Daily Times

It all began with a controversial interview entitled ‘New Deoband chief lauds Modi’s Gujarat’ published in the Times of India (TOI) on January 19, 2011. Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi took charge as Darul Uloom Deoband’s vice-chancellor (VC) a few days before his interview was published. According to TOI, Maulana Vastanvi said that “all communities” were prospering in Gujarat and there was “no discrimination against the minorities in the state as far as development was concerned…the issue is almost eight years old now and we should move forward”. Six months after this controversial statement, Maulana Vastanvi was removed from the VC post by the Majlis-e-Shoora (governing council) of the seminary. Vastanvi termed it as “a conspiracy and an injustice”. He said, “I was removed despite a favourable inquiry report. By God’s grace, there was nothing to suggest I praised Modi.”

Vastanvi’s removal has started a debate in India. Many people are against his removal as he was seen as a ‘reformist’. Despite introducing modern subjects in its curriculum, Darul Uloom Deoband is still considered a conservative seminary. The seminary also issues fatwas (religious decrees) left, right and centre; some of them quite controversial. While Vastanvi may have been a reformist, his statement regarding Modi hit a raw nerve amongst a large section of the Indian Muslim community. Vastanvi hails from Gujarat so perhaps that was why he asked the Muslim community to move on. Whatever his motivation, it seems the Maulana was being more loyal than the king since Modi’s complicity in the Gujarat pogrom was condemned worldwide. Removing Vastanvi might not have been the ideal way to go about it but the Maulana should have been careful with what he said instead of proving his moderate/reformist credentials. What this proves is that theologians should stick to theology instead of politically motivated agendas. It would have been better if Maulana Vastanvi had stuck to reforming the Darul Uloom Deoband and changing the mindset of extremist youth by his moderate views. This is true of theologians in Pakistan as well. Most of our religious scholars and religio-political parties in Pakistan have wreaked havoc in the name of religion. *