“I read all sorts of accounts in newspapers describing good students as terrorists or masterminds. What topped everything was the Batla House encounter. Atif (Amin, who was killed in the Batla House encounter) used to stay just half a kilometre from my house. From what I have seen and heard, he was a very soft-spoken boy. How someone like him masterminded such operations, as claimed by police, is beyond me,” Arif says. He also shares that he dreams of working in the Capital after finishing college, but says that both he and his parents fear what might happen to him here. “You know, now these people are targeting the educated youth. Earlier, they used to claim that bearded maulanas were the masterminds. Now, university-going and well-dressed students are suddenly the masterminds. I am really worried and hope that this rally brings a positive change in the Government’s attitude.”

Shams Parvez (74)

Madrasas don’t give lessons in terror, says Urdu instructor

• An Urdu teacher in a madrasa, Shams Parvez says that he felt compelled to join the protest journey because he could not bear to see the reports brought out by police about madrassas giving terror training to students.

“Is it wrong for us to teach our children about our religion? How can they say that we impart terror education in our madrasas? As far as education is concerned, our madrasas impart lessons in Urdu, Hindi, science and even English. Why do they want to defame us and stop the education that has finally seen the light of the day in our town?” says Parvez.

... contd.