Online Desk: After mosques and other religious sites, Muslim-run higher educational institutions have become the target of the Hindutva brigade. The systematic attack on minority-led universities is raising alarm among educators, civil society, and political observers, as a troubling pattern of repression unfolds.
In a dramatic midnight operation on February 22, the Special Task Force of the Assam Police, ostensibly designated for counterterrorism efforts, stormed the Guwahati home of Mahbubul Hoque, the founder Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), and arrested him on allegations of malpractice in the Class XII examinations.
On the same day, Rajasthan Police took Mohammad Atiq Ghauri, chairperson of Maulana Azad University in Jodhpur, into custody. The Azad University runs under the Marwar Muslim Educational & Welfare Society which was established in 1929. Besides the university, the society runs several schools and professional institutions. This crackdown follows earlier actions against Glocal University (Saharanpur) and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University (Rampur), both located in the BJP-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh. Since 2019, Azam Khan, the founder of Jauhar University, has been languishing in Sitapur Jail, facing nearly 90 cases, some as absurd as goat and buffalo theft.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who publicly asserts his government’s commitment to producing “doctors, engineers, and scientists” rather than “mullahs” or “maulvis,” paradoxically continues targeting modern educational institutions run by Muslims. USTM, a reputed private university, has increasingly found itself in the crosshairs of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, one of the BJP’s most vocal hardliners. Since assuming office in 2021, Sarma has amplified his attacks on USTM and its founder, accusing Hoque of orchestrating “flood jihad” and even declaring that the university’s domed gate resembled a “Makkah-like structure,” a supposed sign of “jihad.”
His rhetoric escalated further when he alleged financial misconduct, fraudulent degree issuance, and other serious irregularities — all without providing any evidence. “The head of USTM himself is a fraud. The entire system is fraudulent, and the institution has been issuing fake certificates,” Sarma claimed, even accusing Hoque of issuing a forged caste certificate.
The university administration swiftly rejected these allegations, emphasising that such baseless claims damage its reputation and cast a shadow over thousands of students, faculty, and researchers committed to academic excellence. This emerging pattern of state-sanctioned repression raises pressing questions about the future of minority education in India. With Muslim-run universities under siege, many wonder if this is part of a broader strategy to stifle intellectual progress and suppress minority communities. The battle for educational autonomy is far from over, and institutions like USTM continue to stand resilient in the face of political adversity.