The demand by Muslim students of Nirmala College , Muvattupuzha in Kerala for separate hall for saying Namaz (Friday prayer) has been resolved ‘amicably’ on Monday in a conciliation meeting convened by the college authorities.
Father Jestin Kuriakose, principal of the 71-year-old Catholic Church administered college, told the agitating students that it was not possible to allocate an auditorium/hall exclusively for them to offer Namaz as this would led to students from other communities demanding the same facility. “We told them unambiguously that ours is an institution maintaining high academic standards and secular credentials. They were asked to make use of the mosques nearby for Namaz as the college functions taking into account the needs of the Muslim community members,†said Fr Kuriakose.
Students affiliated to Muslim League and the CPI(M) had staged a gherao in front of the Principal’s chamber for two hours and this had shocked the college management. Though the CPI(M) affiliated students made a hasty retreat washing their hands off the issue, the news reached across the State upsetting the Christian community.
Members of the local Mahul committee and religious police shadowing the students too participated in the discussion. With the College management remaining stubborn in their decision not to allocate hall for Namaz, the Mahul leaders too changed their tact and told media that the students were not right in pressing for a separate Namaz facility in the college premises.
