Srinagar, July 8:Police today detained three doctors of the Government Medical College who circulated pamphlets protesting the institute's golden jubilee celebrations, labelling the musical programmes as representative of "Satanic culture".
The incident comes days after an online campaign forced Kashmir University to cancel a musical concert — Ilhaam (Revelation). The artistes, however, defied threats and performed the same day — July 4 — but the event was given a new name, Aagaz — the Journey Begins.
The police said one of the posters mentioned a quotation from Muslim ruler Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi who was once asked why he never smiled. How could he smile when the Masjid-e-Al-Quds in Jerusalem "is under occupation", Ayyubi replied. The quotation could be a way to draw attention towards the separatist line of Kashmir's occupation by India.
The poster in English, though it did not mention Kashmir, questioned the need for such a celebration when the college had to cut down on teaching certain courses because of a resource crunch.
A poster in Urdu said the celebrations followed in the footsteps of the "immoral" West.
"We are being taught music, disco, catwalk etc in the name of culture. These are aimed at spreading the Satanic culture among Muslim youth. Please say no to cultural aggression," it read.
The police said the Srinagar medical college, set up in 1961, has lined up several celebratory programmes that began today with a marathon. It was flagged off by state health minister R.S. Chib.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah will be the chief guest at one of the events tomorrow.
Sources said security in and around the college had been tightened to avoid any untoward incident after the posters were found.
Around 1,500 delegates would take part in the events.
There are no comments yet