In this U'khand Madrasa, a Muslim has been teaching Sanskrit for several years

Even as a faction of students’ of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) continue to protest against the appointment of Firoze Khan in the Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vigyan, Mohammad Sajid, who has been working as a teacher in Madrasa Darul Uloom Rasheedia for 20 years now, has dedicated the past five years of his professional life to teaching Sanskrit.

Haridwar (Uttarakhand):While the Sanskrit Department of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), has been at the centre of protests for several weeks now over the appointment of a ‘Muslim’ teacher, another Muslim teacher in a humble Madrasa in Uttarakhand has been imparting education to its students in Sanskrit language.

Mohammad Sajid has been working as a teacher in Madrasa Darul Uloom Rasheedia, located in Jwalapur area of Haridwar for the past 20 years, and has dedicated the past five years of his professional life to teaching Sanskrit.

Proud of his contribution to the language, Sajid said, "I have been teaching at this Madrassa for the past 20 years, and for the past four-five years I have been teaching Sanskrit to the students. India is a diverse country, with many languages, but there are certain important books which are available only in Sanskrit language. We make sure that a student is imparted education in Sanskrit since class 3."

"I believe a student should be well adept with at least three languages in India such as Hindi, English and Sanskrit, " added Sajid.

The students of this Madrasa are equally excited about learning Sanskrit, and spare no chance to show off their Sanskrit skills.

The love for this ancient language among the youngsters is to the extent that the class registers almost 100 percent attendance on days when Sanskrit is taught in the Madrassa.

Expressing regret over the protest against the appointment of Firoze Khan in the Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vigyan in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Sajid said, "the entire controversy is unfair. People should be happy that a Muslim youth, whose natural choice of language is not Sanskrit, holds such expertise in the language."

"Several candidates apply for the position at the University, but a Muslim youth was chosen because of his merit," added a visibly upset Sajid.