Lucknow: India is moving on a path where nobody stays behind because of his religion and the schemes made today for the poor are reaching them without any religious discrimination, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Aligarh Muslim University, seeking to impress the government’s “anti-discriminatory” nature on the students of the university. Speaking at the centenary celebrations of the varsity on Tuesday, Modi exhorted students to rise above ideological and political differences of opinion to align their aspirations with the aspirations of the nation, and contribute towards building of a ‘New India’ and an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. He lauded the university for its contribution to the freedom struggle, towards shaping of the modern Muslim society and its diversity, calling it a “Mini-India”.
Last year, the AMU campus had seen clashes between the police and the students who had protested against a police crackdown at Jamia Millia Islamia University during the anti-CAA protests. “Today, India is moving on a path where each citizen is benefitting from its development without discrimination, no citizen has to worry about the rights given to him by the Constitution, as well as about his own future. It is moving on a path where nobody stays behind because of his religion and everybody gets equal opportunities to move ahead in life and fulfil his dreams,” the PM said, adding: “Sabka saath, sabka vikaas, and sabka vishwas – this mantra is the basis of this journey and this mantra is reflected in the country’s intent and policies.”

While toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission were constructed to benefit everyone, it especially has led to a fall in the school dropout rate of Muslim girls from more than 70% to 30%, thus overcoming a huge obstacle in the development of the Muslim world, he said, citing this as a little known aspect of the cleanliness drive.

The effort to build a modern Muslim society, which was undertaken 100 years ago when Begum Sultan had become the founding chancellor of the university, has been taken forward by the current government by ending the practice of instant triple talaq, Modi said. While he laid stress on the importance of women’s education, Modi also touched upon how the new education policy propounded the interdisciplinary approach of the university in its higher studies syllabus. “We will have to realise that politics is an important part of society, but there are more issues in society greater than politics,” he said.