Author and activist Dilip Mandal created a storm on Thursday by saying that Fatima Sheikh, known as India’s first Muslim school teacher who worked with Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule, never existed, he created the ‘fictional character’ for political agenda. He argued that there is no historical reference to Fatima Sheikh, her name is not mentioned in the extensive writings of Jyotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule and BR Ambedkar, and all references to her recent after he started writing about her.
After the revelations, the Wikipedia page on Fatima Sheikh was marked for deletion. However, the editors have now decided to retain it, despite mounting evidence, or rather lack of evidence, that a Muslim revolutionary teacher named Fatima Sheikh existed. After Dilip Mandal made the revelations on X, a Wikipedia editor added the Proposed deletion (PROD) tag to the page, along with a lengthy explanation on why the page should be deleted.
Notably, apart from PROD, there are multiple tags to mark a Wikipedia article for deletion, like articles for deletion (AfD) or files for discussion (FfD). PROD is used to suggest an article or file for uncontroversial deletion. Citing Dilip Mandal’s tweets, the editor said that this may lead to discrimination against Muslims in India, and that is why the article should be deleted.
The editor wrote, “This raises a serious problem regarding the representation of Indian Muslims during colonial times and their contributions to India’s independence, as it could instill the belief that the minority community, especially Wikipedia, is spreading false information. This could create confusion, distrust in the encyclopedia, and further division between Indian religious communities by establishing the belief that Muslims did not truly contribute to freeing India from colonial rule. Therefore, the deletion of this article would not only maintain trust among Indians in Wikipedia as a useful encyclopedia, but also help prevent further fueling of hatred towards Muslims in India, especially from far-right Indian communities, which are prominent nowadays.”
However, other editors didn’t agree, and after some discussions, the deletion proposal was removed. One of the editors who objected said that it is not uncontroversial, and therefore the used method for deletion can’t be used.
The opponents argued that there is reference to Fatima Sheikh in a book published in 1991, which has been used as a reference in the article, and therefore it is wrong to say that there is no historical mention of her.
Apart from the deletion note, some editors had added the comments of Dilip Mandal in the article, but those also have been deleted, calling them vandalism.
As all edits after Dilip Mandal’s revelations have been removed, the Wikipedia page now no longer mentions that the authenticity of the story of Fatima Sheikh is under question.
Notably, while Dilip Mandal said that Fatima Sheikh is fictional yesterday, a Wikipedia editor had said that the same years ago, and he was blocked for the same. On 16 February 2021, a user added in the article that there is no record of any involvement a person named Fatima Sheikh in education of Dalits and women in India.
The editor wrote, “It must be noted that Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule started first school in Bhide Wada not in Fatima Sheikh house. There were no Muslims involvement in Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule’s effort for woman’s education at all. All those images of so called Fatima sheikh are fake. There were only few original images available of Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule no images have anyone called Fatima in it. No such person as Fatima Sheikh was either referred or noted who had any involvement in Dalit people’s education or woman’s education in history of India.”
However, other wiki editors didn’t agree with this, and the edit was removed. The editor then again added the note, this time with several other points, adding that “ Fatima sheikh is fictional character created by authoritarian left wing hegemony to defame and undervalue Hinduism especially OBC people.” Again the edit was removed. Not only that, the editor was permanently blocked from Wikipedia.
Notably, while the Wikipedia editors refer to a 1991 book as evidence that Fatima Sheikh actually existed, the fact is, that book just names a woman named Fatima Sheikh just once, and does not mention anything about her being the first Muslim female teacher or that she was a educationist who closely with Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. It just mentions that she was a colleague.
In the meanwhile, Dilip Mandal has posted several posts on X explaining how there is no historical evidence of Fatima Sheikh. He also cited how several past instances when several people had questioned the authenticity of the story of Fatima Sheikh, including the 2021 Wikipedia edit mentioned above.
Posting a news report on his revelations, Mandal said, “The myth of Teacher Fatima Sheikh, built over 15 years, has been dismantled and shelved in just one day.”
Dilip Mandal also slammed Aam Aadmi Party for a 2022 tweet on ‘birth anniversary’ of Fatima Sheikh, asking what is the source of the birthday, and what is the source of her ‘photo’.
केजरीवाल और फ़ातिमा शेख की जुगलबंदी या तुष्टिकरण का एक और अध्याय
केजरीवाल की सरकार द्वारा 2022 में अख़बारों में छापा गया विज्ञापन। यह देश की किसी भी सरकार द्वारा फ़ातिमा शेख का पहला विज्ञापन है।@ArvindKejriwal जी,
आपकी सरकार ने सावित्री बाई फुले के विज्ञापन में फ़ातिमा शेख… pic.twitter.com/UaCdMEouWv
— Dilip Mandal (@Profdilipmandal) January 10, 2025
He added, “Savitribai Phule did many works for Hindu social reform. She promoted widow remarriage, opened the well of her house to the untouchable castes of that time, built crèches for orphans, raised an orphan as her son and served plague patients. There is written evidence of all these works.
Did Fatima Sheikh bring any social reform among Muslims? Did she oppose the burqa system? Raised her voice against halala? Said something against triple talaq? Demanded women’s entry into the mosque? Or took any step against four marriages? Opposed the marriage of girls at an early age?”
लेकिन सरजी, आपने 2011 में छपी किताब की फ़ोटो क्यों लगाई है? गौर से देखिए।
चतुर्थ संस्करण 2011.
इस समय तक फ़ातिमा में प्राण फूंके जा चुके थे।
मैं यही कह रहा हूँ कि 1850 के दौर की फ़ातिमा के लिए आज के दौर में नए प्रमाण गढ़े गए।
जबकि सावित्री बाई जी के सभी प्रमाण पुराने हैं। https://t.co/nXAvy6XcfA
— Dilip Mandal (@Profdilipmandal) January 10, 2025
When a X user posted the image of a book containing a ‘photo’ of Fatima Sheikh, Dilip Mandal responded by saying that the book is from 1991. He said that new evidence was created for a person from 1850s, while there are all evidence for Savitri Phule are old.
While a Wikipedia page on Fatima Sheikh was proposed to be deleted after Dilip Mandal said that she didn’t exist, the proposal was rejected
0
0
Average Rating