Schools run by Vidya Bharti, the education wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are proving to be an instant hit among the Muslim students of the state.
According to a TOI report, there has been a 30 per cent rise in the number of Muslim students in such schools over the past three years. As of now, 12,000 Christian and Muslim students are studying in the Vidya Bharti schools, which also have Muslim teachers.
Muslim students are flourishing in these schools. They recite ‘shlokas’ and ‘bhojan mantras’, apart from excelling at sports and studies.
Take, for instance, the case of Mohd Afsar and Mohd Sahban- the two Muslim students who come from Jwala Devi Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College, Prayagraj. The two of them recently won gold at the ‘Khelo India Youth Games’, held recently at Assam’s Guwahati.
Principal of the concerned school, Yugul Kishore Mishra spoke about the two students and how Muslim students have been performing exceptionally well. He said, “Two students of our school, Mohd Afsar of Class X and Mohd Sahban of Class XI, won gold medals in Khelo India Youth Games in under-17 category recently. Muslim students do well in academics also.”
Mishra also said, “With change of time and perception, Muslim families get their children enrolled in our schools because of quality education.”
Speaking about the Vidya Bharti schools, Chintamani Singh, Additional Secretary, Vidya Bharati (East Uttar Pradesh), said, “As many as 12,000 Muslim and Christian students are studying in our schools in UP. Around 9,037 Muslim and 10 Christian students are pursuing studies in 1,194 schools in east UP. The remaining are in west UP.”
He added, “The urge for good and quality education has been the prime reason for the rise in number of Muslim students in our schools. In 2016, the number of Muslim students in our schools in east UP, comprising 49 districts, including Awadh, Kanpur, Kashi and Gorakhpur parents, was 6,890, it increased to 9,037 in 2019.”
The RSS is doing a great job when it comes to delivering quality education to the Muslim community in the state. The Muslim students and their parents have realised how the RSS-run schools promise quality education and a bright future for the Muslim kids.
This is the reason why there is such a sharp rise in the number of Muslim students studying at the Vidya Mandirs in the state, despite the sheer falsehoods and bizarre allegations of fundamentalism that are routinely propagated against the RSS.
The RSS is selflessly providing high quality, nationalist learning to the Muslim students, without trespassing upon their religious beliefs and identities, something that is peculiar to this organisation.