“Why only madrasas? The government says they will do good for madrasas, but when they can’t do it for their own schools, how will they do it for ours?” said Nadeem Qasmi, 32, who heads a madrasa in Ghaziabad. Nadeem’s statement comes in the light of the decision by the Adityanath-led government to conduct a state-wide survey of ‘unrecognised’ madrasas.
Established in 2015, Nadeem’s madrasa, also known as RK Islamia school is situated in Dasna, Ghaziabad.
On August 31, the Uttar Pradesh government announced that they will gather information about the number of teachers and students, facilities available and the source of funding for all the madrasas in the state. The government has also passed an order allowing the transfer of teaching and non-teaching staff of aided madrasas.
Even though madrasa heads and Muslim leaders in UP have welcomed the survey, amid the polarised political climate, misleading headlines on madrasas and their vilification by the media, some clerics have expressed concern over the motives behind the survey.
Speaking to The Cognate, Chairman of the UP Board of madrasa education Dr Iftikhar Ahmed said the survey was aimed at the betterment and progress of education in the madrasa sector.
On 19 September, the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, the Muslim wing of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) stated that apart from gathering basic details, the government should inquire into the assets owned by Islamic educational institutions, The Hindu reported.
On 15 September, a team of government officials, including the SDM of Sarojini Nagar, Basic Shiksha Adhikari, and District minority officer among others, visited Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama in Lucknow as part of the ongoing survey.
The Darul Uloom Nadwatul Uloom, often referred to as just Nadwa, is a 125-years old institution. Kamal Akhtar, 58, a prominent lecturer in Nadwa told The Cognate, “The officials told us that they have no other intention, they just wanted data for an overview. They said they will pass the report to the DM, and the intention is only to bring some improvement. That, only time will tell.”
Nadwa too doesn’t take any financial donations from the government.
‘Govt Aided Madrasas Are Doing Worse’
Qazi Zakir Hussain, 44, is the state secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind from Muzaffarnagar. Zakir stated that just like all other religions have their own institutions and schools, be it a gurukul or matt, Muslims have madrasas. “Why must the government interfere only in this?”
“Why are they bringing religion into this?” Dr Iftikhar said, on being asked why only one religious educational institution is being surveyed.
The state claims that they want to modernise madrasas, but our question is that the madrasas which come under the government madrasa board are doing far worse than before. In this situation, how do we believe them? Secondly, we don’t want modernisation, we want them to give us the freedom to run them. Qazi Zakir Hussain, state secretary Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
He added that for around five years, teachers at government-recognised madrasas have not received their salaries. In these madrasas, the state is responsible for getting the curriculum and syllabus in place, but they haven’t done that either, he alleged.
“Students are not ready to go to government-run schools because of how their condition is. The well-to-do families are also not ready to send their children to these schools, so if the government interferes with madrasas, their situation might become like that too,” he added.
Echoing his sentiments is Anas Farooqui, 25, who heads a decades-old madrasa in Balia, Kakori in the state. Established in 1978, it was officially registered in the society in 1986 and was recognised by the government in 1998.
Stating that it’s difficult to pinpoint the intention of the state, Anas claimed there are roadblocks for any madrasa-head trying to get their institution recognised by the state.
Since 2017, the government portal meant for registration for recognition has not opened. There are many applications and requests lying with the DMO office and registrar office. So, they should have surveyed them specifically and checked who is deserving of being recognised. Those who are not, they should have told them their flaws and proceeded further.Anas Farooqui
Among the reasons for the survey, Dr Iftikhar says, is to increase the number of recognised madrasas. “We have no data on madrassas. We want to know to whom we are giving the grants and pave way for more madrasas to get recognised”.
According to the state government, there are 16,461 madrasas in Uttar Pradesh, out of which 560 are provided government grants. New madrasas have been included in the grant list in the last six years.
“We welcome the survey if it’s for our betterment, but the state has looked at madrasas with suspicious eyes and already labelled us as wrong, in order to establish that a survey is needed.”
Both Zakir and Anas stated that if the state is really concerned about the welfare of Muslims, then they should build and offer children more schools and colleges.
It is important to note that most madrasas in the country run on their own financially, by and large on the basis of public donations or with minimal fees from the students.
“Why now?” asked Zakir on the timing of the survey. “If there are any facilities lagging, we have no problem in the state checking them, our doors are always open, and they can visit anytime. But when it comes to this survey, I feel there is an ulterior motive. I don’t find it fair either.”
Meanwhile, a conference was held by some prominent leaders of madrasas over the issue. President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani has called upon the participants to “fully cooperate with government officials” in the survey, PTI reported.
Nadeem, on the other hand, stated, “Whatever the government thinks is necessary, the students would not mind abiding by it, but if you go and survey, you will find barely any madrasa which fulfils all the criteria. If the government really wants betterment, then they should give some liberty to teachers and students to learn freely.”
Opposition parties have criticised the move by the state government. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati recently accused the BJP government of interfering in the running of private madrasas in UP on the pretence of conducting surveys and “terrorising” the Muslim community.
Dr Iftikhar believes that opposition party leaders who are criticizing the survey “don’t want children of poor households to be included in the mainstream.”
