The centre's move to form a Madrasa Board at national level was outrightly rejected by Maulana Mufti Ahmed Devalvi, the president of the Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Madaris Gujarat. In a telephonic talk with Mufti Fareed Kavi, a spokesman of Majlis, it seems that the idea of the central government will backfire at least in Gujarat.
According to Majlis, this move will hamper the originality of madrasah education and consequently madaris, plural of madrasah, will lose their identity and spirit as the forts of Islam. He further said that only three percentage (the Sachar Committee report says 4%) Muslim students were in madaris. ‘If centre wants to start madaris with some worldly course, it has been catering to the wide option of big percentage of remaining Muslim kids. This lot can be taped by centre,’ said Fareed.
Prior to this, a similar proposal was put forward by the NDA government by involving the Delhi-based Maulana Ilyasi, which was also opposed.
Devalvi expressed surprise over renewed efforts by the UPA government in this direction saying that the Muslim community was not making any demand for it and that he has written to HRD minister Kapil Sibal as well.
“Once the control of madaris goes in the hands of the government, these seminaries will lose their very spirit,” he said, adding that the religious content of the syllabus of some madaris in Bihar and West Bengal was diluted after they were affiliated to the boards set up by the respective state governments, “reducing them to the position of any modern school”.
He said madaris are for purely religious needs. “Madaris are teaching modern subjects like mathematics, sciences and computers, and some madrasah students join the mainstream educational institutions after completing their studies in the seminaries. Let the government set up modern schools and colleges on its own in areas where madaris are located, rather than eyeing madaris and their properties,” he added
The proposed Madrasah Board is not acceptable to us. It is better if the government constitutes a committee comprising of Madrasah heads and ulama to look into the details of what actually it wants before enforcing any decision on us” said, Mufti Asjad of Kashif-ul-Uloom adding there is a wide gap between the two drafts of the Madrasah board, one proposed by the Centre and other by the State. “Similar questions were raised in a meeting that was called in 2008 but the Government has not come up with any explanation till now.” said Maulana Vali of Bharuch.
Observing that only 4% Muslim children are taking admissions in the Madaris and the remaining 96% go to the schools run by the government and Muslim NGOs, Mufti Abdul Qayum asked “Why does the government which does not show any sympathy towards the Muslim schools and their managements and makes these run from one office to another for every small thing, is so restless in extending aid to the Madaris?”
It also transpired during the meeting that the managements have already decided to include modern education in their Madaris, the primary aim of the government. However fearing the interference from the government in the syllabus the Madrasah heads decline to receive the government aid.
“If the Government’s intention is to include the modern education in the Madaris then we have already decided to do so. But the proposed Madrasah board is vague that makes the intentions of the government unclear”, said Maulana Huzaifah of Bhavnagar.
Amid the strong opposition to the government’s proposal of Madrasah Board, Hafiz Muhammad Umair proposed, “ If the Government is really interested in helping the Madaris, it should first implement its own decision taken in 2004 to provide food grains on subsidized rates.”
The above argument serves an enough indicator to the stand of Gujarat, madaris heads regarding the Central Madrasah Board that the centre instead of being concerned about modernization of madaris should ensure better education and employment opportunities for the 96% Muslim students who do not attend madaris at all.
By Abdul hafiz Lakhani
With more than 100 Darul Ulooms in Gujarat, the state produces a considerable number of ulama and huffaz (plural of hafiz). Majority of them get employment in these madaris while others head to foreign countries.
A fresher from the madaris gets a starting salary of around Rs 3,000 with lodging and boarding facilities whether they are married or not. Unlike teachers of government run schools the teachers of madaris get their salary by the 10th of every month for sure. To support their income many of them are also allowed to take tuitions and lead prayers.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Why Central Madrasah Board Be Constituted?
There are no opportunities in job sectors for madaris graduates. Doesn’t it indicate to their failure in modern time?
The social and economical backwardness of the Muslim community shares a direct link with madaris and their products; maulvis and mullas. Their only duty, they think, is to give fruitless education and label those having contemporary education as incomplete and non-practicing Muslims. Anyone breeding a view opposite to it should study well the real situation of madaris and the skills the maulvis get there.
Madaris are blind to the need of time. Whatever the advancement takes place in education world; these madaris have a centuries old tradition of insisting on their outdated syllabus. Qur’an, Hadees and Fiqh, the madaris take them as integral part of their education while the market value of these subjects resembles to nothing.
Justice M.S.A. Siddiqui, chairman of the National Commission of Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) had said in an interview to IANS that in the last 60 years of independence, no madrasah - including the great Darul Uloom at Deoband - has produced a single scholar. "I wonder whether these maulvis ever ponder over this. These people have a vested interest in keeping the community backward," he said.
While education is a must for advancement of any community the maulvis are not ready to accept it. Spend a long time, and experience every method to convince them about the advantages of contemporary subjects, you will find at last to have done a wild goose chase. No amazement, if they come on streets opposing the proposed Central Madrasa Board; a sincere effort by centre to modernize the madaris. Let the HRD minister Kapil Sibal announce that the board will not interfere in their system, why the heads of madaris be ready to accept the proposal? The managers of madaris are afraid their occupation over the institutions will be lost if they are affiliated to the government. ‘Modernization’ they think, is a poison for madaris syllabi. The reality is quite contrary to the notion as the madaris syllabus ruins the life of students.
Those becoming graduates through this syllabus are of no use. None of them one will find being employed as an engineer, a doctor or a scientist. Leading prayer-may it be daily, funeral, Eid or Jum’a- reading out Nikah, calling Azan or at high level to teach in a madrasah are the only options left for a graduate maulvi who spends one fourth of life pursuing education. Why should the step of the government to modernize the madaris under Central Madrasah Board be opposed if it provides with a larger scope of employment for madaris products. Besides enabling them to work shoulder by shoulder in employment fields, the modernization will be a means to be rich and serve the community in a better way. They will become a valuable asset for the community instead of being burden.
Majority of madaris teachers have the mere duty of collecting chanda (donations) from modern educated rich Muslims. Here, maulvis do not hesitate to approach educated ones and back in madaris they will not hesitate opposing them!
It is by time that madaris organizers be serious towards education and stop resisting modernization efforts done either by the government or the intellectuals. We hope to see madaris soon welcoming the Central Madrasah Board. This is the time when money has a great value and it is crucial to everything even to get our due rights. Providing students with modern education under the patronage of the government, responsible for improvement of every community, will be a laudable step towards reformation of madaris.
The social and economical backwardness of the Muslim community shares a direct link with madaris and their products; maulvis and mullas. Their only duty, they think, is to give fruitless education and label those having contemporary education as incomplete and non-practicing Muslims. Anyone breeding a view opposite to it should study well the real situation of madaris and the skills the maulvis get there.
Madaris are blind to the need of time. Whatever the advancement takes place in education world; these madaris have a centuries old tradition of insisting on their outdated syllabus. Qur’an, Hadees and Fiqh, the madaris take them as integral part of their education while the market value of these subjects resembles to nothing.
Justice M.S.A. Siddiqui, chairman of the National Commission of Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) had said in an interview to IANS that in the last 60 years of independence, no madrasah - including the great Darul Uloom at Deoband - has produced a single scholar. "I wonder whether these maulvis ever ponder over this. These people have a vested interest in keeping the community backward," he said.
While education is a must for advancement of any community the maulvis are not ready to accept it. Spend a long time, and experience every method to convince them about the advantages of contemporary subjects, you will find at last to have done a wild goose chase. No amazement, if they come on streets opposing the proposed Central Madrasa Board; a sincere effort by centre to modernize the madaris. Let the HRD minister Kapil Sibal announce that the board will not interfere in their system, why the heads of madaris be ready to accept the proposal? The managers of madaris are afraid their occupation over the institutions will be lost if they are affiliated to the government. ‘Modernization’ they think, is a poison for madaris syllabi. The reality is quite contrary to the notion as the madaris syllabus ruins the life of students.
Those becoming graduates through this syllabus are of no use. None of them one will find being employed as an engineer, a doctor or a scientist. Leading prayer-may it be daily, funeral, Eid or Jum’a- reading out Nikah, calling Azan or at high level to teach in a madrasah are the only options left for a graduate maulvi who spends one fourth of life pursuing education. Why should the step of the government to modernize the madaris under Central Madrasah Board be opposed if it provides with a larger scope of employment for madaris products. Besides enabling them to work shoulder by shoulder in employment fields, the modernization will be a means to be rich and serve the community in a better way. They will become a valuable asset for the community instead of being burden.
Majority of madaris teachers have the mere duty of collecting chanda (donations) from modern educated rich Muslims. Here, maulvis do not hesitate to approach educated ones and back in madaris they will not hesitate opposing them!
