Days after the Uttar Pradesh government decided to survey unrecognized madarsas in the state, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, led by several Islamic clerics, held a meeting in Delhi on Tuesday and extended support to the government. Maulana Mahmood Madani called for a meeting to discuss the strategies to ascertain unlicensed madarsas in the state.
The Uttar Pradesh government had on September 1 announced that it would survey unrecognized madarsas of the state to ascertain information such as several teachers and students, curriculum, and its affiliation with any non-government organization.
#CORRECTION | Delhi | Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind* holds a meeting on various issues, including the UP govt’s decision to conduct a survey of unrecognised madrasas in the state. pic.twitter.com/AQb9WYhdAl
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2022
Minister of State for Minority Affairs Danish Azad Ansari had said that the survey would be conducted as per the requirements of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) which wants to check on basic facilities being provided to students in madarsas.
The minister stated further that the survey would help gather other details also such as the name of the madarsa and the institution operating it, whether it is being run in a private or a rented building, and information regarding basic facilities of drinking water, furniture, electricity supply, and toilet, etc.
Maulana Mahmood Madani, the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind called a meeting on September 6 to discuss the matter amid other issues. It is reported that the Islamic clerics backed the state government’s decision to survey the madarsas in the state which are running without government help. Reports mention that Maulana Mahmood Madani will also address a press conference after the meeting.
Big message to ‘secular lobby’: Jamiat-Ulema-Hind holds meeting, back Yogi government’s decision to survey illegal UP #Madrassas and curriculum.@Sabyasachi_13 and Siddhartha Talya with more on the survey controversy. pic.twitter.com/QcMtbJkgEK
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) September 6, 2022
Earlier in the day, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had questioned the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to conduct the survey of unrecognized madarsas in the state. It said that the government was deliberately targeting minority institutions.
“Madarsas are being targeted in Uttar Pradesh and Assam. This is being done even though minority institutions are protected under the law. In Assam, the government has gone as far as to bulldoze some of the smaller madarsas while converting others to schools. If the issue is that of restricting religious education and promoting secular education instead, then why isn’t the government taking the same action against gurukuls”, Qasim Rasool Ilyas, an executive member of the AIMPLB, was quoted as saying.
Ilyas further added that there was no clear estimate of the total number of madarsas in Uttar Pradesh. He also cited a report published by the Sachar Committee and stated that around 4 percent of Muslim children studied in madarsas and that there are likely to be thousands of madarsas in the state.
According to the reports, there are a total of 16,461 madrassas in the state at present. 560 of the state’s total madarsas get government subsidies, but new madarsas have been excluded from the grant list for the previous six years.
