Uttarakhand college set up by Yogi Adityanath has Muslim principal

Yamkeshwar (PAURI): Yogi Adityanath may be known for his firebrand version of Hindutva politics but in neighbouring Uttarakhand, the Muslim principal of a degree college set up by the UP CM says that the institution is a symbol of “fairness, tolerance and humanity“.

Set up by Yogi in his home district of Pauri in 1999, the Mahayogi Gurugorakhnath Degree College in Bithyani in Yamkeshwar block has been added to the list of government-aided schools in the state after the BJP came to power in Uttarakhand.

“The beauty of the college is that it is free from discrimination based on caste, religion or colour. It is as pure as the environment of the hills,“ principal Aftab Ahmad told TOI.

Ahmad, who hails from Dehradun, said that the college, which has 150 students, most of them girls, got affiliation from HNB Garhwal University in 2005 and employs NET-qualified teachers from across the country . There is no other degree college in the district.

Ahmad, who was appointed as the head of the institution in 2014, said, “The idea here is to give the best of education to these young minds and promote values of humanity and tolerance.“