It is by time that madaris organizers be serious towards education and stop resisting modernization efforts done either by the government or the intellectuals. We hope to see madaris soon welcoming the Central Madrasah Board. This is the time when money has a great value and it is crucial to everything even to get our due rights. Providing students with modern education under the patronage of the government, responsible for improvement of every community, will be a laudable step towards reformation of madaris.
Call to the Community to Oppose "Central Madrasa Board" and Save Madrasas
The Madrasa as an institution has always been an eye-sore for the Sangh Parivar. They see it as the defence line for Muslim identity and an obstacle to eventual assimilation of Muslims in the Hindu fold. Under the NDA government the madrasas particularly in border areas were looked upon as cradle for terrorists and shelter for militants. As a result, many madrasas including Nadwat-ul-Ulama were subjected to search. Following 9/11 the US authorities added a new word to their lexicon-‘Deobandi’ because they were told that the Taliban had been trained in ‘Deobandi Madrasas’ in Pakistan. These madrasas had been established by the old boys of the Darul Uloom and had no connection whatsoever with Deoband. But, all embassies and intelligence agencies put the Darul Uloom and other Madrasas on their radar. Though, Home Minister Advani admitted that no madrasa manager or teacher anywhere in the country had been prosecuted for any subversive activity, the local police continued to harass them. Harassment has stopped but suspicion lingered about their purpose and their funding. At one stage, government tried to place its own teachers in the madrasas in the name of ‘modernization’. Very few madrasa responded to the bait. This may well be the conceptual origin of the proposed Central Madrasa Board.
History
The National Policy on Education, 1986, updated in 1992, had two centrally sponsored schemes. They were the Area Intensive Programme for Educationally Backward Minorities and Financial Assistance for Modernization of Madrasah Education. These schemes were launched during 1993-94. Under the 10th Plan these two schemes were merged to form the Area Intensive and Madrasa Modernisation Programme. These schemes are now sought to be replaced by a Central Madrasa Board which seeks to coordinate, regulate and control all madrasa education in the country.
The Central government has never reviewed the impact of its Madrasa Modernization Programme, whose basic aim was to provide teachers to Madaris for subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.
The Central Madrasa Board Bill, drafted during the first UPA Government (2004-09), was ready for introduction but it was not introduced for whatever the official reason. Nearly all well known Jamias, Darul Ulooms and Madrasas in the country, including the Jamia Nadwat-ul-Ulama, Lucknow and Darul Uloom, Deoband, were totally opposed to the very concept of a Central Board funding Madrasa education, laying down a uniform curriculum and syllabus(even for non-theological subjects), and conducting common examinations. Not introducing the bill was a tactical move because of the fear of a negative impact on Muslim support for the UPA in the 2009 General Election.
Now, that the second UPA government has completed 100 days in office, the Bill brought out of the closet, has been circulated to the Muslim MPs for their views. The Bill is not yet quite in the public domain because the heads of nationally eminent Muslim organizations like the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind ( JUH), the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM), the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the MJAH, and the All India Shia Conference (AISC) have not been taken into confidence. Nor have the views of Muslim educationists and opinion-makers been sought. The idea is first to placate the Muslim MPs, because they alone can raise a rumpus in Parliament.
Controversial Aspects
The community, as a whole, is not convinced about the need or urgency of the move. The first question they raise is to why the government is so anxious to bring all madrasas under a centralized administration. Even to the best of our knowledge, no such central board exists for the Sanskrit Paathshalas whose number far exceeds that of the madrasas. If the idea is to upgrade the standard of education in religious institutions and to make their products more employable than they have conventionally been, the same consideration applies to Paathshalas. The State Madrasa Boards have not distinguished themselves by producing any religious scholars of national repute since their inception or at least since independence. They have been working as attached and subordinate offices of government steeped in corruption, graft and nepotism like the paathshala. In some states, for example, in Bihar, official intervention in Madrasas was politically motivated so that the Government of the day or the party in power may secure the free services of a set of drum beaters in every basti or mohalla! But the standard of these Sarkari madrasas and the employment prospects of their output were so low that they did not acquire any credence or credibility in the community. Largely, it was the Azad (unaffiliated) madaris which refused aid, retained their autonomy, who produced the Ulema and religious functionaries.
But the Muslim community did realize that religious scholars who perform conventional functions should also have minimum knowledge about the country and the world at large and have some idea of the direction in which the world and the country are moving. Therefore, apart from receiving classical instruction in theology, they should acquire basic knowledge of non-theological subjects and current affairs.
This idea has been recognized by nearly all the leading madrasas and has flowered over the last 2 or 3 decades and many darul ulooms have taken pains to revise and prune their classical syllabus in order to teach non-theological subjects, essential in the modern context and pursue ‘contemporary education’. However, they have drawn a line between the two branches of knowledge and always focused on the essential purpose of the madrasas, which is not to produce administrators or engineers or doctor but religious scholars, and devoted only 25% of the academic time to contemporary subjects. At the other extreme, in West Bengal the affiliated madrasas have all been converted into high and secondary schools under the state madrasa board and allotted less than 10% of the academic time to what it calls ‘Introduction of Islam’, which covers all branches of theology-Tafsir, Hadith, Seerat and Fiqh. One can easily realise that this deformed and distorted education cannot produce any Islamic scholars worth the name, West Bengal has thus killed Madrasa Education.
Unaffiliated Madrasas in UP and Kerala, for different reasons, have followed a common strategy to achieve the objective. Primary instruction is prohibited in Urdu, in UP, which is the mother tongue of nearly 100 % of Muslim students. Muslim students are normally enrolled in local madrasas where they study up to the primary level. Then most of them take primary examination as private candidates and enter normal schools.
In Kerala, school enrolment is nearly universal and all Muslim boys and girls have double enrolment. During the first five years they spend morning hours in the local madrasas and the rest of the day in schools. At the end of 5 years, those who aspire to become Aalim, stay with the madrasa system while a large majority moves on to the general school. These examples show that neither the Muslim community nor the managers of the madrasas are blind to the changing circumstances and the aspirations of the young muslims they are trying as best as they can to give theological instruction to every child at the impressionable age of 5-10, to lay the foundation of his or her Islamic identity.
During the last two decades, there has been a very fortunate development. The senior products of the madrasas, comparable to graduates are accepted by several well known universities like the AMU, the JMI, the JNU and the Jamia Hamdard for the master course in several subjects, or a course in Tibb. Some universities require them to take a one year bridge-course in order to familiarize themselves with the new subjects of study as well as improve English which is often the medium of education. Such products have found their way into government service, including the central civil services, mass communication system, government media and as translators in the foreign service. This development has opened a new horizon for the madrasa products without affecting the autonomy of the institution or diluting its basic purpose.
Why emphasis on Madrasas?
Another important question that arises in the Muslim mind relates to the fact that only 4% of the Muslim students at the secondary level are enrolled in madrasas while 96% study in schools and colleges and receive certificates and degrees. What the community fails to comprehend is the selective approach. Most of the Muslim youth armed with university degrees are unemployed or they take jobs far below their entitlement. Why is it that the government is so anxious about improving the prospects of the madrasa products, while totally ignoring the wide spread unemployment among educated Muslim youth?
Why no Schools in Muslim Areas?
The Government launched Sarava Shiksha Abhiyan and is now implementing the Right to Education Act. But even at the lowest level, the benefits of universalisation are yet to reach the community in their villages and mohallas.
Why does the government not care to establish adequate number of schools according to national norms. If they exist they are generally treated like step-children. Muslim parents are eager to send their children to schools of minimum quality in the neighbourhood, even braving other linguistic and social obstacles. A legitimate question is addressed to the government as to why it does not provide minimum educational facility and at least primary education of minimum acceptable quality to Muslim children. The most cases Muslims have no option but to attend maktabs in local masjids.
Outline of the Bill
Let us now have a glance through the Bill. Though the Long Title only mentions coordination and standardization of non-theological education, the Act goes far beyond clearly shows under the Bill that the Board will be established by the Government will not enjoy academic or administrative autonomy. There is no compulsion, no doubt, and the Board shall affiliate why the madrasas which volunteer for the ‘honour’ to receive the ‘benefits’. But once affiliated, the Board can disaffiliate them or take disciplinary measures for not following its instructions. However, affiliation entitles the madrasas to receive grant-in-aid from the Central or the state governments.
Among the list of subjects to be taught, theology does not have any priority. Instead of fiq‘h, philosophy is mentioned.
The senior products are not guaranteed admission to colleges or universities or government institutions, far less employment.
The Act does not lay down any qualification for the selection of the Chairperson of the Board or the method of selection or appointment (Section 4). Theoretically, it can be a non-Muslim. In any case, he shall be a person who enjoys the confidence of the government in power. Read with the provision for the appointment of Registrar (Section 14) who is to be nominated by the government in consultation with the Chairperson, it is clear that the decisions of the Board shall be taken, whatever the procedure laid down, by the Chairperson and the Registrar both of whom shall toe the line of the government.
