Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Pesident Maulana Mahmood Madani said that the organisation had debated Vande Mataram extensively in 2011 and noted that forceful implementation is not the idea of India. Madani in a media  interview in New Delhi also said that his organisation is mulling legal options to challenge the recital of Vande Mataram in court of law. “On Vande Mataram, our organisation debated a lot in 2011 and earlier as well. Now they are saying that Vande Mataram will be compulsory… Forceful implementation is not the idea of India… We will challenge it legally if necessary.

First, we will talk about it and try to bring the civil society together,” Madani said. A day after controversy erupted over Madani’s remarks over the meaning of “jihad,” the Jamiat President, in the interview said the Modi government  and state ministries have put a negative association on the word, whereas its history is actually “pious” and the term is actually to fight against terrorists. Saying that the term “jihad” is being used in a planned manner, he alleged that various terms, like “Love jihad, land Jihad, ‘thook’ jihad, and vote jihad,” are being coined to abuse Muslims in India. 

“The entire ministry, be it centre, or be it state, have decided that if anything negative related to Muslims comes to light, it will be called Jihad. Jihad is a pious word. We are fighting for the real meaning of jihad. The term jihad is being used to abuse Islam in a very planned manner,” the Jamiat president said. The Jamiat President, while speaking earlier during the National Governing Body meeting in Bhopal, questioned the independence of the judiciary, citing cases like Babri Masjid and triple talaq. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)