Click to play videoSrinagar: Children singing Vande Mataram is a humdrum event all over India but in Kashmir it has created trouble and controversy for Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Muslim clerics and scholars allege Azad “forced” schoolchildren in Srinagar to sing the national song, which they say is un-Islamic, at a function in Srinagar on Wednesday.
“The song is contrary to the tenets of Islam. Muslims say there is no God other than Allah and Prophet Mohammad is his messenger,'' says Mufti Bashir-ud din, Grand Mufti of Kashmir.
A leading separatist leader alleged the government was misusing its powers. “They are trying to pollute our children’s minds and move them away from religion,” said Syed Ali Geelani, chairperson of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Azad probably has only himself to blame for the current controversy, given that Muslim scholars across the country have opposed to song. The song is not sung in most schools in the country, as many Muslims believe the lyrics propagate idol worship and praise a Hindu goddess.
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