The Board shall have 11 additional members (Section 4 (1)), all of them nominated. 7 of them shall be ‘renowned’ Muslim religious scholars belonging to various sects and denominations. The draft mentions a ‘Deobandi’ and a ‘Barelvi’ while there are no such sects as they are both Hanafis. It shall have Ahl-e-Hadith, Shafeis as well as two Shia scholars, one belonging to the Bohra community. Thus the Bill lacks a sense of proportion and seeks to divide the community. In addition, the Board shall include three Muslim educationists including a woman as well as a Muslim philanthropist (why?). No member will have any representative status, as the head of a Muslim organization, Jamaat or institution. The members will serve at the sweet will of the government and may be removed by the government before completing their term of three years.
The Board shall have several Committees. The most important is the Curriculum Committee with 5 including the Chairperson of the Board as its head and the Registrar as Secretary (Section 35).
The government shall nominate or appoint all other officers or employee. The Rules and Regulations of the Board shall be formulated by the Government.
The Board shall hold an Annual Meeting; prepare an Annual Report as well as an Annual Statement of Accounts, duly audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, to be submitted for presentation to the Parliament.
Section 18 (1) lays down the general duty of the Board as the standardization of the non-theological aspects of Madrasa system for its ‘comprehensive, systematic and integrated development’. But this is no more than a mask. Nowhere does the Act lay down the proportion of academic time and energy to be devoted to non-theological instruction. It is presumed that standardization by the Board will universally apply to all affiliated madrasas of the country. One wonders if it is possible and practicable.
The Act goes further to empower the board to ‘emphasise the liberal, universalist and contextually pro-active genius of Islam’. It does not even clarify whether the general education in the Madrasas shall be compatible with basic Islamic doctrines.
Sub-section 18(1) (w) speaks of ‘programmes for the consolidation of the inclusive society marked by religious and cultural diversity through proper interfaith understanding’. This is as political an objective as could be and can possibly clash with the basic tenets of madrasa education.
Finally, it provides under sub-clause (ee) for ‘adoption of a non-polemelical approach to other religions and non-sectarian institutions in a state of fidelity to the Islamic spiritual tradition’. One does not understood what this means. But, it is obvious that any instruction for da`wa shall come under a ban.
The Board shall recommend not only textbooks in non-theological subjects but also the prescribed reading material.
Chapter V relating to finance, accounts and audit does not lay down that the affiliated madrasa shall be wholly funded by the government or the Board; it speaks of donations, gifts, etc., which are normally available to the madrasas. The funds of the Board shall be allocated as grants to affiliated madrasas for their maintenance and development and for such other purpose as may be prescribed including remuneration and honorarium. Again, nowhere does the Bill say that the remuneration and honorarium to the teaching and non teaching staff of the affiliated madrasas shall match those admissible to those of government schools and colleges.
The Budget of the Madrasa shall be subject to approval by the Board. The financial procedure as well as the audit procedure is the same as generally applicable to government institutions but it will be beyond the capacity of an average madrasa to fulfil the formalities. In addition, the madrasas shall submit periodical reports and returns to the Board, for compilation and submission to the central government.
It is said that the country has more than 100,000 madrasas but the figures may be misleading. The government has not done its home work to quantify the number of Maktabs and what the Bill calls primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary madrasas.
“...In contrast, Muslim women with a literacy level of 50% have been able to keep up with women of other communities and are much ahead of the SC/ST women in rural India.” SACHAR REPORT
If the past experience of the number of institutions which volunteered to receive government grant under ‘Modernisations Programmes’ is a guide, the total number of madrasas affiliated to the Board may not exceed a few thousands. But this also raises a question on the double affiliation of the Madrasas which are already affiliated to some state boards. The Bill is also silent about the organic relationship between the Central and State Madrasa Boards.
Conclusion
The Modernisation Programme having failed, the Government now wishes to take over the entire madrasa system. No doubt, the teachers who are ill-paid may be better paid. But for hundreds of years the community has supported the madrasa system and will not easily succumb to the lure of money or official status. The community knows that affiliation to a Government Board is an embrace of death which will not merely distort and devalue the system. Ultimately it will kill it. The Community realizes that the AMU and the JMI have lost their status as minority institutions. It also knows that despite Article 30, it is not easy to set up minority schools and colleges because of deliberate obstructions, which even the NCMEI has not been able to tackle with any success. Essentially, the madrasas are minority institutions. Nearly, all of them are also wakfs in law. The Bill totally ignores both these crucial aspects. Even the Right to Education Act does not recognize the functioning madrasas as equivalent to schools for the purpose of universalisation of education.
Virtual takeover of the madrasas by the government will amount to gross interference in the religious affairs of the community and a violation of the Constitution.
The madrasas are all modernizing themselves and introducing non-theological subjects, at their own pace and in response to the felt needs of the community. They cannot be rushed into divesting themselves of their autonomy and their real purpose for the production of Ulema and religious functionaries.
Muslim organizations as well as leading Ulema and eminent Madrasas have already taken a position against the official move. There may be an odd voice here and there, enticed by monetary prospects, but just as the move to take over and regulate madrasas in Pakistan, at the instance of the USA after 9/11, under President Musharraf failed, so will this move. Insha Allah!
Muslim India requests the government not to interfere in the madrasa system but as well-wishers simply create a Madrasa Development Fund which may be drawn upon by some madrasas at their option for their development. And no more.
By Syed Shahabuddin
History
The National Policy on Education, 1986, updated in 1992, had two centrally sponsored schemes. They were the Area Intensive Programme for Educationally Backward Minorities and Financial Assistance for Modernization of Madrasah Education. These schemes were launched during 1993-94. Under the 10th Plan these two schemes were merged to form the Area Intensive and Madrasa Modernisation Programme. These schemes are now sought to be replaced by a Central Madrasa Board which seeks to coordinate, regulate and control all madrasa education in the country.
The Central government has never reviewed the impact of its Madrasa Modernization Programme, whose basic aim was to provide teachers to Madaris for subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.
The Central Madrasa Board Bill, drafted during the first UPA Government (2004-09), was ready for introduction but it was not introduced for whatever the official reason. Nearly all well known Jamias, Darul Ulooms and Madrasas in the country, including the Jamia Nadwat-ul-Ulama, Lucknow and Darul Uloom, Deoband, were totally opposed to the very concept of a Central Board funding Madrasa education, laying down a uniform curriculum and syllabus(even for non-theological subjects), and conducting common examinations. Not introducing the bill was a tactical move because of the fear of a negative impact on Muslim support for the UPA in the 2009 General Election.
Now, that the second UPA government has completed 100 days in office, the Bill brought out of the closet, has been circulated to the Muslim MPs for their views. The Bill is not yet quite in the public domain because the heads of nationally eminent Muslim organizations like the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind ( JUH), the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM), the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the MJAH, and the All India Shia Conference (AISC) have not been taken into confidence. Nor have the views of Muslim educationists and opinion-makers been sought. The idea is first to placate the Muslim MPs, because they alone can raise a rumpus in Parliament.
Controversial Aspects
The community, as a whole, is not convinced about the need or urgency of the move. The first question they raise is to why the government is so anxious to bring all madrasas under a centralized administration. Even to the best of our knowledge, no such central board exists for the Sanskrit Paathshalas whose number far exceeds that of the madrasas. If the idea is to upgrade the standard of education in religious institutions and to make their products more employable than they have conventionally been, the same consideration applies to Paathshalas. The State Madrasa Boards have not distinguished themselves by producing any religious scholars of national repute since their inception or at least since independence. They have been working as attached and subordinate offices of government steeped in corruption, graft and nepotism like the paathshala. In some states, for example, in Bihar, official intervention in Madrasas was politically motivated so that the Government of the day or the party in power may secure the free services of a set of drum beaters in every basti or mohalla! But the standard of these Sarkari madrasas and the employment prospects of their output were so low that they did not acquire any credence or credibility in the community. Largely, it was the Azad (unaffiliated) madaris which refused aid, retained their autonomy, who produced the Ulema and religious functionaries.
But the Muslim community did realize that religious scholars who perform conventional functions should also have minimum knowledge about the country and the world at large and have some idea of the direction in which the world and the country are moving. Therefore, apart from receiving classical instruction in theology, they should acquire basic knowledge of non-theological subjects and current affairs.
This idea has been recognized by nearly all the leading madrasas and has flowered over the last 2 or 3 decades and many darul ulooms have taken pains to revise and prune their classical syllabus in order to teach non-theological subjects, essential in the modern context and pursue ‘contemporary education’. However, they have drawn a line between the two branches of knowledge and always focused on the essential purpose of the madrasas, which is not to produce administrators or engineers or doctor but religious scholars, and devoted only 25% of the academic time to contemporary subjects. At the other extreme, in West Bengal the affiliated madrasas have all been converted into high and secondary schools under the state madrasa board and allotted less than 10% of the academic time to what it calls ‘Introduction of Islam’, which covers all branches of theology-Tafsir, Hadith, Seerat and Fiqh. One can easily realise that this deformed and distorted education cannot produce any Islamic scholars worth the name, West Bengal has thus killed Madrasa Education.
