2 Varanasi madarsas salute motherland via 'Vande Mataram'

Varanasi, Sep 7 (UNI) Even as madarsas across Uttar Pradesh stayed away from reciting Vande Mataram on its centenary today, students of two madarsas in the Muslim-dominated Lohta area here sang the national song to salute the motherland.

At least 145 students of Madarsa Gausia, 90 per cent of them hailing from miniority community, saluted the mother-land by reciting the composition of Bankim Chandra Chaterjee at 1000 hrs today. The madrasa is run by a NGO for children of weavers living in the area. Incidentally, 10 per cent of the madrasa students are Hindus.

Shahina, Jehangir, Salman and Shabnam Bano were among the young ones who sang with elan the song which served as lungpower to the country's freedom movement.

''Sirf rajneta Vande Mataram ko rajnitik rang de rahe hain jis se logo ko bata ja sake. Inhe samaj ke vikas pur sochna chahiye na ki use batne ke liye (only politicians are responsible for dividing people on the issue they should think of the benefit and development society, not how to divide it),'' regretted Rajia Begum, head teacher of Madarsa Gausia.

''Reciting Vande Mataram was just like daily singing of the national anthem in this madarsa,'' maintained Rajnikant, chairman of an NGO Human Welfare Organisation, which acts as the facilitator to the madarsa being run for children of weavers under plight.

Reciting the song among other students was Soni Bano, who participated in June last at a International Convention on Child Rights organised in Kathmandu by a Swedish organisation.

Dr Rajnikant further claimed that it was not only the Madarsa Gausia, where students recited the national song, but also the Madarsa Khwaja Garib Nawaz in Rahimpur locality, where students followed suit. Besides, other schools in the area dominated by Muslims, including Bal Pragati Vidyalaya in Dhannipur and Gyan Pragati Vidyalaya in Maivaiya also saw students reciting Vande Mataram, Dr Rajnikant claimed.

UNI ARS NAB VD MIR RAI1931