“Several Hindu organisations have taken up the issue and are protesting the setting up of this university. Interestingly, they have been receiving a lot of support from the local Muslims who say that this university is bad news.
The Muslims who pray at the Tirupati temple feel that the town was peaceful and now with this university there is a good chance of peace being disrupted.” – Vicky Nanjappa
History shows that the land on which the proposed university is coming originally was part of a temple pond. It belonged to the Venkateshwara Temple [Thimappa Temple] which was built in 1542. This temple which housed the Lord Venkateshwara statue was destroyed by Hyder Ali in 1782.
While this has been part of the history books for several generations, it is ironic to note that the same land was handed over to a university which the authorities today claim has no permission to function. No official is able to state with confidence or give correct details about how the temple land was handed over to this university which is under construction.
The protests against the setting up of this mystery university are gaining momentum, and interestingly, even the Muslims in the temple town too have come out openly against the setting up of this university.
The local authorities have made it clear that no permission has been granted for this institution. An official said that what he hears is that the university aims at propagating Islamic culture, but also adds that it cannot function as there is no permission.
The university in question is the Heera International Islamic College, founded by a woman known only as Nowhera Shaikh. The website of this university gives no concrete information about the institution. Most of the webpages have garbled messages on them. With regards to the founder, all the information the website has is that she is the chancellor of the university.
Shaikh is from a family which dealt in wholesale business of vegetables, fruits and textile products. She claims to have started an Islamic School for girls at Tirupati in the name of ‘Madrasa Niswan’ in 1998, (under a society registered with the Registration of Societies Act, AP, India, No: 386), with around 150 students, who she claims she provided with free education and lodging facilities.
She also claims that she has been nominated for the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award in December 2012 [her name is not on the list – Ed]. Several organisations are doing everything that they can to stop the university from coming up. Although the construction is on in full flow, there is no explanation about when the college would commence its activities.
Several Hindu organisations [under the umbrella of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti] have taken up the issue and are protesting 
the setting up of this university. Interestingly, they have been receiving a lot of support from the local Muslims who say that this university is bad news. The Muslims who pray at the Tirupati temple feel that the town was peaceful and now with this university there is a good chance of peace being disrupted.
They feel that this is the doing of the ‘West’ who are trying to ‘worsen relationships between Hindus and Muslims’. Shaikh who had met with a couple of Muslims before the project commenced, and had claimed to be a resident of Tirupati, but no one remembers seeing her before.
Although Shaikh, during a recent press conference, claimed that she had the permission to run a college, there was nothing concrete shown to this effect. She had taken part in the press conference with around 300 burqa-clad women and had claimed that those would be the students in the university.
Several Muslim organisations in Tirupati have decided to fight against the university now. They say that they want no trouble whatsoever and are happy that at least 400 Muslims worship at Lord Balaji’s shrine everyday. – Rediff, 21 Oct. 2013
AP govt gave permission to build Islamic varsity on 8 March 2010
Today everyone in the Andhra Pradesh government is in denial when asked about the permission granted to construct the Heera Islamic University at the temple town of Tirupathi. Looking into the documents in this regard the picture is clear that official permission to construct a building on a temple pond land at Tirupathi was granted by the Andhra Pradesh government on March 8, 2010.
Bhanuprakash Reddy, who is the BJP’s spokesperson in Andhra Pradesh who has taken up the cause to stop the Islamic University tells Rediff.com in this interview that it is a mischief on part of the state government. Permission was granted on March 8, 2010 for a construction to be put up by the Heera Group on survey number 4-2 A/1 B.
While looking at the government’s order of March 8 there are two direct violations that can be found. Firstly it is against a Supreme Court order which clearly states that temple pond land a part of which has been used for the construction cannot be granted for any sort of construction. Secondly while granting permission the order made it clear that only a ground floor and a floor above that can be put up. However today the construction is 6 floors and how has this escaped the eye of the authorities who are today conveniently claiming that no permission was granted.
The lady Nowhera Shaikh who is putting up this Islamic university is shady. There is no proper antecedents of hers which have been mentioned. In fact Assad Owaisi of the MIM had filed a complaint against her in the year 2012. The complaint against the Managing Director of Nowhera Shaikh stated that she was cheating people on a large scale by inviting investments for her company. This case today is with the Enforcement Directorate and needs to be probed properly so that we can blow the lid of this lady who is setting up a university illegally. Moreover we also have a record to show that a counter intelligence teams report from Tirupathi had stated in the year 2007 itself that she is a suspicious character and need to be kept on the watch.
We will ensure that this university does not come up. We are taking the help of historians and archaeologists who will prove beyond reasonable doubt that the university is coming up on a land which originally housed a Vishnu temple (Thimappa temple). We are not against the minorities but such things are totally uncalled for and are aimed at disrupting peace.
Let us understand that there is no huge Muslim population in this area and hence there is no meaning of such a university. The temple falls under Chitoor district which only has 9 per cent of Muslims when compared to 44 per cent in Hyderabad. Does such a university have any meaning? Is the intention not something else which is aimed at disrupting peace? There are intelligence report which suggest that Tirupathi is already under the radar of terrorists. Is such a development required at this stage? We want to demand that there should be no construction allowed in a 50 kilometre radius of the temple premises.
Ram Madhav adds: The senior RSS leader who is a member of the national executive says that the university should not come up. There are bound to be protests and we hope better sense prevails and the same does not come up. We are confident that the construction commenced only after a government order. Looking at it from every possible angle it makes no sense to have a university out there. It is nothing but an act of mischief to disrupt the peaceful co-existence of the people. They could have chosen Hyderabad for such a university. Why Tirupathi which is a Hindu town housing one of the holiest Hindu shrines?
It is an attempt to flex their muscle and provocate. But then this leads to nothing good. Tirupathi at the end of it is a holy shrine and considered sacred irrespective of religion. Mecca is a sacred place for the Muslims. They would not like the idea of a construction coming up over there. Believe me none of us would ever do that as we respect religious sentiments. – Vicky Nanjappa Blog, 22 October 2013
- Sign the petition against the Heera Islamic University HERE
Protests by Hindus and Muslims against Islamic University (Videos )