Unaffiliated Madrasas in UP and Kerala, for different reasons, have followed a common strategy to achieve the objective. Primary instruction is prohibited in Urdu, in UP, which is the mother tongue of nearly 100 % of Muslim students. Muslim students are normally enrolled in local madrasas where they study up to the primary level. Then most of them take primary examination as private candidates and enter normal schools.
In Kerala, school enrolment is nearly universal and all Muslim boys and girls have double enrolment. During the first five years they spend morning hours in the local madrasas and the rest of the day in schools. At the end of 5 years, those who aspire to become Aalim, stay with the madrasa system while a large majority moves on to the general school. These examples show that neither the Muslim community nor the managers of the madrasas are blind to the changing circumstances and the aspirations of the young muslims they are trying as best as they can to give theological instruction to every child at the impressionable age of 5-10, to lay the foundation of his or her Islamic identity.
During the last two decades, there has been a very fortunate development. The senior products of the madrasas, comparable to graduates are accepted by several well known universities like the AMU, the JMI, the JNU and the Jamia Hamdard for the master course in several subjects, or a course in Tibb. Some universities require them to take a one year bridge-course in order to familiarize themselves with the new subjects of study as well as improve English which is often the medium of education. Such products have found their way into government service, including the central civil services, mass communication system, government media and as translators in the foreign service. This development has opened a new horizon for the madrasa products without affecting the autonomy of the institution or diluting its basic purpose.
Why emphasis on Madrasas?
Another important question that arises in the Muslim mind relates to the fact that only 4% of the Muslim students at the secondary level are enrolled in madrasas while 96% study in schools and colleges and receive certificates and degrees. What the community fails to comprehend is the selective approach. Most of the Muslim youth armed with university degrees are unemployed or they take jobs far below their entitlement. Why is it that the government is so anxious about improving the prospects of the madrasa products, while totally ignoring the wide spread unemployment among educated Muslim youth?
Why no Schools in Muslim Areas?
The Government launched Sarava Shiksha Abhiyan and is now implementing the Right to Education Act. But even at the lowest level, the benefits of universalisation are yet to reach the community in their villages and mohallas.
Why does the government not care to establish adequate number of schools according to national norms. If they exist they are generally treated like step-children. Muslim parents are eager to send their children to schools of minimum quality in the neighbourhood, even braving other linguistic and social obstacles. A legitimate question is addressed to the government as to why it does not provide minimum educational facility and at least primary education of minimum acceptable quality to Muslim children. The most cases Muslims have no option but to attend maktabs in local masjids.
Outline of the Bill
Let us now have a glance through the Bill. Though the Long Title only mentions coordination and standardization of non-theological education, the Act goes far beyond clearly shows under the Bill that the Board will be established by the Government will not enjoy academic or administrative autonomy. There is no compulsion, no doubt, and the Board shall affiliate why the madrasas which volunteer for the ‘honour’ to receive the ‘benefits’. But once affiliated, the Board can disaffiliate them or take disciplinary measures for not following its instructions. However, affiliation entitles the madrasas to receive grant-in-aid from the Central or the state governments.
Among the list of subjects to be taught, theology does not have any priority. Instead of fiq‘h, philosophy is mentioned.
The senior products are not guaranteed admission to colleges or universities or government institutions, far less employment.
The Act does not lay down any qualification for the selection of the Chairperson of the Board or the method of selection or appointment (Section 4). Theoretically, it can be a non-Muslim. In any case, he shall be a person who enjoys the confidence of the government in power. Read with the provision for the appointment of Registrar (Section 14) who is to be nominated by the government in consultation with the Chairperson, it is clear that the decisions of the Board shall be taken, whatever the procedure laid down, by the Chairperson and the Registrar both of whom shall toe the line of the government.
The Board shall have 11 additional members (Section 4 (1)), all of them nominated. 7 of them shall be ‘renowned’ Muslim religious scholars belonging to various sects and denominations. The draft mentions a ‘Deobandi’ and a ‘Barelvi’ while there are no such sects as they are both Hanafis. It shall have Ahl-e-Hadith, Shafeis as well as two Shia scholars, one belonging to the Bohra community. Thus the Bill lacks a sense of proportion and seeks to divide the community. In addition, the Board shall include three Muslim educationists including a woman as well as a Muslim philanthropist (why?). No member will have any representative status, as the head of a Muslim organization, Jamaat or institution. The members will serve at the sweet will of the government and may be removed by the government before completing their term of three years.
The Board shall have several Committees. The most important is the Curriculum Committee with 5 including the Chairperson of the Board as its head and the Registrar as Secretary (Section 35).
The government shall nominate or appoint all other officers or employee. The Rules and Regulations of the Board shall be formulated by the Government.
The Board shall hold an Annual Meeting; prepare an Annual Report as well as an Annual Statement of Accounts, duly audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, to be submitted for presentation to the Parliament.
Section 18 (1) lays down the general duty of the Board as the standardization of the non-theological aspects of Madrasa system for its ‘comprehensive, systematic and integrated development’. But this is no more than a mask. Nowhere does the Act lay down the proportion of academic time and energy to be devoted to non-theological instruction. It is presumed that standardization by the Board will universally apply to all affiliated madrasas of the country. One wonders if it is possible and practicable.
The Act goes further to empower the board to ‘emphasise the liberal, universalist and contextually pro-active genius of Islam’. It does not even clarify whether the general education in the Madrasas shall be compatible with basic Islamic doctrines.
Sub-section 18(1) (w) speaks of ‘programmes for the consolidation of the inclusive society marked by religious and cultural diversity through proper interfaith understanding’. This is as political an objective as could be and can possibly clash with the basic tenets of madrasa education.
Finally, it provides under sub-clause (ee) for ‘adoption of a non-polemelical approach to other religions and non-sectarian institutions in a state of fidelity to the Islamic spiritual tradition’. One does not understood what this means. But, it is obvious that any instruction for da`wa shall come under a ban.
The Board shall recommend not only textbooks in non-theological subjects but also the prescribed reading material.
Chapter V relating to finance, accounts and audit does not lay down that the affiliated madrasa shall be wholly funded by the government or the Board; it speaks of donations, gifts, etc., which are normally available to the madrasas. The funds of the Board shall be allocated as grants to affiliated madrasas for their maintenance and development and for such other purpose as may be prescribed including remuneration and honorarium. Again, nowhere does the Bill say that the remuneration and honorarium to the teaching and non teaching staff of the affiliated madrasas shall match those admissible to those of government schools and colleges.
The Budget of the Madrasa shall be subject to approval by the Board. The financial procedure as well as the audit procedure is the same as generally applicable to government institutions but it will be beyond the capacity of an average madrasa to fulfil the formalities. In addition, the madrasas shall submit periodical reports and returns to the Board, for compilation and submission to the central government.
It is said that the country has more than 100,000 madrasas but the figures may be misleading. The government has not done its home work to quantify the number of Maktabs and what the Bill calls primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary madrasas.
“...In contrast, Muslim women with a literacy level of 50% have been able to keep up with women of other communities and are much ahead of the SC/ST women in rural India.” SACHAR REPORT
If the past experience of the number of institutions which volunteered to receive government grant under ‘Modernisations Programmes’ is a guide, the total number of madrasas affiliated to the Board may not exceed a few thousands. But this also raises a question on the double affiliation of the Madrasas which are already affiliated to some state boards. The Bill is also silent about the organic relationship between the Central and State Madrasa Boards.
Conclusion
The Modernisation Programme having failed, the Government now wishes to take over the entire madrasa system. No doubt, the teachers who are ill-paid may be better paid. But for hundreds of years the community has supported the madrasa system and will not easily succumb to the lure of money or official status. The community knows that affiliation to a Government Board is an embrace of death which will not merely distort and devalue the system. Ultimately it will kill it. The Community realizes that the AMU and the JMI have lost their status as minority institutions. It also knows that despite Article 30, it is not easy to set up minority schools and colleges because of deliberate obstructions, which even the NCMEI has not been able to tackle with any success. Essentially, the madrasas are minority institutions. Nearly, all of them are also wakfs in law. The Bill totally ignores both these crucial aspects. Even the Right to Education Act does not recognize the functioning madrasas as equivalent to schools for the purpose of universalisation of education.
Virtual takeover of the madrasas by the government will amount to gross interference in the religious affairs of the community and a violation of the Constitution.
The madrasas are all modernizing themselves and introducing non-theological subjects, at their own pace and in response to the felt needs of the community. They cannot be rushed into divesting themselves of their autonomy and their real purpose for the production of Ulema and religious functionaries.
