LUCKNOW: The Muslim educators in India are protesting a recent court ruling that would effectively shut down thousands of religious schools known as madrasas in BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh state.
The Allahabad High Court on March 22, scrapped the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education Act 2004, saying it violated India’s constitutional secularism. It ordered that all Islamic school students in Uttar Pradesh be shifted to “regular” schools.
The court order directly impacts around 16,500 madrasas, which are recognized by the UP Board of Madrasa Education, their 1.95 million students and 100,000 teachers.
Muslim leaders have said that the ruling ignores years of reforms that have modernized India’s madrasas and introduced nationally approved syllabuses, including subjects such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer programming and social sciences.
“The court order violates Articles 29 and 30 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right of religious minorities to establish and run educational institutions of their choice,” Zafarul-Islam Khan, former chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission, said in a media interview.
“Muslims whole-heartedly welcomed modernized madrasas, and we have seen madrasa-educated students becoming civil servants, scientists, doctors, engineers and other modern professionals,” he added. “Yet, the authorities are closing down all madrasas going against the wishes and interests of the Muslim community.”
Ajaz Ahmad, president of UP’s Islamic Madrasa Modernization Teachers Association, emphasized that recognized madrasas have already modernized their curriculum and questioned the court’s decision to declare them unconstitutional, which would result in their closure and leave around 100,000 teachers unemployed.
Babu Ram, a Hindu who teaches science at a modernized madrasa in UP’s Meerut district, said, “If madrasas are closed down, the dropout rate among Muslims will certainly rise. The authorities are closing down madrasas despite them being as good as regular schools — this would make us victims of injustice.”
Muslims in India have long complained of discrimination. Social activists said that anti-Muslim sentiments have heightened since the administration of BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 with a Hindutva agenda.
