, Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, from Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind (JUH) for his alleged proximity with Vastanvi. Maulana Madni is the national president of JUH and was also in the race for the rector’s post.
A meeting convened by the Madni faction led to ugly scenes when some supporters fired several rounds in the air to silence their opponents. Though no one was hurt, police have registered cross FIRs in the matter and investigations are on. According to eye witnesses, the situation turned uneasy when one of the speakers termed Vastanvi as a RSS agent and some people in the audience criticise the move to malign one who was not present to defend himself. “Madni’s supporters turned violent and began firing in the air,” said the eye-witness adding that this was the first time that hostilities had become so pronounced. Meanwhile, senior officials said that though they were aware of tempers running high on the Deoband campus, they were adopting a cautious approach.
“This is a religious institution and we do not want to be seen becoming a party on any issue. However, we will be beefing up security for the meeting on February 23 and also keep a close vigil on the trouble-shooters,” said a senior district official.