Muslim organizations as well as leading Ulema and eminent Madrasas have already taken a position against the official move. There may be an odd voice here and there, enticed by monetary prospects, but just as the move to take over and regulate madrasas in Pakistan, at the instance of the USA after 9/11, under President Musharraf failed, so will this move. Insha Allah!
Muslim India requests the government not to interfere in the madrasa system but as well-wishers simply create a Madrasa Development Fund which may be drawn upon by some madrasas at their option for their development. And no more.
By Syed Shahabuddin
West Bengal Madaris Have Co-Education System
Narapatipara High Madrasah in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal is a double storied brick building with a large playground. It is surrounded by paddy fields and hectares of green farmland.
Its 320 pupils, many of them tribal children and first generation learners, come from the surrounding, largely poor, district of Nadia. The girls outnumber boys and they are taught together in classrooms with their rickety wooden tables and benches.
Lakhan Soren, 15, is one of the 80 Hindu pupils studying at the Narapatipara High Madrasah. "I like it here," he says. "Along with Arabic, I can study all sorts of subjects like history and geography."
His parents are not well-off and the madrasah is conveniently close to home. "I have to juggle work at home with studies," Lakhan says. "When I hear the bell ring, I know it is time to stop working and go to school".
Secular Madaris
The headmaster, Mohammad Saffar Ali Mondal says the pupils at Narapatipara High Madrasah are taught in exactly the same way as they are at any other secondary school in West Bengal.
The madrasah is one of 500 registered with the government. "They have the same syllabus, the same curriculum, the same management, the same appointment of teachers, both Hindus and Muslims, same pensions, benefits and pay. Everything is the same."
“As many as 25 per cent of Muslim children in the 6-14 year age group have either never attended school or have dropped out. This is higher than that of any other SRCs considered in this analysis. The incidence of drop-outs is also high among Muslims and only SCs/STs have a marginally higher drop-out rate than Muslims.” SACHAR REPORT
"There is an emphasis on Islamic studies in senior madrassas but not in junior high and high madrassas like ours," Mr Mondal says.
Narapatipara High Madrasah is typical of the more than 500 officially registered madrassas in the state. These madaris are quite unlike those said to be found elsewhere in India, and the rest of the world.
Traditionally madaris have been seen as centres for Islamic learning where girls are often taught separately from the boys. But in West Bengal some 40,000 Hindus study in them and they are co-educational, in fact there are more girls than boys in some classrooms.
The West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education (WBBME) controls and supervises these madaris and works according to the guidelines set by the state's school education department.
Abdus Sattar, the president of WBBME, says they fulfil the demand of poor, rural and backward communities where there is no school. "As for the secular nature of education... there's been a long tradition in the state for such education", he says.
Islamic Focus
This kind of madrasah was first established in 1780 by Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of the East India Company. The institution promoted the study of Arabic and its aim was to train Muslims to become officers for running the administration's revenue offices and judiciary.
The secular identity of the madaris was established in 1915, also under the initiative of the then British government. It introduced general subjects like history and English in the madaris, in addition to Islamic studies.
So does this mean that a madrasah affiliated to the WBBME is no longer a madrasah in the traditional sense of the school as we know it - a centre for Islamic learning?
Mr Sattar believes these madrassas are fulfilling the true meaning of the word. "Madrasah is an Arabic word and means educational institution. In Bengali, it’s known as Shiksha Pratisthan, in English, it’s called school, in Hindi, Vidyalaya and in Sanskrit, toll.
"It comes down to the question of what each individual school wants to teach its pupils," Mr Sattar says.
As a Muslim, he agrees, they have to preserve their culture, traditions and the Arabic language, but he says they have to also provide Muslims with modern education, to equip them for the 21st Century.
Sceptics
While Muslim and Hindu parents in poor rural communities are largely happy to see their children get an education, some academics and Muslim leaders do not agree with the concept of the WBBME.
Many do not agree with the secularisation of madaris
Suleiman Khurshid, the secretary of the Muslim Institute and a history professor says he is in touch with the Muslim community and its leaders across the state and as far as they are concerned they do not like this type of education.
"It is neither fully a madrasah system nor fully a secular system. For them a madrasah education means Islamic education - an education which has given them great scholars, academics and imams in the past."
Mr Khurshid brushes aside globalisation as an argument for changing a system which he says benefits the Muslim community. He says Muslims, like other communities, should be given an option of where they want to send their children to school. And he believes these registered madaris will not spell the end of the traditional madrasah.
It may not be a seen as a valid argument for change but several other Indian states including Tripura, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have expressed an interest in the West Bengal model for madaris - suggesting that such schools may have a role to play in helping educate both Hindus and Muslims in remote rural areas across India.
By: Sunita Nahar
BBC
In the academic year 2009 alone 70 madaris were opened in West Bengal and 34 of them were exclusively for women.
Its 320 pupils, many of them tribal children and first generation learners, come from the surrounding, largely poor, district of Nadia. The girls outnumber boys and they are taught together in classrooms with their rickety wooden tables and benches.
Lakhan Soren, 15, is one of the 80 Hindu pupils studying at the Narapatipara High Madrasah. "I like it here," he says. "Along with Arabic, I can study all sorts of subjects like history and geography."
His parents are not well-off and the madrasah is conveniently close to home. "I have to juggle work at home with studies," Lakhan says. "When I hear the bell ring, I know it is time to stop working and go to school".
Secular Madaris
The headmaster, Mohammad Saffar Ali Mondal says the pupils at Narapatipara High Madrasah are taught in exactly the same way as they are at any other secondary school in West Bengal.
The madrasah is one of 500 registered with the government. "They have the same syllabus, the same curriculum, the same management, the same appointment of teachers, both Hindus and Muslims, same pensions, benefits and pay. Everything is the same."
“As many as 25 per cent of Muslim children in the 6-14 year age group have either never attended school or have dropped out. This is higher than that of any other SRCs considered in this analysis. The incidence of drop-outs is also high among Muslims and only SCs/STs have a marginally higher drop-out rate than Muslims.” SACHAR REPORT
"There is an emphasis on Islamic studies in senior madrassas but not in junior high and high madrassas like ours," Mr Mondal says.
Narapatipara High Madrasah is typical of the more than 500 officially registered madrassas in the state. These madaris are quite unlike those said to be found elsewhere in India, and the rest of the world.
Traditionally madaris have been seen as centres for Islamic learning where girls are often taught separately from the boys. But in West Bengal some 40,000 Hindus study in them and they are co-educational, in fact there are more girls than boys in some classrooms.
The West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education (WBBME) controls and supervises these madaris and works according to the guidelines set by the state's school education department.
Abdus Sattar, the president of WBBME, says they fulfil the demand of poor, rural and backward communities where there is no school. "As for the secular nature of education... there's been a long tradition in the state for such education", he says.
Islamic Focus
This kind of madrasah was first established in 1780 by Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of the East India Company. The institution promoted the study of Arabic and its aim was to train Muslims to become officers for running the administration's revenue offices and judiciary.
The secular identity of the madaris was established in 1915, also under the initiative of the then British government. It introduced general subjects like history and English in the madaris, in addition to Islamic studies.
So does this mean that a madrasah affiliated to the WBBME is no longer a madrasah in the traditional sense of the school as we know it - a centre for Islamic learning?
Mr Sattar believes these madrassas are fulfilling the true meaning of the word. "Madrasah is an Arabic word and means educational institution. In Bengali, it’s known as Shiksha Pratisthan, in English, it’s called school, in Hindi, Vidyalaya and in Sanskrit, toll.
"It comes down to the question of what each individual school wants to teach its pupils," Mr Sattar says.
As a Muslim, he agrees, they have to preserve their culture, traditions and the Arabic language, but he says they have to also provide Muslims with modern education, to equip them for the 21st Century.
Sceptics
While Muslim and Hindu parents in poor rural communities are largely happy to see their children get an education, some academics and Muslim leaders do not agree with the concept of the WBBME.
Many do not agree with the secularisation of madaris
Suleiman Khurshid, the secretary of the Muslim Institute and a history professor says he is in touch with the Muslim community and its leaders across the state and as far as they are concerned they do not like this type of education.
"It is neither fully a madrasah system nor fully a secular system. For them a madrasah education means Islamic education - an education which has given them great scholars, academics and imams in the past."
Mr Khurshid brushes aside globalisation as an argument for changing a system which he says benefits the Muslim community. He says Muslims, like other communities, should be given an option of where they want to send their children to school. And he believes these registered madaris will not spell the end of the traditional madrasah.
It may not be a seen as a valid argument for change but several other Indian states including Tripura, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have expressed an interest in the West Bengal model for madaris - suggesting that such schools may have a role to play in helping educate both Hindus and Muslims in remote rural areas across India.