“Owaisi and Akhilesh, both have studied at reputed and elite places. Why do they have an objection?” he asks.
‘Media Has Aggravated Misconceptions Around Madrasas’
The mainstream media channels have more often than not only reported on madrasas in a negative light or when hate speech is made against the institutions. Reportage on the latter is also mostly missing from TV channels.
For instance, Hindutva supremacist leader Yati Narsighanand, who routinely spreads hate against the Muslim community recently said, “Madrasas should not exist in the first place. They should be blown to bits with gunpowder or we should practice the policy of China and send the residents of the madrasas to detention camps.” The Aligarh police on 18 September booked him for his remarks.
Recently, in Assam, three madrasas were demolished by the state administration because of their alleged links to terrorists.
Madrasa leaders talked about how the mainstream media channels have not only fed into pre-conceived notions people have held regarding madrasas but have also done more damage to the very foundation or thought behind a madrasa.
Zakir said, “Madrasas are shown in a negative light on social media, print and electronic media. They spread venom against madrasas and this is a pre-planned agenda. Their goal is to create misconceptions about madrasas, to spread hate and create further divisions between communities.”
“Then the people from other communities start suspecting madrasas and this is what they want,” he added.
Zakir talked about how he has seen several TV channels with misleading headlines that the state “caught” unrecognised madrasas. “Why is this matter portrayed like that? It means you want to mark them ‘unrecognised’ as a label to spread fear. They spread so many lies that it starts looking like truth to people.”
Agitated, Anas said, “TV channels distort the facts and show that children in madrasas are only taught the Quran and Urdu, hence they don’t have any future. This is biased propaganda.”
Firstly, he stated that children who want to become a Hafiz or a Maulana will naturally attend a madrasa just like a student who attends a medical college to become a doctor, to say that students pursue colleges according to their interests.
Secondly, he added that a lot of madrasas in India do not exclusively just impart Islamic education but also a variety of subjects including English, science and maths.
Not to forget that Article 25 of the Constitution gives freedom to practice and propagate religion and Article 30 lays down the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.
Nadeem too stated, “There are madrasas here where I live, they teach English, maths and science, and are far better in quality and consistency than the rest of the schools I know. The students, as they grow up, also join other government-run schools.
Meanwhile, Shams Ur Rehman Alavi, 45, a senior journalist hailing from Lucknow, has worked for over 20 years in the field of reporting on extremism and crimes.
He stated that the order regarding the survey of madrasas has raised alarm because there have been regular diktats issued to madrasas without paying attention to their real needs.
What worries is the intent — is it for betterment? In fact, madrasa teachers have been facing great difficulties and are unable to get regular salaries, which shows that there is hardly a real concern from the government. Against this backdrop, this order brings the spotlight on madrasas as it is an exercise that would hassle madrasa owners Shams Ur Rehman Alavi, Journalist
He continued, “The fact that regional media has got into hyper mode and speaks about the survey, bringing wild angles to the reports, raises fears that madrasa owners might face harassment. Hence, there is a worry.”
‘Madrasa is an Avenue for the Poor’
Anas has been looking after his madrasa ever since his father passed away in 2019. It was founded by his grandfather for underprivileged children.
On being asked what he wants the government to do, Anas said, “All we want is the government to have a clear conscience, not look at us suspiciously and listen to us, then they have all our support.”
Anas talked about why madrasas act as a pathway, a link to education for children coming from marginalised socio-economic backgrounds.
“The students who come here are from families who cannot pay fees in lakhs. We give them a pen to hold. The madrasa is not to isolate them from society. These children would have gone to beg on the streets or wash utensils in restaurants,” noted Anas.
Zakir highlighted how madrasas were historically built not just to educate but also to liberate underprivileged children to create true patriots who strive for progress in the country.
Anas stated that while some of his students want to become a cleric, others want to become a doctor, an engineer or a pilot. NCERT books are available in his school and extra classes are also provided. He said, “We teach students in a way that they become self-sufficient when they grow up, they can read and speak English as well.”
In May this year, the UP government ordered that the national anthem will be compulsory before all classes in madrasas. While he welcomed the order, he stated that the state should not dictate and push down their orders when they have the option of sending directives.
Nadeem who teaches around 250 children at his government-recognised madrasa said their institution only charges a mere fee of Rs 150-200 a month. Students at his madrasa also appear for open board education along with coaching classes. “Madrasas don’t need much from the government, even if they lay the foundation of one brick for us, things will become better for the madrasas.”
Just like Nadeem, the other madrasa leaders have emphasised that the government should focus on the education sector, and focus more on government-aided schools and madrasas first, in order to prove that they can trust the state completely.
Shams also stated, “The expectation from government is to provide adequate funds to the Madrasa Board so that teachers are regularly paid and all subjects are taught. The madrasa system, in fact, is a major avenue for education for those from the poorer sections of society. It needs proper support from government, empathy and the right intent on part of authorities.”
Nadeem concluded, “The government wants to keep data on us, that’s clear. But how they use the data, whether it’s for our benefit or not, we don’t know. We can only hope that it is.”
The report on all the madrasas is required to be submitted to the state government by 25 October.
