Bricks, stones, glass fragments, and empty liquor bottles are scattered around the property. The main building’s front door is not present. On the floor, covered in soot, are the charred remains of burned furniture, windows, doors, and fan wreckage. Water is dripping from the collapsed roof in one area.
This was the scene when Al Jazeera visited Madrassa Azizia earlier this month. Madrassa Azizia is a renowned Muslim school in the Nalanda region of the Bihar state in eastern India.
On March 31, a mob attacked a school in the town’s Murarpur neighborhood. Ram Navami is a Hindu festival that, in India, according to rights organizations, saw numerous processions pass through primarily Muslim neighborhoods with people carrying weapons, chanting provocative slogans, and even attacking shops, homes, and religious structures.
Residents said a mob of about 1,000 men – armed with sticks and petrol bombs – barged into the school and set it on fire, destroying its library that housed nearly 5,000 books, including precious manuscripts and historical documents.
Mohan Bahadur, the school’s security guard, told Al Jazeera the mob was shouting “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram), a religious slogan that has become a rallying cry for Hindu right-wing groups against its minorities, mainly Muslims and Christians.
Bahadur said when he saw the procession advance towards the school, he tried to lock its gates. “But the crowd pelted stones and broke the gate,” he said.
“A man from the crowd pushed and slapped me, and yelled at me, ‘You Nepali bastard, we will kill you,’” Bahadur said, adding that he got scared and ran away from the site.
Source – Aljazeera