By: Sunita Nahar
BBC
In the academic year 2009 alone 70 madaris were opened in West Bengal and 34 of them were exclusively for women.
Did Maulana Azad Support Madrasah Board?
In the discussion on Central Madrasa Board, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is often referred as the supporter of Madrasah Board. In this article, Maulana Wali Rahmani argues that Azad, instead of proposing a All India Madrasah Board under government, wanted to constitute an independent National Madrasah Board managed by Muslims themselves. All the excerpts, save the last one, have been taken from “Zikr-e-Azad” compiled by Maulana Azad’s close friend and rector of “Madrasah Alia Calcutta” Maulana Abdur Razzaque Malihabadi.
Contrary to common belief, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad never supported the formation of any madrasah board. It is amazing that some considerate writers too have the same opinion about Azad. Mr. Fairoz Bakht, in one of such articles has written, “Also Maulana Azad, along with Maulana Shibli Nomani, had tried to establish an All India Madrasah Board.”
My knowledge is limited; I could not know that Maulana Azad had ever proposed to constitute a board functioning as a part of the ruling system! Yes, I know Azad started a Madrasah when he was detained in Ranchi and during the period of Non Cooperation Movement, he had established a Madrasah in response to the Madrasah Alia Calcutta.
Notably, Madrasa Alia was considered a government Madrasah. Despite the madrasah being sovereign in its internal affairs, Maulana Azad was not satisfied with it at all. He believed that learning in Madrasa Alia (now Alia University) and having its degrees change the students’ direction of thought because Madrasah Alia does not aim at what the madrasa students are prepared for. Therefore, Maulana Azad instead of (supporting) “Government Madrasah” not only proposed for “Qaumi Madrasah” but also urged the students of Madrasa Alia through his influential speeches to detach themselves from the Madarsas. As a result, the students pledged to leave the Madrasa and they did.
The students of Madrasa Alia left facilities and opportunities over there and took admission in the ‘Qaumi Madrasa’ Maulana Azad had established in Masjid-e-Nakhuda. In his own words “it is the group which preferred ‘Deen’ (religion) to ‘Dunia’ (worldly pleasure) and left the splendid building and luxurious hostel of Madrasa Alia-having all means of comfort tools of adornment- merely to abide by the commandments of Almighty Allah and due to being true citizens of India. They left it while they had no clues as to where they were going and where they would stay.” The message, as his words convey, is crystal clear and why not when clarification and frankness was the nature of Maulana Azad.
The message Azad gave in the last of his statement must have been the result of his being influenced by the theme of the Qur’anic verse: “Whoever fears Allah- He will make for him a way out and will provide for him from where he does not expect and whoever relies upon Allah- then He Is sufficient for him.”(65-02)
This belief is the main treasure of a Muslim who, is provided with sustenance beyond the sources and means. It guides him on stranger paths and helps in critical situations. Maulana had a wish to see this faith stronger among the students of Madrasah; religious scholars and preachers of Islam in future.
Referring to what distinguishes these students from the government madaris graduates, Maulana says, “Truly this is the only group, which deserves to be called the true lovers of knowledge. They know that the modern education is a source of earning, it opens the doors to big jobs and posts and that only English can pave way to jobs ranging from a clerk post to the employment of Lord Sinha. On the other hand, religious education cannot guarantee for anything (material); even they cannot get adequate food through this. Yet, they have a secret but strong passion in their hearts which prevents them from running to the modern education. Though living with misery, they devote whole life for Arabic education.”
This “strong fervour”, is found only among Madrasah students and ulama. On this account, they have closed upon themselves all the ways of facilities and despite being aware of all the things, they preferred the Madrasah. The reason behind it, as Maulana says, is that “this passion aims at nothing save the quest for knowledge and the pleasure of Allah. It is the only Madrasah students all over India who seek knowledge for its real purpose.”
These attributes of madaris students and ulama Maulana have mentioned serves as an eye-opener. It does not only enlighten the situation but also gives the message that the knowledge should be sought for the sake of moral values and the pleasure of Allah, and that it should not be used as a bridge to achieve government jobs.
It does not mean that Maulana was not aware of the weaknesses of madaris or he was unfamiliar with the prevailing situation. Of course, these things were well known to him and he also pointed out them in his writing and speeches. Madaris should utilize them. Still there is a basic difference between the students of Madrasah and those who get knowledge from the other educational institutions, as Maulana pointed out. Remember the Non Cooperation Movement and read these sentences “No students of Aligarh left the college till they got satisfied after a two-hour long discussion with me whether they could earn money after leaving government education. Even some of them demanded I make a guarantee to this effect.”
A large number of high ranking students quit ‘Madrasah Alia’ and joined the Maulana’s ‘Qaumi Madrasah.’ Maulana said about them “Not one of them asked (whether their future would be dark). No sooner were, they were told about the commandments of the Shariah, they immediately surrendered and got ready to leave all worldly things.”
These words indicate what the view point of Maulana about these two kinds of educational institutions was. He believed there existed a basic difference between the products of both kinds of the institution: one is ever ready to accept the truth while the other is habituated to argue; one is obedient to the Shariah and the other is more concerned about their future instead of Shariah. In short, one longs for ‘wealth’ and the other one for ‘ends’. This is the view point of Maulana reflecting in his writings.
“The magnitude of the unfinished task can be seen from the fact that 46.8 crore (468 million) people over the age of 6 are still illiterate.” SACHAR REPORT
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad has outlined the nature and characteristics of the two educational streams (governmental and private) in India. With this regard he wrote, “The biggest of the harms the government education in India caused to our national characteristics and identity is that the real purpose of education has disappeared from our eyes. Knowledge is a sacred trust from Allah and it should be gained only because that is knowledge; but the government universities have led us to a different path. It encourages knowledge as it is essential for government jobs. Now in India, knowledge is not sought for the sake of knowledge but for livelihood.”
On the contrary, Maulana found in Madrasah the gleams of hope and the true fans of knowledge. He said “I would like to bring this fact to your mind that in the darkness of this common insult to the knowledge, a light of the true love for knowledge has been shining. They are the groups of students in India who are seeking the ancient religious sciences and arts of the religious language in several Arabic Madarsas. Be sure! This is the only group which truly deserve to be called ‘the lover of knowledge.” This is his apparent view point which was repeatedly mentioned in his writings.
Unfortunately, the dream of Maulana could not come true. He had planned to make the Madrasah of ‘Masjid-e-Nakhuda’ a big ‘Qaumi Darul Uloom.’ For, the purpose, he had managed to enlist the services of the then prominent ulama. But due to his engagement in the freedom movement, the Madrasah failed to be a central Darul Uloom and gradually turned back to the previous form.
Maulana’s stand regarding the madaris is evident. I do not think, after these clarifications, there remains any need to say that Maulana did not nourish the proposal of ‘Central Madrasah Board.
Remember when Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru proposed the resolution to make education up to 7th standard compulsory for every child in government schools and thus pave way to its legalization, but Maulana opposed it and said “Education relates to zeal and tendency. It is such a delicate thing which cannot be forced.”
Maulana narrated this event to one of his friends, sighed and then spoke out “If this resolution is passed, madaris will be most affected by this. Muslims cannot tolerable this event.”
By: Maulana Muhammad Wali Rahmani
Translated from Urdu by Abdul Jaleel Qasmi
The writer is the Chairman of Madrasah Modernization Committee of HRD Ministry
Contrary to common belief, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad never supported the formation of any madrasah board. It is amazing that some considerate writers too have the same opinion about Azad. Mr. Fairoz Bakht, in one of such articles has written, “Also Maulana Azad, along with Maulana Shibli Nomani, had tried to establish an All India Madrasah Board.”
My knowledge is limited; I could not know that Maulana Azad had ever proposed to constitute a board functioning as a part of the ruling system! Yes, I know Azad started a Madrasah when he was detained in Ranchi and during the period of Non Cooperation Movement, he had established a Madrasah in response to the Madrasah Alia Calcutta.
Notably, Madrasa Alia was considered a government Madrasah. Despite the madrasah being sovereign in its internal affairs, Maulana Azad was not satisfied with it at all. He believed that learning in Madrasa Alia (now Alia University) and having its degrees change the students’ direction of thought because Madrasah Alia does not aim at what the madrasa students are prepared for. Therefore, Maulana Azad instead of (supporting) “Government Madrasah” not only proposed for “Qaumi Madrasah” but also urged the students of Madrasa Alia through his influential speeches to detach themselves from the Madarsas. As a result, the students pledged to leave the Madrasa and they did.
