Ismail Yusuf College Campus Bachao

Sangharsh Samiti
Press Statement
Released at a press conference in Mumbai on February 21, 2015

We appeal to the Government of Maharashtra to

immediately stop its plans to encroach upon land
belonging to Ismail Yusuf College, which was donated by a
Muslim philanthropist for Muslim education.
WE ALERT THE GOVERNMENT:
If it chooses to violate its solemn obligation to the Muslim
community,
non-Muslims and Muslims will together launch the biggest
peaceful protest
in Mumbais history for the cause of minority education.
Ismail Yusuf College, Jogeshwari is one of the oldest educational institutions
in Mumbai. Sir Mohammed Yusuf Ismail, a great Muslim philanthropist and
proprietor of Bombay Steam Navigation Company was concerned about the
grossly inadequate facilities of higher education for the development of the
Muslim community in British-ruled India. He therefore entrusted Rs 8 lakh to
the Governor-in-Council of Bombay in 1914, and created a WAQF ( an
endowment made by a Muslim to a religious, educational, or charitable cause).
On January 28, 1914, the colonial government passed Resolution 383 and
accepted the amount as and by way of WAQF to carry out the terms and
objects of the Donor. It used the donation as an endowment to purchase the
land and established Ismail Yusuf College in 1930. As per the wish of the
Donor, the Governor-in-Council accepted the following commitments:

The college would be primarily, but not exclusively, for Muslim

students of the then Bombay State.
It would be a residential institution.
It would provide for teaching Persian and Arabic languages.

It would provide reasonable number of scholarships and freeships for the empowerment of needy Muslim students.
It would construct a mosque on the campus for prayers. (A
mosque does exist on the campus.)

It is clear from the above that Yusuf Ismail College, and the land belonging to
it, is meant primarily for the benefit of the Muslim community. The
Government of Maharashtra, which manages the college and the land
belonging to it as a trustee, cannot free itself of the above inherited
obligations. The Muslim character of the institution is further underscored by
the fact that, as per an order passed by the Honble High Court in 1960, 20%
admission for Muslim students is be done by the President of Anjuman-IIslam and the Chairman of Ismail Yusuf Trust.
Regrettably, successive governments of Maharashtra have brazenly violated
the agreement in many ways. They not only turned a blind eye to, but
actively encouraged, encroachments on the land, as a result of which the
campus of Ismail Yusuf College has shrunk from 120 acres to only about 54
acres now. What is even more alarming, the new BJP-Shiv Sena government
itself has now become an encroacher. According to recent media reports,
the government has earmarked 15 acres of land on the campus to establish
the National Law University. There are also reports that the Government
wants to set up a full-fledged educational hub on the campus, along with a
building to house the Marathi Bhasha Bhavan.
This devious plan is a deliberate assault on the rights and needs of the
Muslim community. The government headed by Chief Minister Shri Devendra
Fadnavis should know that it is only a trustee of the land which has been
entrusted to it for a specific purpose. It cannot behave as if it is the owner of
the land and do whatever it wants. It is morally, politically and
Constitutionally obliged not only to honour the wishes of the original Donor
but also to act as per the agreement under which a WAQF was created, the
land was purchased, and the college was established.
The fact that the Muslim community in India is lagging behind in education,
particularly in higher and professional education, has been incontrovertibly
brought out by the report of the Sachar Committee. It has been further
reinforced by the Mehmood-ur-Rahman Committee, which was set up by
the State Government in 2008 to study the economic and social
backwardness among Muslims in Maharashtra.
Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas is a promise made by the BJP, which is
heading the governments at the Centre and also in the State. Why is it now
behaving as if it has no obligation to work for the vikas of the Muslim
community? We would also like to remind the Chief Minister about a specific
promise his own party has made in its Manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha
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elections. It is stated in the section titled Minorities Equal Opportunity

(page 17):
BJP believes that in India's 'Unity in Diversity' lies India's biggest
strength. We cherish the depth and vibrancy that the diversity in Indian
society adds to the nation. BJP is thus committed to the preservation of
the rich culture and heritage of India's minority communities; alongside
their social and economic empowerment. It is unfortunate that even after
several decades of independence, a large section of the minority, and
especially Muslim community continues to be stymied in poverty. Modern
India must be a nation of equal opportunity. BJP is committed to ensure
that all communities are equal partners in India's progress, as we believe
India cannot progress if any segment of Indians is left behind. We will

Strengthen and modernize minority educational systems and

institutions.
Take steps to remove encroachments from and unauthorized
occupation of WAQF properties.

