Faith on Hold: Uttar Pradesh’s Madrasa Crackdown Leaves Muslim Students in Educational Limbo

To declare Madrasa Education Board Act unconstitutional in India’s largest state of Uttar Pradesh Judicial decision A new controversy has arisen.

The Allahabad High Court on March 21 struck down the Uttar Pradesh Madrasas Act of 2004, which created a board to provide grants and financial assistance to Madrasas, saying that the Madrasas Act violated constitutional secularism. There is a violation.

According to this, the court directed to admit the students between the ages of six to 14 years studying in the madrasas of the board, after which the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh announced the implementation of the decision. .

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has been vocal against madrassas and Muslim institutions, praised the court’s decision and said his government would implement the decision in a phased manner.

This decision of the court has not only put a question mark on the future of more than 2 million students studying under the board, but also 10 thousand teachers are standing on the verge of unemployment. Along with this, hundreds of madrasahs are being feared to be closed.

According to a statement issued by Madrasa Education Board, 27 lakh students and about 10 thousand teachers of 25 thousand madrasas will be affected by this initiative.

This new decision of the court against madrassas and the announcement of its implementation by the government has spread a wave of concern in Muslim circles. Social and educational circles of Muslims are showing different reactions to this decision.

Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Teachers Association has said in a statement that this decision of the court has actually come on the basis of wrong evidence presented by the government. He has decided to challenge this decision of the court in the Supreme Court.

Speaking to the Independent, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Vice-Amir Professor Saleem Engineer said that under the Act which has been declared unconstitutional, the government has been giving grants to only a few madrassas, they are only for obtaining modern education. Took

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He says that the government’s attempt was to modernize the madrassas and give modern education to the students, but for this purpose the government used to give grants, while the madrassas have their own infrastructure, the government does not build the madrassas, but they build them. There was little support for modern education in the madrasas that were built.

He raised the question that ‘when the aim was only to help provide modern education, where did it come from that the government is giving money for religious education.’

Professor Saleem Engineer further says that ‘when this matter goes to the Supreme Court and the correct facts and evidence are kept, this decision will be reversed.’ However, he also expressed fear of the government’s action against madrassas under the guise of this decision.

A Lucknow bench of Justice Vivek Choudhary and Justice Saurabh Vidyarthi gave the said judgment on March 21 while hearing a petition filed against the madrassa board, according to which the State Madrassa Board Act was against secularism and the University Grants Commission (UGC). Declared against the regulations.

It is noteworthy that this decision of the court has come at a time when general elections have been announced in India. In such circumstances, fears are being expressed that this decision will have political effects.

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