The students of Madrasa Alia left facilities and opportunities over there and took admission in the ‘Qaumi Madrasa’ Maulana Azad had established in Masjid-e-Nakhuda. In his own words “it is the group which preferred ‘Deen’ (religion) to ‘Dunia’ (worldly pleasure) and left the splendid building and luxurious hostel of Madrasa Alia-having all means of comfort tools of adornment- merely to abide by the commandments of Almighty Allah and due to being true citizens of India. They left it while they had no clues as to where they were going and where they would stay.” The message, as his words convey, is crystal clear and why not when clarification and frankness was the nature of Maulana Azad.
The message Azad gave in the last of his statement must have been the result of his being influenced by the theme of the Qur’anic verse: “Whoever fears Allah- He will make for him a way out and will provide for him from where he does not expect and whoever relies upon Allah- then He Is sufficient for him.”(65-02)
This belief is the main treasure of a Muslim who, is provided with sustenance beyond the sources and means. It guides him on stranger paths and helps in critical situations. Maulana had a wish to see this faith stronger among the students of Madrasah; religious scholars and preachers of Islam in future.
Referring to what distinguishes these students from the government madaris graduates, Maulana says, “Truly this is the only group, which deserves to be called the true lovers of knowledge. They know that the modern education is a source of earning, it opens the doors to big jobs and posts and that only English can pave way to jobs ranging from a clerk post to the employment of Lord Sinha. On the other hand, religious education cannot guarantee for anything (material); even they cannot get adequate food through this. Yet, they have a secret but strong passion in their hearts which prevents them from running to the modern education. Though living with misery, they devote whole life for Arabic education.”
This “strong fervour”, is found only among Madrasah students and ulama. On this account, they have closed upon themselves all the ways of facilities and despite being aware of all the things, they preferred the Madrasah. The reason behind it, as Maulana says, is that “this passion aims at nothing save the quest for knowledge and the pleasure of Allah. It is the only Madrasah students all over India who seek knowledge for its real purpose.”
These attributes of madaris students and ulama Maulana have mentioned serves as an eye-opener. It does not only enlighten the situation but also gives the message that the knowledge should be sought for the sake of moral values and the pleasure of Allah, and that it should not be used as a bridge to achieve government jobs.
It does not mean that Maulana was not aware of the weaknesses of madaris or he was unfamiliar with the prevailing situation. Of course, these things were well known to him and he also pointed out them in his writing and speeches. Madaris should utilize them. Still there is a basic difference between the students of Madrasah and those who get knowledge from the other educational institutions, as Maulana pointed out. Remember the Non Cooperation Movement and read these sentences “No students of Aligarh left the college till they got satisfied after a two-hour long discussion with me whether they could earn money after leaving government education. Even some of them demanded I make a guarantee to this effect.”
A large number of high ranking students quit ‘Madrasah Alia’ and joined the Maulana’s ‘Qaumi Madrasah.’ Maulana said about them “Not one of them asked (whether their future would be dark). No sooner were, they were told about the commandments of the Shariah, they immediately surrendered and got ready to leave all worldly things.”
These words indicate what the view point of Maulana about these two kinds of educational institutions was. He believed there existed a basic difference between the products of both kinds of the institution: one is ever ready to accept the truth while the other is habituated to argue; one is obedient to the Shariah and the other is more concerned about their future instead of Shariah. In short, one longs for ‘wealth’ and the other one for ‘ends’. This is the view point of Maulana reflecting in his writings.
“The magnitude of the unfinished task can be seen from the fact that 46.8 crore (468 million) people over the age of 6 are still illiterate.” SACHAR REPORT
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad has outlined the nature and characteristics of the two educational streams (governmental and private) in India. With this regard he wrote, “The biggest of the harms the government education in India caused to our national characteristics and identity is that the real purpose of education has disappeared from our eyes. Knowledge is a sacred trust from Allah and it should be gained only because that is knowledge; but the government universities have led us to a different path. It encourages knowledge as it is essential for government jobs. Now in India, knowledge is not sought for the sake of knowledge but for livelihood.”
On the contrary, Maulana found in Madrasah the gleams of hope and the true fans of knowledge. He said “I would like to bring this fact to your mind that in the darkness of this common insult to the knowledge, a light of the true love for knowledge has been shining. They are the groups of students in India who are seeking the ancient religious sciences and arts of the religious language in several Arabic Madarsas. Be sure! This is the only group which truly deserve to be called ‘the lover of knowledge.” This is his apparent view point which was repeatedly mentioned in his writings.
Unfortunately, the dream of Maulana could not come true. He had planned to make the Madrasah of ‘Masjid-e-Nakhuda’ a big ‘Qaumi Darul Uloom.’ For, the purpose, he had managed to enlist the services of the then prominent ulama. But due to his engagement in the freedom movement, the Madrasah failed to be a central Darul Uloom and gradually turned back to the previous form.
Maulana’s stand regarding the madaris is evident. I do not think, after these clarifications, there remains any need to say that Maulana did not nourish the proposal of ‘Central Madrasah Board.
Remember when Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru proposed the resolution to make education up to 7th standard compulsory for every child in government schools and thus pave way to its legalization, but Maulana opposed it and said “Education relates to zeal and tendency. It is such a delicate thing which cannot be forced.”
Maulana narrated this event to one of his friends, sighed and then spoke out “If this resolution is passed, madaris will be most affected by this. Muslims cannot tolerable this event.”
By: Maulana Muhammad Wali Rahmani
Translated from Urdu by Abdul Jaleel Qasmi
The writer is the Chairman of Madrasah Modernization Committee of HRD Ministry
Central Board Will Help Dispel Misgivings
While many of the Muslim religious bodies have rejected the proposed Central Madrasah Board, a certain school of thought keeps on supporting it. The group also alleged those who oppose the formation of the board to be receiving financial help from Dirham and Dinar. Here is a report from Orissa in this regard.
Reacting to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s move to oppose Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry’s decision to establish a Central Madrasah Board, its parallel outfit on October 20, launched a tirade against it.
The President of All India Muslim Personal Law Board Jadeed (New) Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan said that the CMB proposal should be welcome. “As fingers are being pointed at madaris over terrorism issues, proposal to set up a Central Madrasah Board has come at a crucial juncture since it would go a long way in dispelling misconceptions circulated by the divisive forces,” Maulana said according a report.
Maulana Khan also termed the Central Madrasa Board to be a good move by the HRD ministry. He said that it would help the madaris achieve financial security besides securing progress. “But All India Muslim Personal Law Board office bearers do not want it because of their personal interests,” Khan told media persons in Bhubaneshwar.
“A general analysis at the state level presents a better picture for Muslims. In as many as 10 out of the 21 selected states literacy rates among Muslims are higher than the state average. These include Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat...In Andhra Pradesh, for instance, 68% of Muslims are literate, compared to 61% for the state as a whole and 63% for ‘All Others’. When aggregate literacy levels among males and females are considered, Muslims (77% and 59%) are better off than ‘All Others’ (73% and 52%). But Muslim urban literacy levels are lower than all SRCs (Socio-Religious Communities) except SCs/STs among both genders.” SACHAR REPORT
The personal law board `Zadid’ intends to also oppose the proposed meeting on November 29 gathering by the old outfit.
Khan said if the old board gathers one lakh people to show its strength, it will mobilise five times the number to thwart the former’s move. ``Those who are at the helm of affairs in the old board get funds in `Dinar’ and `Riyal’ which is why they are not worried about the state madrasah boards. He also pointed out that 85 percent of them too think the HRD Ministry’s decision is a move in good direction.
Attacking All India Muslim Personal Law Board for terming the central board proposal as interference in religious matters, a senior Maulana Umar Noorani said that currently madaris are affiliated to the state boards. Hence a central body cannot become interference in any way. “The old board doesn’t include all schools of thoughts and represents only a fraction of the Muslims in India,” he added.
Notably, certain groups of Muslims have for long been acquiring financial aid from the state governments under the State Madrasah Boards. Surprisingly, the educational and infrastructural situations of those madaris have seen a declination since their affiliation to the boards
The `Zadid’ board also urged the Orissa Government to come up with a resolution in support of the HRD Ministry’s proposal of CMB and inform the Centre about it.
It praised the Naveen Patnaik Government for safeguarding the minorities and said security was never an issue for Muslims of Orissa. “This is not Modi Ka Gujarat, this is Orissa,’’ he said.
The `Zadid’ board’s state unit head Mufti Syed Ale Rasool requested Orissa Government to implement Sixth Pay Commission recommendations for madaris.
Reacting to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s move to oppose Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry’s decision to establish a Central Madrasah Board, its parallel outfit on October 20, launched a tirade against it.
The President of All India Muslim Personal Law Board Jadeed (New) Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan said that the CMB proposal should be welcome. “As fingers are being pointed at madaris over terrorism issues, proposal to set up a Central Madrasah Board has come at a crucial juncture since it would go a long way in dispelling misconceptions circulated by the divisive forces,” Maulana said according a report.
Maulana Khan also termed the Central Madrasa Board to be a good move by the HRD ministry. He said that it would help the madaris achieve financial security besides securing progress. “But All India Muslim Personal Law Board office bearers do not want it because of their personal interests,” Khan told media persons in Bhubaneshwar.