We hope that the Honourable Chief Minister reads, and acts according to, his
own partys manifesto.
The Maharashtra government is covering up its illegality by deceitfully
claiming that it is going to use the land belonging to Ismail Yusuf College only
for educational purposes, such as for establishing the National Law
University. We wholeheartedly welcome the establishment of the National
Law University in Mumbai. But why should a general category educational
institution be set up on a WAQF land meant for promoting higher education
among Muslims? Can the State Government not find 15 acres of land
anywhere else in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)? Clearly, the
Governments intention is to take away WAQF property under the garb of the
National Law University.
Concerned by this anti-Muslim move by the BJP-Shiv Sena Government, a
large number of non-Muslim and Muslim citizens of Mumbai have come
together to form the ISMAIL YUSUF COLLEGE CAMPUS BACHAO
SANGHARSH SAMITI. We, especially non-Muslim members on this secular
platform, firmly believe that this issue does not concern only the Muslim
community.

It is a matter of defending JUSTICE.

It is a matter of defending SECULARISM.
It is a matter of defending COMMUNAL HARMONY THROUGH INTERFAITH SOLIDARITY.
It is a matter of defending NATIONAL INTEGRATION.
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It is a matter of defending the ideal of INDIAS INCLUSIVE

DEVELOPMENT (SABKA VIKAS).
It is also a matter of defending the rights and the most pressing needs
of the MUSLIM COMMUNITY FOR ADEQUATE OPPORTUNITIES IN HIGHER
AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION.

Hence following are our demands:

1) The
Government
of
Maharashtra
must
stop
encroaching upon the WAQF land of Ismail Yusuf
College and also remove all the illegal encroachments
that it has already permitted.
2) Ismail Yusuf College should be declared a Minority
Educational Institution. Article 30(1) of the Indian
Constitution gives the right to Religious and
Linguistic Minorities to establish and administer
educational institutions of their choice. This demand
has become necessary since, without converting it
into
a
Minority
Educational
Institution,
the
Government cannot fulfil its obligations, under the
terms of the endowment, to run Ismail Yusuf College
or any new educational institutions that would have
to be built on its campus in future primarily for the
benefit of the Muslim community.
3) Ismail Yusuf College and the land belonging to it
(after removal of all encroachments on it) should be
handed over to a suitable Muslim trust to develop it
as a full-fledged WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITY offering a
wide range of facilities in higher, technical and
professional primarily, but not exclusively, for Muslim
students. The Mehboob-ur-Rahman Committee is
learnt to have recommended that Ismail Yusuf College
and its land should be handed over to Anjuman-IIslam (1874), the oldest and the most reputed Muslim
educational institution in Mumbai, for establishing a
university.

4) We are not opposed to establishment of the National

Law University in Mumbai. We welcome it. However, it
is the Governments duty to allot suitable land at an
alternative place in MMR.
If these demands are not met, the ISMAIL YUSUF COLLEGE CAMPUS BACHAO
SANGHARSH SAMITI would like the Government to know that non-Muslims
and Muslims will together launch the biggest peaceful protest in Mumbais
history for the cause of minority education.
Sudheendra Kulkarni, Chairman, Observer Research Foundation
Mumbai and an aide to Indias former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee
Dr. Zahir Kazi, President, Anjuman-I-Islam
Kapil Patil, Member of the Legislative Council
Prabhakar Narkar, Social activist
Anil Tyagi, Social activist
Kishore Jagtap, Social activist