Hi all, I wanted to let you know that we now have 1800+ signatures on this petition. Thank you so much for your support!

In some circles - there are some cases where the integrity of this petition is called into question. We expected it - which is why all the facts are attached with the petition itself. 

Writing below the response from our team, against these allegations - which we hope offers more clarity and depth into the issues this petition seeks to address. 

FROM HOBART ALUMNI WORKING COUNCIL

(Fighting against the unfair take-over of school playground for a private college)

Firstly - to all those proudly saying “our aunty sat in a dharna” - take a moment to reflect: why are you now justifying the takeover of the very land she once fought to save?

1. Who is Misleading?

The Hobart Alumni Foundation (HAF) claims to represent the alumni of Government Hobart School—but in reality, it includes only one actual alumna: the PTA president. The rest are her family members and close associates, including individuals with ties to real estate interests. Their agenda seems clear: to privatize public land under the convenient label of "community service." When held accountable, they hide behind the lone alumna's identity and paint all criticism as an attack. But the facts speak for themselves.

Among their trustees are individuals who serve on the boards of private schools - schools that themselves don’t have playgrounds. That such a group has taken the decision to eliminate the only playground available to Muslim girls from disadvantaged backgrounds is not just deeply troubling - it raises serious concerns about their intent, their priorities, and their integrity. Such conflict of interest needs explanation, not the petition of the Alumni of Hobart to stop you. 

2. What is a lie in the petition?

Be clear and specific. (Not speaking about how much the PTA spends each month does not make it a lie - it highlights the intention behind this spending, to privatize its land)

3. Who are you (HAF & PTA) to unilaterally decide the future of Muslim girls in government schools – what they deserve and don’t deserve?

Did you consult the alumni – the parents – the community – Jamaats, to clarify if usurping the ONLY public playground serving poor Muslim girls for private use can be called Sadaqah Jariyah. 

Who are you to decide that the 600 girls in the school – do not deserve sports? 

You circulated a video featuring several known and influential figures from our community endorsing the construction of a college on the only playground available to Muslim girls. This reveals a shocking disregard - and a deep lack of concern - from the very people who should be protecting the rights of our most vulnerable.

To them, what is the only space to play for our daughters is merely a piece of land to be commercialised. The indifference from within our own community, especially from those with power and influence, towards the right of girls from lower-income families to play, is deeply disappointing.

The Right to Education Act recognises access to a playground as a legal right. This is not a favour granted by a few wealthy individuals—it is a right guaranteed by the law of this democracy. And yet, our elders, our wealthy – always view a school as a piece of land and treat a playground as wasteful. How disheartening that the fight for dignity, equality, and the simple joy of play for Muslim girls must be waged not just outside, but within our own community.

4. Who opposed a college? 

To say we oppose a college is a lie. We oppose your privatization of the only playground for poor Muslim girls after denying them sports for half a decade. But when you say – your college project is possible – on the ONLY playground available for Muslim girls, that has been available for 150 years, then this unique college project that is feasible only by usurping a playground used by poor Muslim girls, that needs an explanation. 
No objection for your college project – even if it is for-profit – if it is continued anywhere else in this city. 

5. HAF Says - At a time when Waqf lands and minority rights are being contested across the country, our inclusive DMK government has shown exceptional support by considering to grant this land to our girls’ college. That is no small victory

We are raising awareness to the very same DMK government – about how a handful of rich and influential in our community has blatant disregard for the rights of poor Muslim girls from our community. We are raising awareness about the systematic dismantling of sports by the PTA during their tenure. Alumni who are district and state level champions, will come forward with their certificates, their medals – and ask the simple question – why, this playground, which gave all this exposure, is now suddenly a wasteland that needs to be written off for a college? 

Through the political agency that we have – the rights of the poor should have been highlighted – and asked for to the protected. Instead, the wealthy and the influential – have tried to usurp the only playground available for Muslim girls – by misrepresenting our interests. We - the real alumni, the daughters of Hobart - will not stand by as this promise is broken in plain sight.

Protests and dharna's have been a part of Hobart’s legacy since the 1990s. To suggest that only Ms. Fathima Wadood, as PTA president, ever protested is a half-truth. Yes, she may have once led a dharna and successfully stopped a project - but today, under her name and leadership, the very land she once protected is being handed over. Why?
 
Do understand that you are dealing with real alumni of Hobart. We studied here. Some of us protested as children—12, 13 years old—led by the late, great Tmt. Fathima Begum Madam, when the Teacher’s Training Academy tried to encroach on our playground.

This isn’t new to us. What is new - is that this time, the attempt to take away the last open space for Muslim girls is coming not from outside, but by Muslim women from our own community. The fact that it’s our own people who no longer respect Muslim girls’ right to play, sports and open spaces - that is what hurts the most.

Thanks again for supporting this cause.

Government Hobart School Alumni