“A general analysis at the state level presents a better picture for Muslims. In as many as 10 out of the 21 selected states literacy rates among Muslims are higher than the state average. These include Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat...In Andhra Pradesh, for instance, 68% of Muslims are literate, compared to 61% for the state as a whole and 63% for ‘All Others’. When aggregate literacy levels among males and females are considered, Muslims (77% and 59%) are better off than ‘All Others’ (73% and 52%). But Muslim urban literacy levels are lower than all SRCs (Socio-Religious Communities) except SCs/STs among both genders.” SACHAR REPORT
The personal law board `Zadid’ intends to also oppose the proposed meeting on November 29 gathering by the old outfit.
Khan said if the old board gathers one lakh people to show its strength, it will mobilise five times the number to thwart the former’s move. ``Those who are at the helm of affairs in the old board get funds in `Dinar’ and `Riyal’ which is why they are not worried about the state madrasah boards. He also pointed out that 85 percent of them too think the HRD Ministry’s decision is a move in good direction.
Attacking All India Muslim Personal Law Board for terming the central board proposal as interference in religious matters, a senior Maulana Umar Noorani said that currently madaris are affiliated to the state boards. Hence a central body cannot become interference in any way. “The old board doesn’t include all schools of thoughts and represents only a fraction of the Muslims in India,” he added.
Notably, certain groups of Muslims have for long been acquiring financial aid from the state governments under the State Madrasah Boards. Surprisingly, the educational and infrastructural situations of those madaris have seen a declination since their affiliation to the boards
The `Zadid’ board also urged the Orissa Government to come up with a resolution in support of the HRD Ministry’s proposal of CMB and inform the Centre about it.
It praised the Naveen Patnaik Government for safeguarding the minorities and said security was never an issue for Muslims of Orissa. “This is not Modi Ka Gujarat, this is Orissa,’’ he said.
The `Zadid’ board’s state unit head Mufti Syed Ale Rasool requested Orissa Government to implement Sixth Pay Commission recommendations for madaris.
Central Madrasa Board: An Attempt To Occupy More Waqf Properties
The apprehension expressed in the article that madaris under Central Madrasah Board will become government property, is based on a condition applied in Bihar that any madrasah under Bihar State Madrasah Board will have to be registered in the name of the governor. Nevertheless, Mr. Kapil Sibal did not mention the same condition.
The ongoing Central Madrasah Board debate while covering myriad aspects neglects a very important one. Madaris, plural of madrasah, are Waqf properties and hence cannot be used for any purpose contradicting the wish of the Waqif (donor).
In India, according to an estimate, there exist 1, 00,000 plus madaris and majority of them are run as minority institutions without gover
nment interfering in their management. A madrasah literally means ‘a place of education’ but nowadays it refers to the institutions imparting religious education to Muslim students. Any Muslim intending to pursue complete and comprehensive knowledge of his religion has no option but to resort to madaris; the largest NGO imparting free of cost education.
Madaris lands- besides those of hospitals, musafirkhanas, mosques, graveyards and dargahs- were donated by Muslim kings and landlords for the religious purpose. Their main objective was to equip the students with deep knowledge of the teachings of Islam.
The usage of the properties for a cause not serving Islam definitely goes against the will of the person who had made donation of the land. The managers of Waqf properties too, have no authority of letting the land be utilized for a cause going against the will of Waqif. The introduction of the Central Madrasa Board is supposed to pave the way for illegal occupation by the government over madaris and thereby harming the real end behind the endowment (waqf).
The Arabic word Waqf, literally meaning ‘to tie down’, implies to a form of property donation by Muslim individuals and institutions in the name of Allah for the benefit of the poor in the community. Waqf is a form of continuous charity (sadaqah jariyah), and the rewards for this type of charity continue even after the donor's death - for as long as people continue to benefit from the Waqf. In Waqf, the corpus cannot be inherited, sold, gifted, mortgaged, rented, lent, etc. because the subsequent transformation of the property for another cause not benefiting people will harm the very spirit of ‘continuous charity’. Waqf land will remain devoted only to the purpose mentioned by the waqif. Madaris, being Waqf properties, are no exemption in this regard.
Once, madaris are affiliated to the Central Madrasah Board the guarantee of them rendering religious service will elude. To take an example, the proposed CMB bill while giving no clarifications as to the concentration will be given on religious education, mentions in the list of subjects to be taught ‘philosophy’ instead of ‘Fiqh’. The centre by introducing the board, is trying to occupy also the Waqf lands devoted to madaris and then exploit them as per their will.
A startling 70% of Waqf properties have already been encroached upon by the government and some private corporate sectors. What the Sachar Committee report reveals is that the registered Waqfs all over India are 4.9 lakh and they cover around 6 lakh acres. A considerable number of them are located in city centres and their market value can be more than 1.2 lakh crore (1,200 billion) against the book value Rs 6,000 crore. Yet, the current income from these properties is only about Rs. 163 crores which amounts to a meagre rate of return of 2.7 per cent. The deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K. Rahman Khan has said that the Waqf boards are the third-largest landholder after the railways and defence.
The government must manage first to remove the encroachments over the Waqf properties already registered. This revenue alone will supply adequate funds required for the educational, economical and social uplift of Muslims.
Muslims cannot take risk of handing over the madrasa lands to the government and then see them too being exploited by the government officials. Declination of education status and negligence towards Islamic subjects are common in the madaris already affiliated to state madrasah boards. A waqif will surely be repenting over his decision to donate the land for madaris if they happen to see the situation.
By: Mufti Zafeeruddin Qasmi
The ongoing Central Madrasah Board debate while covering myriad aspects neglects a very important one. Madaris, plural of madrasah, are Waqf properties and hence cannot be used for any purpose contradicting the wish of the Waqif (donor).
In India, according to an estimate, there exist 1, 00,000 plus madaris and majority of them are run as minority institutions without gover
nment interfering in their management. A madrasah literally means ‘a place of education’ but nowadays it refers to the institutions imparting religious education to Muslim students. Any Muslim intending to pursue complete and comprehensive knowledge of his religion has no option but to resort to madaris; the largest NGO imparting free of cost education.
Madaris lands- besides those of hospitals, musafirkhanas, mosques, graveyards and dargahs- were donated by Muslim kings and landlords for the religious purpose. Their main objective was to equip the students with deep knowledge of the teachings of Islam.
The usage of the properties for a cause not serving Islam definitely goes against the will of the person who had made donation of the land. The managers of Waqf properties too, have no authority of letting the land be utilized for a cause going against the will of Waqif. The introduction of the Central Madrasa Board is supposed to pave the way for illegal occupation by the government over madaris and thereby harming the real end behind the endowment (waqf).
The Arabic word Waqf, literally meaning ‘to tie down’, implies to a form of property donation by Muslim individuals and institutions in the name of Allah for the benefit of the poor in the community. Waqf is a form of continuous charity (sadaqah jariyah), and the rewards for this type of charity continue even after the donor's death - for as long as people continue to benefit from the Waqf. In Waqf, the corpus cannot be inherited, sold, gifted, mortgaged, rented, lent, etc. because the subsequent transformation of the property for another cause not benefiting people will harm the very spirit of ‘continuous charity’. Waqf land will remain devoted only to the purpose mentioned by the waqif. Madaris, being Waqf properties, are no exemption in this regard.
Once, madaris are affiliated to the Central Madrasah Board the guarantee of them rendering religious service will elude. To take an example, the proposed CMB bill while giving no clarifications as to the concentration will be given on religious education, mentions in the list of subjects to be taught ‘philosophy’ instead of ‘Fiqh’. The centre by introducing the board, is trying to occupy also the Waqf lands devoted to madaris and then exploit them as per their will.
A startling 70% of Waqf properties have already been encroached upon by the government and some private corporate sectors. What the Sachar Committee report reveals is that the registered Waqfs all over India are 4.9 lakh and they cover around 6 lakh acres. A considerable number of them are located in city centres and their market value can be more than 1.2 lakh crore (1,200 billion) against the book value Rs 6,000 crore. Yet, the current income from these properties is only about Rs. 163 crores which amounts to a meagre rate of return of 2.7 per cent. The deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K. Rahman Khan has said that the Waqf boards are the third-largest landholder after the railways and defence.
The government must manage first to remove the encroachments over the Waqf properties already registered. This revenue alone will supply adequate funds required for the educational, economical and social uplift of Muslims.
Muslims cannot take risk of handing over the madrasa lands to the government and then see them too being exploited by the government officials. Declination of education status and negligence towards Islamic subjects are common in the madaris already affiliated to state madrasah boards. A waqif will surely be repenting over his decision to donate the land for madaris if they happen to see the situation.
By: Mufti Zafeeruddin Qasmi
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